Chapter 9 - Mama's Final LetterOne year after the foundation opened, I found another envelope.
It had been hidden inside Mama's old recipe book.
My name was written across it.
I opened it alone.
Elena,
You probably think this is the last secret.
It isn't.
I smiled.
That sounded exactly like Mama.
The letter continued.
I want you to know that I never regretted protecting Arthur.
He was not perfect. None of us were.
But when the world gave him a choice between saving himself and saving his family, he chose us.
I wanted you to know that before you died.
I stopped.
Before I died?
I read the next sentence.
Your brother will probably tell you he was afraid. Believe him.
Rebecca will probably blame herself. Don't let her.
And Arthur will probably apologize too much. Tell him I never blamed him.
I cried.
Then came the final paragraph.
As for you, Elena, don't spend your life carrying the weight of what happened.
Your father taught you to fight.
Arthur taught you to survive.
I taught you to love.
Now teach yourself to live.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
Then I whispered:
“I will, Mama.”
That night, I sat on the back porch with Arthur.
We watched the sunset.
“She loved you,” I said.
He nodded.
“I loved her.”
“Did she know?”
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“Good.”
Arthur looked at me.
“Are you happy?”
I thought about it.
“Yes.”
May you like
Not because everything had been fixed.
But because I finally knew the truth.
