Chapter 15 - THE UNEXPECTED LETTER
With my business expanding rapidly, I hired a dedicated personal assistant named Chloe—a sharp, energetic twenty-four-year-old marketing graduate who kept my schedule running with military precision. One afternoon, while sorting through physical mail delivered to the office, Chloe walked into my private office holding a plain white envelope bearing no return address, just my name handwritten in jagged, frantic strokes. "This came through the front desk mail drop, Ms. Rachel," Chloe said, placing it gingerly on the corner of my desk. "There’s no postage stamp. Someone dropped it off manually."
I dismissed her with a nod and stared at the envelope. I already knew whose handwriting that was, even though I hadn't seen it in months. Slowly, using a silver letter opener, I sliced open the flap and pulled out a folded sheet of lined notebook paper.
*Rachel,*
*I know you won't read this, and I know you probably hate me. But I have nowhere else to turn. My landlord is evicting me from the Cambridge studio. The bar association is formally reviewing my credentials for disbarment due to the corporate compliance audit. Claire blocked my number weeks ago. I am completely alone. If there is an ounce of mercy left in your heart for the man you spent ten years with, please... just call me. Even for five minutes.*
*— Daniel.*
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I stared at the pathetic plea for a long, silent moment. Mercy? He hadn't shown an ounce of mercy when he spent our joint savings on his mistress while I waited at home for an anniversary dinner that never happened. I folded the letter neatly, dropped it into the metal wastebasket beneath my desk, and went back to reviewing my multi-million-dollar corporate contracts.
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