THE LETTER BENEATH THE FLOOR

THE LETTER BENEATH THE FLOOR The first thing Nadia noticed was that someone had moved her mother's coffin. Not much. Just three inches. But three inches was enough to make her stop walking. The cemetery was almost empty. Rain had turned the ground into thick mud, and the flowers she had brought were slipping from her hands. Her mother had been buried six months earlier. Nadia stared at the grave. Then she noticed something sticking out from beneath the wooden edge of the coffin. A small brown envelope. Her name was written on it. NADIA — OPEN THIS ONLY WHEN YOU ARE READY TO KNOW WHY I LEFT YOU. Her heart tightened. Her mother hadn't left her. At least, that was what everyone had told her. She had died suddenly after years of illness. Nadia picked up the envelope. Inside was a single photograph. It showed Nadia as a little girl, standing beside her mother. But there was something strange. Behind them stood a man Nadia had never seen before. On the back of the photograph, her mother had written: "You have met this man before. You just don't remember." Nadia's hands began shaking. She immediately called her older brother, Marcus. "Marcus, did Mum ever talk about a man who—" "Don't." His response was so fast that she fell silent. "Don't ask me about that," he whispered. "Why?" A long silence followed. Then Marcus said something that frightened her more than any confession could. "Come home." That evening, Nadia returned to the family house. Marcus was waiting in the kitchen. He placed an old metal box on the table. "I found this hidden inside Mum's bedroom wall." Nadia opened it. Inside were dozens of letters. All addressed to her. All written before she was born. She picked up the first one. Her mother's handwriting appeared across the page. "My daughter, if you are reading this, then the truth has finally found you." Nadia continued. "Your father did not abandon us." She stopped. Everyone had told her that her father had disappeared when she was three. But the letter continued: "He was never your father." Nadia looked at Marcus. "What does that mean?" Marcus's face had gone pale. Before he could answer, Nadia's phone rang. Unknown number. She answered. No one spoke. Then a man's voice whispered: "Your mother should have burned those letters." Nadia froze. "Who is this?" The man laughed softly. Then he said: "Ask your brother what happened on the night you were born." The call ended. Nadia slowly turned toward Marcus. He wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the metal box. Then she noticed something she hadn't seen before. A second photograph was hidden underneath the letters. She pulled it out. Her breath caught. It showed her mother holding a newborn baby. But beside her stood the same mysterious man from the first photograph. And written across the bottom were six words: "THIS IS THE CHILD WE STOLE." Nadia dropped the photograph. Marcus whispered: "You're finally remembering." Then someone knocked three times on the front door. Marcus stood up. His face was filled with terror. "Don't open it." The knocking came again. Three slow knocks. Then a woman's voice came from outside. "Nadia… it's your mother."

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