Chapter 4 The Hidden Letter

The day was drawing to a close, with the golden light of sunset filtering through the living room curtains. The house was silent-the kind of silence that only exists in homes where routine and the absence of words have replaced everyday conversations. Ana had spent the entire afternoon in her study, her mind divided between daily tasks and the thoughts that had been haunting her for days. Trapped between the fog of exhaustion and unease, her thoughts felt heavier than ever.

There was something in the air, something pressing down on her-a sense that the pieces of her life were falling apart, and nothing could put them back together.

As she sorted through the papers on her desk, an unfamiliar object caught her attention amidst the scattered documents. A letter. A simple letter, with no sender, no indication of who had left it there. It was carefully folded, as if someone had taken the time to ensure it remained hidden, unseen. Ana frowned, a chill running down her spine as she stared at it. There was something unsettling about that envelope, something that made her feel exposed, as if she were about to uncover a buried secret-a truth too dangerous to be revealed.

With trembling hands, she picked up the letter, inhaling cautiously before opening it. As she unfolded the paper, her eyes darted across the words, her body trying to outpace her mind, afraid of what she might find. But the moment she read the first line, something inside her froze.

"If you knew what happened that night, you wouldn't still be by his side."

The impact was direct, merciless. Ana let the letter slip from her fingers onto the desk as her mind spiraled into chaos. That night. What night was the letter referring to? Was it the same night that had marked a before and after in her life-the night of the accident? Or was there something else, something she had overlooked until now?

The letter was cryptic, ambiguous, but the threat within its words was unmistakable. What did this person know? What was hidden in the shadows of her marriage-something so dark that, if revealed, it could destroy everything? A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she struggled to process the message.

What night was it talking about? What had happened that she didn't know about?

Memories began to resurface, more vivid, more unsettling. She thought of Sebastián. She thought of Gabriel. She thought of the strange tension that always hung in the air whenever the two of them were in the same room-that invisible current that seemed to connect them in an inexplicable way. Was there more between them than she had ever perceived? Had Sebastián been hiding something from her-something he never wanted her to know?

A wave of doubt washed over her. She stood from her chair and began pacing the room, back and forth, unable to find relief. Who had left this letter? The handwriting was unfamiliar-it wasn't Sebastián's, nor Gabriel's, nor anyone else's that she could recognize. But there was something about its contents that unsettled her on a visceral level. The fear of facing the truth was the only thing keeping her frozen in place, yet at the same time, her need for answers pushed her toward action.

"What happened that night?" she whispered, almost too afraid to hear the question out loud, feeling trapped between the love she still felt for Sebastián and the abyss of possibilities now unraveling before her.

Ana knew she couldn't ignore what she had found. The letter, with its ambiguous message, had struck a deep chord-but it had also offered her a clue, a sign that something was profoundly wrong. She couldn't move forward without answers. But whom should she confront?

Sebastián. Her husband, the man who had always been her rock, but who now seemed to be hiding something.

Gabriel. The enigma that had resurfaced in her life with a dangerous force.

She realized she couldn't make any decisions without understanding what had truly happened-without piecing together the puzzle. If the letter spoke of a "night," it had to be a crucial one, something that had been buried in time but was now resurfacing like a shadow, ready to unveil secrets no one was prepared to hear.

The sound of Sebastián's footsteps in the hallway made her freeze. He had arrived, probably after a long day at work. Ana grabbed the letter with steady hands, quickly slipping it between the pages of a notebook on her desk. Her mind was in turmoil, but her face remained calm. She needed time. She needed answers, but she couldn't face Sebastián unprepared.

When Sebastián entered the study, his eyes immediately found hers. He looked exhausted, but not so much that he didn't notice her tense stillness.

"Everything okay, love?" he asked, unaware of the storm raging in Ana's mind.

Ana met his gaze, her thoughts racing through all the possible responses, all the unspoken questions she wasn't yet ready to voice. But something inside her told her that now was not the right moment. Not yet.

"Yes, everything's fine," she replied with a tense, nearly imperceptible smile-one that concealed the tempest within her.

Sebastián held her gaze, as if about to say something else, but he hesitated. The uncertainty between them lingered, an uncomfortable presence neither dared to acknowledge.

Ana knew she would soon have to face the truth, but she wasn't ready yet. Something deep inside her warned that whatever had happened that night would change her life forever. And perhaps, it would change Sebastián forever, too.

As he walked toward the living room, Ana couldn't shake the feeling that no matter how hard she tried to hide it, the mystery was in the air-and with each passing moment, she felt it closing in on her.