Chapter 2
The envelope didn't slide. It just sat there on the granite, heavy in a way that didn't make sense.
Daniel's hand pulled back slow, like he didn't want to make a sudden move. His brown leather watch caught the kitchen light for half a second. The tan string was wrapped tight around the wax seal, that dark reddish-brown circle stamped with something I couldn't make out yet.
Nobody breathed right.
Mom's eyes were locked on that seal. Not on his face anymore, not on me. Just that little circle of wax. Her mouth was open a little, like she'd started to say something and forgotten how to finish it.
Daniel looked at her, then at me. "To this family," he said. His voice was low and even. "I was told to deliver it when the time was right."
Mom flinched when he spoke. Her hand shot out. Not toward the envelope. Toward me.
"Ethan, don't touch it," she said.
Her voice cracked on the last word. She tried to make it sound sharp, like an order, but it shook. She stepped sideways, between me and the island, her hip bumping the granite edge. She didn't even seem to notice.
I hadn't moved. I was still standing by the fridge where I'd been when the man walked in from the hallway. My hands were at my sides. I hadn't reached for anything.
"I wasn't," I said.
"Just don't." She swallowed hard and her throat made a little click. She kept staring at the envelope but her hand stayed out toward me, fingers spread, blocking me like I might dart forward.
Up close I could see her hands trembling. It wasn't a big shake. It was that fine tremor she got when she was trying not to cry and didn't want anyone to see. The gold studs in her ears caught the light every time she turned her head a little. Her beige shirt had a wrinkle across the front where she'd been gripping the counter.
Daniel didn't move closer. He stayed on the other side of the island, both hands now resting lightly on the edge, not grabbing it, just there. He was watching my mom watch the seal.
I looked down at it too. From where she stood, she was close enough to see the mark in the wax. I leaned a little to try to see. There were lines in it. Maybe letters pressed together. I couldn't tell what they were, but the way Mom looked at them, I knew she could. Her lips pressed together and then parted again, and her eyes got wider.
"You recognize the seal," Daniel said. It wasn't a question.
Mom didn't answer right away. Her breathing was shallow and fast. She finally blinked hard.
"Where did you get that?" she said. Her voice was smaller this time.
Daniel's jaw tightened a little. He had that salt-and-pepper stubble and his hair was swept back, and under the kitchen lights I could see creases around his eyes. He didn't look angry. He looked tired, like he'd been holding something a long time.
"Before you open it, there's something you need to know," he said.
Mom let out a short, sharp breath. "What's inside?" she asked, and then immediately, like she realized she shouldn't have asked, she shook her head. "No. Don't answer that. Ethan, go to your room."
I didn't move. "Mom?"
"Now, Ethan."
Daniel held up one hand, just a little, palm out, not toward her, not telling her what to do, just asking for a second. "Please. I told him I'd deliver it. I told him I'd make sure you heard what it was before anyone opened it. That's all I was asked to do."
"Who asked you?" Mom's hand tightened on the granite. Her knuckles went white. "Who told you to bring this here?"
He looked at me for a second, then back at her. "If I tell you right now and you don't listen, it won't matter. You need to hear the first part first. Then you can decide."
I felt my stomach drop. The kitchen was too quiet. The refrigerator was humming behind me and the hallway behind Daniel was still dark, that narrow wood floor stretching back to the front door. The envelope was right there between us, not even a foot from Mom's trembling fingers, but she wouldn't pick it up and she wouldn't let me near it.
"I'm not here to cause trouble," Daniel said again, softer now. He was looking at Mom directly. "I promised him I'd do this when the time was right. This is the time. That's why I'm here."
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Mom kept her body between me and the island. Her back was straight but her shoulders were shaking a little. She didn't look at me. She didn't look at him. She just stared down at that wax seal like if she stared hard enough it would disappear.
"Don't touch it," she whispered again, and I realized she wasn't just talking to me anymore.
