“He was the one who took the money.”
I stopped breathing.
There was one final paragraph.
“There is one more thing you need to know, Emily. The man who threatened to put me on the street was Robert.”
I read it again.
Then again.
Uncle Robert.
The man who taught me to ride a bike.
The man who came whenever I called.
The man everyone described as the glue holding our family together.
Grandma continued:
“Robert took the money from your grandfather’s safe. Your mother loved her brother enough to accept the blame because she believed it would only be temporary. Robert allowed her to do it. Years later, when I decided to clear Carol’s name, he threatened me with the home I had trusted him with.”
Suddenly, every strange moment made sense.
Grandma striking his wrist.
Robert offering to retrieve the handbag.
His question about the twelfth envelope.
His warning not to open it.
“Let Nancy die with her secrets.”
The following morning, I asked Mom, Susan, and Linda to meet me at Grandma’s house.
Then I read the twelfth letter aloud.
