Chapter 364 Farewell Letter

Chapter 364: Chapter 364 Farewell Letter

Sebastian’s POV

The moment I stepped into the pack house, I knew something was wrong. Grief hung in the air, heavy enough to make the whole place feel gloomy.

Emilia spotted me and hurried over. "Where the hell were you last night?"

I looked at her, my chest twisting with guilt. I’d sworn to be loyal to this woman for the rest of my life. Now, I couldn’t even bring myself to tell her the truth.

"Got drunk with a friend," I said, my voice hoarse. "Passed out at the bar."

"Real smooth, coward," Ryder muttered in the back of my mind.

I ignored him and studied Emilia’s face. She looked pale enough to faint. "You look terrible. What’s wrong?"

She waved it off. "My stomach. Last night, it felt like someone was stabbing me right here. I thought it was cramps, but my period never came."

Her words hit me hard.

Last night. While I was with Abigail, Emilia had been in pain.

But she was too distracted to notice my reaction. She grabbed my sleeve, her eyes wide with worry. "Tiffany’s gone."

I froze. "Gone? Where did she—"

"Read this."

She shoved a note into my hand.

My fingers trembled as I unfolded the paper.

[Dad, Mom, Sebastian, Emilia,

I’m leaving. Forgive me for slipping away without saying goodbye. Now that I’ve got a second chance at life, I need to figure out what I really want. What’s my dream? What do I want to achieve? Where do I want to end up?

Don’t come looking for me. I’ll go somewhere nobody knows the name Tiffany Simons. I’ll build a new life there, one where I don’t have my parents protecting me, my brother or Emilia to lean on, or Fynn anywhere near me.

Give me five years, maybe. When I can stand on my own two feet, when I can hold my head high even after losing the person I loved, I’ll come home.]

I closed my eyes and let the note fall to the floor. Then I stepped forward and pulled Emilia into my arms.

I buried my face in her hair, my whole body trembling. She must have felt it because she started to pull away, probably to ask what we should do next. I only tightened my hold.

"Don’t," I whispered against her hair. "Don’t say anything. Just let me hold you for a minute."

I was falling apart. For my sister. For myself. And most of all, for Emilia.

Tiffany was really gone. My father called in every favor he had across the country, but nobody could find her. My mother cried from morning until night. The house that had once been full of noise now felt empty, as if someone had stripped it of everything that made it a home.

With everyone focused on Tiffany’s disappearance, the fact that I hadn’t come home that night slipped through the cracks. Nobody questioned me. Nobody asked what had happened.

A week passed before my father finally gathered us in the living room and made his decision.

"Starting tomorrow, we stop looking for Tiffany. It’s time we got back to our lives."

Emilia’s head snapped up. "Dad, she’s still young. If we don’t bring her home, what if she—"

"Maybe Tiffany’s right." He sighed. "Your mother and I have spoiled her since she was little. It’s time she learned to stand on her own."

"But what if she meets the wrong people?"

He had a point. Tiffany needed room to grow, but the world wasn’t exactly a friendly place. Nobody learned to stand on their own without taking a few knocks along the way.

"She chose this path," my father said. "Whatever happens, she’ll have to face it herself. We can’t protect her forever."

My mother burst into tears. Emilia hurried over and wrapped her arms around her.

"Mila, don’t cry. I know Tiffany hasn’t seen much of the world, but she’s smarter than any of us. She’ll be fine on her own. She doesn’t need us hovering over her every minute."

I sat off to the side, saying nothing. I’d been like that ever since Tiffany left, stiff and silent, as if I’d turned to stone. Emilia assumed I was grieving over my sister. She had no idea that was only part of it. Guilt weighed on me every day, making it harder to look her in the eye.

I hadn’t planned for things to happen that way. But I knew better than anyone that good intentions didn’t erase the consequences.

After the meeting, Emilia stayed with my mother until she’d calmed down, then dragged herself upstairs. I thought I’d escape into work, as I usually did. Instead, I sat on the bedroom couch and smoked. Three or four cigarette butts already filled the ashtray, and the tip of the latest one still glowed.

"Not going to the office tonight?" Emilia asked as she sat beside me.

I shook my head. "I’m tired. I’ll turn in early."

She studied me, concern creasing her brow. Then she took my hand and pulled me to my feet. "Come here. Sit down."

She guided me onto a stool and stood behind me, kneading my shoulders with her thumbs.

"I know you’re hurting over Tiffany," she said. "But Dad has a point. She needed to leave. And she knew Fynn never really loved her back. Staying here would’ve hurt her more every day. Maybe starting over somewhere new is exactly what she needs."

I said nothing. Her hands continued to work at the tension in my shoulders.

"Her surgery was successful, and she’s got her whole life ahead of her. She’s smart and easy to love. Wherever she goes, she’ll find people who care about her."

I reached up, caught her hands, and pulled her around to face me. Holding her gaze, I asked, "Emilia, do you trust me?"

She blinked, caught off guard, then nodded. "Of course. Why?"

"No reason." I forced a crooked smile. "Just wanted to ask."

"Oh, right." She straightened up. "You saw Abigail the other night. Did she say anything?"

"She did. She gave me the evidence."

Emilia’s eyes widened. "She what? That file was the only leverage she had against our family. Why would she just hand it over?"

"She gave it to me. If you don’t believe me, go check my office drawer."

My voice sounded flat, even to my own ears. I could feel the emptiness in my eyes, and there was no hiding it.

Emilia frowned, thinking it over. "Unless she’s got something bigger. Something worth more than that file."