chapter 8

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### The Unfinished Letter###

The next morning, Claire awoke with a strange sense of anticipation. The attic, the locket, the letters—they all felt like pieces of a puzzle that she was finally beginning to understand. But there was still so much left unresolved, both in her grandmother’s story and in her own life. As she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, she felt the weight of all that had happened pressing down on her. It was both exhilarating and terrifying, the way the past seemed to be seeping into the present, demanding to be acknowledged, to be reckoned with.

She turned over, expecting to find Ethan beside her, but his side of the bed was empty. She sat up, pushing the covers aside, and made her way downstairs. The house was quiet, the morning light streaming in through the windows, casting long shadows across the floor. The air was thick with the smell of fresh coffee, and Claire followed the scent into the kitchen, where she found Ethan sitting at the table, a mug in his