Page 158 of Taken Away

Aubrey’s gaze shifted to the small box.

Her hand shook when she lifted the lid.

“Cards,” she said.

“Cards?”

“Birthday. Christmas. Graduation.”

She pushed the box toward him.

Declan reached inside and pulled out an envelope at random.

Aubrey Langford

The handwriting on the front was neat. Familiar.

He turned it.

The flap was still sealed.

Across the front, in thick black marker:

RETURN TO SENDER

His eyes narrowed.

He picked up one more.

NOT INTERESTED.

Another.

STOP MAILING HER.

He didn’t need a fourth.

“That’s Anne,” he said softly.

“Yeah.”

He set the envelopes down more carefully than Aubrey expected and leaned over the box.

A second layer waited underneath.

Christmas stamps. Balloons. Graduation caps.

All unopened. All sent back. All marked in the same hand.

Declan’s jaw flexed once.

“Right,” he said.

The word carried more weight than most speeches.

“Keep going,” he added.

Aubrey reached for the folded letter at the bottom of the box.