"Well that's not weird at all," she mutters before tearing open the envelope. A folded letter waits inside, its front and back paged covered in familiar typed letters.
Melita,
My dove, I am pained to leave you but for now, I must. Jack Creek is no longer safe. By the time you read this, I will be long gone. Feel free to do what you want with the information I'm about to give you, but I could not leave without telling you the rest of the truth.
"The rest of the truth?" she reads aloud. She turns the letter over in her hands in confusion. "Who the fuck sent me this?"
I have watched you for a long time. I have always admired you, despite our past together. For years, I hoped the attraction I felt was mutual, but after several encounters I knew it was one-sided.
Nonetheless, I couldn't stand by and let them tear you apart like that. Our fates are inexplicably tied; your pain is mine. Whatever they said about you has surely been said about me too.
Melita's skin crawls uncomfortably as she reads further. One hand drops to her pocket, already unlocking her phone to dial Harry. He's at Ashton's office in Harrisford, getting their final documents prepared for their new employment.
I wanted you to see me as your tragic hero; perhaps that would stir your emotions and turn your affections to me. But every word we shared only pushed you further away. I was the crucible of my own undoing.
I was waiting outside the department the day you were bailed out. I couldn't stand to see you with Harry, that wretched cur. It bordered on torturous — your body tangled with his in the passions of lust and your bed filled with his presence at night. I drove myself mad, until I realized I could not do so anymore.
I set the church fire, and the one at the fairgrounds. I left the notes on your door and your car, though I must admit that wasn't the first night I hung around listening to your conversations. I gave my grandfather the poison he needed to kill Hazel; I spoke to her the day before she died. It's a shame, she was a nice lady. I did everything I could to stop you, to scare you so bad you'd isolate yourself. Then I'd be free to have you. 
But it backfired. Cursed are the lovelorn. I will continue to pursue you, don't worry. But for now I have to leave. It's not safe for me here anymore. 
There's one more thing you should know. I killed Nathaniel. The son of a bitch had it coming after the hell he put you through and the damage he's done to our reputation.
"Our reputation?" Melita's stomach twists in dread. She has a feeling she knows who sent this letter. Harry picks up the phone then, his mellow voice breaking through the fear clouding around her.
"Baby?"
"Harry." Her voice trembles. "Come home please, right now."
Something in the way she says his name must tell him not to question why. She hears a few muffled noises and then he is breathlessly saying, "Stay where you are. I'll be there in a few minutes." In the background, she can hear Ashton asking if she's alright.
Rest assured he won't harm you anymore. I can't promise the same for myself; the gene for instability seems to run in my family. Remember when I told you my mother was sick? She tried to kill herself, ended up in a psych ward in Harrisford for weeks. Clearly her father before her was as psychotic as they come.
I killed my own grandfather for you, but we'd be ignoring the ugly truth if we didn't acknowledge that he had it coming. That bastard only cared about keeping himself happy and preserving his reputation — something I'm sure resonates with you. I know your grandmother put you through the same superficial bullshit. They didn't care about us, not really. They cared what people thought of us. We will be the ones to change the pattern. Just as our grandparents were connected, you and I are too.