Heartstrings on Fire novel Chapter 1180

The sequence of numbers wasn't handwritten but printed, making most people gloss over it as just another mundane detail of the envelope, never linking it to the sender or the message inside. Yet Kearney also cast a glance at those very numbers on the envelope.

Kearney said, "I've been looking at this envelope for twenty-five years. I know every inch of it. What's so special about these numbers? They're just your typical envelope code."

"For all your smarts, Kearney," retorted Agnes, "take a closer look. These numbers, 5044434433116323, they're actually eight pairs."

Kearney frowned, "What are you getting at? What kind of trick are you trying to pull?"

Agnes explained, "Consider the message your mother left behind, a total of 63 characters. If you interpret the sequence on this envelope as eight two-digit numbers, then match these to the positions in your mother's message, see what you find."

Kearney's expression subtly shifted.

The 50th character was "Do"

The 44th character was "not"

The 43rd, "trust"

Another 44, making "not" again.

Kearney's gaze intensified.

He abruptly released Agnes and grabbed the envelope.

Jared quickly stepped forward.

Checking on Agnes, he asked, "Agnes, are you alright?"

Agnes coughed twice, gesturing she was fine without moving away, and continued, "The 33rd character is 'this,' the 11th 'letter,' the 63rd 'under,' and the 23rd 'duress.' Kearney, put it together and it reads, 'Do not trust this letter, under duress.' Your mother must have been forced to leave that message, embedding a secret code in the numbers. And you, after twenty-five years of hatred, never deciphered it. You've been blaming the wrong people, causing innocent deaths. You're a complete fool and you've dishonored your parents!"