The lights at Sunset Care Center burned all night . At 3 a.m. , the corridor lay silent except for faint paper rustling at the nurses ' station . Andrew sat in Emerie's hospital room , manuscripts and storyboard sketches spread before him alongside the hard drive storing her final wishes . He hadn't gone home . Couldn't bring himself to leave . Her letter was their last conversation . Page by page , he traced the water - stained script on yellowed paper , reading painfully slow . Each page revealed how she'd clawed her way back to life . Not a single accusation , yet every word laid bare her suffocated emotions . One page held just a line : " If there's another life , don't mistake me for someone else . " That shattered him completely . He thudded to his knees , clutching the paper as sobs tore through him . Gathering letters and photos to his chest , he clung to them like a drowning man seizing driftwood . When he first confessed years ago , she'd asked : " Are you sure it's me ? Not some misguided gratitude ? " He'd laughed : " You're nobody's replacement . " Yet in truth , he'd made her exit like a stand - in all along . She left too quietly , leaving him no emotional trail . The silence itself became the loudest indictment . Flipping open her director's journal , he found the final entry : " Death isn't terrifying , nor is loneliness . The real pity is I'll never tell you- 0.0 % 00:05 Chapter 7 I truly , honestly never hated you . " 7 a.m. Andrew hadn't slept , papers strewn across the floor . A nurse knocked : " Mr. Andrew , you were up all night ? " His voice rasped : " Can I keep her things one more day ? " " Of course . " She said softly , " She designated you sole recipient of her trust documents . " " Did she mention any unfinished wishes ? " " She said if you came … that alone fulfilled her final request . " Andrew's fingers trembled as he choked out : " That's all she wanted ? " The nurse nodded . " No grand funeral , no ceremonies . Just asked … if possible , visit Heritage Coast for her . " He shut his eyes , tears returning . " Why was she always so meek ? " The nurse offered no answer . None existed . That evening , Andrew drove to Heritage Coast . He'd once promised : " After this project , I'll take you to the sea . " That year he broke his promise . She waited all night . He never came . Never explained . Now he finally arrived . Kicking off shoes , he waded into shallows until cold water swallowed his ankles . Sea wind slapped his face - the world enveloping him yet leaving him utterly alone . He shouted : " Emerie ! " " Can you hear me ? I'm here at the sea ! " " You said you'd forgive me if I came ! " " I'm here ! " 41.8 % 00:05 288 Vouchers Chapter 7 Only wind answered . Waves rolled onto sand and retreated . Again . Again . He collapsed onto the beach , burying his face in his arms as violent sobs wracked his body . " Sorry Emerie , I'm too late . " " Were you alone when you left ? " " Were you scared ? " " Why couldn't you wait one more day ? " " Why didn't you wait for me to say goodbye ? " Wind whispered through the air , carrying a voice so faint it barely existed : " You came . " Andrew sat on the beach all night . No phone , no lights , just him and the sea she loved most . At dawn , he finally stood , gazing at the faintly lit horizon , murmuring : " If there's an afterlife . " " I'll recognize you at first sight . " " This time , I won't mistake you again . " 78.6 %