==============Epilogue ================

As the lawyer broke the seal of the envelope that holds the last things his dear friend had to tell, Carter felt a pit in his heart, it finally sinking in that his best buddy, the inimitable Henry Dane was gone from this world. Leaving behind a fawning public who had adored him for over the two decades he was active and the two decades he spent in retirement and mourning family and friends, Henry had passed away in his sleep. "It is for the best", Carter thought, "I was so terrified for him whenever he would go on stage and perform such dangerous tricks that he would call me his second wife for fussing so much. Now, it feels as if he had found peace".

The will itself was simple. It divided his assets equally among his four children, with the assets of the youngest who was only twelve to be put in a trust with Carter as the trustee. All of his old magic tricks and equipment were already divvied up among his pupils. Now, he offered up his unperformed tricks and new ones that are just ideas up to them to implement and use as their own. He never held anything back from his students. Except for the secret of the deadly trick. It did not appear in the will, disappointing many, especially Jack, now a fledgling performer in Vegas.

"Lastly, there are three letters that Mr. Dane had asked us to hand over to the people they are addressed to in case of his death", the lawyer spoke, at the end of the officiation, "the first one is for Ms. Abigail Dane, his daughter. He says that he is sorry he could spend only so little time and could watch over you for only so much. He hopes the letter could give you some solace in times when you would need him". He handed the letter over to a weeping Abigail, distraught at the loss of her father. "To his wife", he continued, "Ms. Elizabeth Dane, he writes the second. As she has passed away, I would like to ask the family of the bereaved to take possession of this letter" and handed the letter off to the eldest son who was standing stoically, as the pillar of support for the family. "And the last letter is for Mr. Carter Adams", he spoke, to Carter's surprise, "He says he is incredibly grateful for all that he had received from you and hopes he had been a person worthy of your friendship. This letter is for your eyes only, Mr. Carter but you can show it someone if you wish to". Handing the letter to a mourning Carter, the lawyer announced the end of the officiation.

Brokenhearted and weary, Carter returned home to Hawkins, back to his home with the envelope untampered. He sat down in his old armchair, sipping the fresh brew his wife had made for him, looking at the parting words his closest pal had written for him. Summoning courage, he tore open the envelope and pulled the final words Henry will ever speak to him. He read,

To my dearest second wife :P,

If you're reading this, then I must be dead. Pfttt... I'm sorry, it is such a cliche I had to try it. But well, I guess the end comes for everyone. My now infamous Deadly Trick can't really bring people back to life, else I would have tried it. OOOPS .... spoiler alert. But I would have really liked to be around to see Abigail become an adult, get her first job, get her first marriage (I really hope it will be forever like mine and Lizzies) and if she will, her first child, my grandchild. I really wish you would be able to do those in my place and better than I would have done. So, no pressure.

I wish when I am on my deathbed, I would be reminded of the time the three of us had spent together, all before the stupid fate took away. It sounds morbid for a healthy person to ponder on what he wants to think on his deathbed but this is an honest plea. It hurts me to think of those happy times as it reminds me of how unfair it was that life was stolen from Charlie. But these were the days that made me human, it taught me friendship, it gave me a direction with purpose and it gave me the happiness I missed for a lot of my life. My father moved around a lot so it was hard for me to fit in at school. All the previous places I have been to I was labeled as weird and shunned for the entirety of my schoolhood. But the two of you took me in, even with all my eccentricities and gave me a place to belong. I wished I could stay that way forever. I am really grateful that you two had been in my life. Thank you.

Carter teared up at the poignant words his friend had left him. "No, you fool", he muttered to himself, "you enriched our lives". As he read through the rest of the letter, his expression was not that of the previous thankfulness, but pity. After he finished reading through it, he tore out the upper half and put it back in the envelope and placed it among his mementos. The rest of the letter that he tore out, after a bit of deliberation, he threw it in the fireplace. It had read

Therefore what that William had done, I could have never forgiven and never forgotten. I know you have moved on and are content but it always dug at me. I really hope all that I am going to reveal will help you find peace and not cause harm. I wouldn't blame you if you are horrified by me but I hope you will still hold my memory dear. I couldn't let him go, Carter, I killed him.

The Deadly Trick was just a ruse to kill him in front of everyone in a way nobody would come forward to help him, the way he killed Charlie and got away. You know, I had really moved on or I thought I moved on until I saw someone who looked just like him. Well, moving on meant just stalking him on Facebook. Until he dropped off. I couldn't believe my eyes. So, the next time I passed that alley in New York, I asked him about Charlie and whether he felt guilty. This guy was also homeless, so when I realized that I had the wrong person, a plan hatched in my mind to take revenge, finally. I tried to reason with myself that I could land myself and my family in trouble but soon the plan became bulletproof that I couldn't argue with myself. I offered the homeless man some money for a job the day we were to leave for Hawkins. I trapped him in the machine I built for the trick and I regularly dosed him to keep him sedated. I also hypnotized him to leave as soon as he wakes up during the trick. In Hawkins, I asked around to find the villain and when I found him, I hypnotized him every time he sleeps so that he wouldn't be able to sell the ticket even if he wanted to(I put the ticket in his pocket on the day of the show). I made him believe that he would want to watch the show. I knew how gullible he was, so I was sure it would work. But while he did try to sell it, it didn't quite work. But the next hypnosis worked. He jumped when I said A magician never lies. You know, my catchphrase. I don't know if the trick to make him remember the horrible thing he had done worked because he did not recognize Charlie's name when I said it. I swear if I had seen regret in his eyes or words, I would have dropped the plan. But it was not to be. He didn't even recognize the name! How would you forget someone you killed! I remember William Reeves every time I close my eyes! So I killed him, replaced him with the aforementioned person and finished the show. Then I went on to destroy the evidence. I was not happy with how it turned out(I am not a monster!) but I had to do it. For myself. For Charlie. I think I atoned enough. I helped his kids finish school. I pray for his soul for deliverance. Now you are the only person in the world with this knowledge. Do as you feel fit. If you want, turn it over as evidence. The body would be in the dump yard. They will remember. I only wish you would understand that it was for Charlie. Maybe for myself too. Pray for me, will you? If possible, pray for William Reeves too, in my stead.

Carter watched until he was sure the letter was completely burnt up. "It is for the best", he muttered, praying to save the two souls from damnation.