Derek and his wife, Maria, had closed on a six-bedroom home on 657 Boulevard three days before and were renovating before moving in, so the mail was light, save for some bills and one envelope, white and card-shaped. For the Brodduses, buying 657 Boulevard was fulfilling a dream. Maria was raised in Westfield, and the home was just blocks away from her childhood home. Derek was raised in working-class Maine and worked his way up in an insurance firm in Manhattan, becoming a senior vice president and earning enough money to afford a $1.3 million home.
The Brodduses bought 657 Boulevard shortly after Derek celebrated his 40th birthday, and their three children are already debating which of the home’s fireplaces Santa Claus will use. So Derek and Maria stopped taking their kids into the house. They were still determining when or if they would move out. Then, a few weeks later, the third letter arrived. “Where did you go?” it asked.