CHAPTER 2 — THE SECRET ELEANOR NEVER KNEW
The ambulance doors slammed shut.
Caleb held Amelia's hand the entire ride to the hospital.
"Stay with me," he whispered, brushing tears from her face.
"I'm sorry... I should have protected you."
Amelia managed a weak smile.
"You came."
"I'll always come."
Hours later, the surgeon stepped into the waiting room.
"Mrs. Whitfield is awake."
Caleb stood so quickly his chair toppled backward.
"The baby is safe," the doctor continued. "But Mrs. Whitfield suffered a fractured wrist and severe bruising. She'll need several months to recover."
Relief flooded through him.
As Caleb entered Amelia's room, she reached for his hand.
"I never wanted this to happen."
"I know."
She looked toward the window.
"Your mother has hated me since the day we met."
Caleb lowered his head.
"No."
"It started years before that."
Amelia looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Caleb took a long breath.
"My father left something behind before he died."
He removed an old envelope from his jacket.
"My last request is simple," his father's handwritten letter began.
"If our company ever faces ruin, ask Richard Bennett for help. Twenty-five years ago, he saved my life, and I promised our families would always stand together."
Richard Bennett.
Amelia's father.
The mayor.
"My mother never knew this letter existed," Caleb said quietly.
"She believed your family destroyed ours."
Amelia frowned.
"But my father always spoke highly of yours."
"Because the truth was hidden."
Caleb unfolded another document.
It was an old newspaper clipping.
Twenty-five years earlier, Caleb's father had nearly died in a factory explosion.
Richard Bennett had rushed back into the burning building and pulled him to safety.
Without Richard...
There would never have been a Whitfield fortune.
"My father spent the rest of his life trying to repay that debt."
Caleb looked into Amelia's eyes.
"He asked me to marry the woman I loved."
May you like
"Not because of money."
"But because our families deserved peace."
