Chapter 2: The Secret Their Family Buried
The wedding reception came to a complete stop.
Emily's grandfather, Charles Whitmore, slowly stood from the head table.
His face had gone pale.
"There is something everyone deserves to know."
Every guest turned toward him.
Charles removed his glasses.
"Twenty-four years ago..."
"Our family lost two granddaughters during a warehouse fire."
"We recovered only one child."
"We searched for the other for years."
His voice cracked.
"But the search ended after someone claimed they had found a child's remains."
Emily looked at Grace.
"They never tested the evidence."
Grace whispered,
"I was found by an elderly couple outside the city."
"They raised me."
"They said they found me wandering alone."
Charles closed his eyes.
"We stopped looking."
The room remained silent.
Then another voice interrupted.
"I made sure they stopped."
Everyone turned.
Standing near the back of the ballroom was Eleanor Whitmore...
Charles's younger sister.
The woman who had slapped Grace only minutes earlier.
Emily stared at her.
"What did you just say?"
Eleanor lowered her head.
"I told investigators there was no point continuing."
"The family business was collapsing."
"Your grandfather couldn't survive another tragedy."
"So I convinced everyone to move on."
Charles looked at her in disbelief.
"You ended the search?"
"I thought she was gone."
"I thought accepting it would save this family."
May you like
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"It destroyed us instead."
