Chapter 2: Twenty-Five Years of Lies
The ballroom emptied within minutes.
Richard ordered every guest escorted home.
Only three people remained.
Richard.
Victoria.
Sophie.
They sat inside the mansion's private library.
The old photograph lay on the desk between them.
Richard finally looked at Victoria.
"Tell me."
Victoria lowered her eyes.
"I can explain."
"No."
He interrupted quietly.
"You can tell the truth."
She remained silent.
Richard opened a small safe hidden behind a bookshelf.
Inside rested another photograph.
The same lake.
The same summer.
The same woman.
Emily.
"My parents hated her," Richard said.
"They said she came from nothing."
"They forced me to leave while I was studying overseas."
"When I came back..."
"They told me she had disappeared."
Victoria couldn't look at him anymore.
"They lied," Richard whispered.
Victoria finally broke.
"No."
"I lied."
Richard stared.
Victoria's voice trembled.
"I found Emily before you came home."
"She was pregnant."
Sophie's eyes widened.
Victoria continued through tears.
"I offered her money."
"She refused."
"I told her you were engaged."
"That you never wanted to see her again."
Richard slowly stood.
"You told her..."
"...I abandoned her."
Victoria nodded.
Emily had left the city believing Richard had chosen wealth over love.
She raised her daughter alone.
Never asking for help.
Never returning.
Until illness took her life.
The bracelet had been her final gift to Sophie.
Along with the photograph.
And one sentence.
Find the man who once promised we'd always be a family.
Richard covered his face.
May you like
For twenty-five years...
He had searched for a woman who never knew he was searching.
