Chapter 2 - The Husband Who Knew
“Adrian.”
Maya’s voice was barely louder than a whisper.
“How do you know that name?”
Adrian glanced toward his mother.
Victoria gave him a warning look.
Maya saw it.
The last remaining piece of trust inside her died.
“You knew.”
“No.”
His answer came too fast.
“I have heard the name before because of the merger.”
“You knew that medal was important.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
Adrian looked at the hundreds of people watching them.
“This is not the place.”
“You allowed your mother to humiliate me in front of this entire room.”
Maya’s voice sharpened.
“You allowed her to call me worthless.”
“You watched her hit me while I held our child.”
“And now you are concerned about privacy?”
The baby whimpered against Maya’s shoulder.
Adrian reached for him.
“Give me Noah.”
Maya stepped back.
“No.”
“I’m his father.”
“And I am the person who protected him while you stood there.”
A murmur spread through the ballroom.
Adrian’s face reddened.
Victoria climbed onto the platform.
“This spectacle has gone far enough.”
Vance moved between her and Maya.
“It ended the moment you raised your hand.”
Victoria stared at him.
“This is my family’s event.”
“Your family may soon have much larger concerns than a ruined banquet.”
Senator Price returned to the platform.
“Federal agents are on their way.”
Victoria’s control slipped.
“You had no authority to involve them.”
“I served as the United States Attorney overseeing the final phase of the Vaughn disappearance investigation.”
Helen’s voice was cold.
“I have every reason to involve them.”
Maya turned toward her.
“You investigated my family?”
“If you are Mara Hale, I spent six years searching for you.”
The words struck Maya harder than the slap.
Someone had searched.
Someone had known she existed.
Someone had refused to believe she was dead.
Maya tightened her hold on Noah.
“Why did the search stop?”
Senator Price looked toward Victoria.
“Because evidence disappeared.”
Every face in the room shifted toward the Sterling matriarch.
Victoria laughed.
It sounded hollow.
“You cannot possibly be accusing me.”
“No one has accused you yet.”
Vance’s gaze remained fixed on her.
“But you seem remarkably eager to defend yourself.”
Adrian stepped closer to Maya.
His voice dropped.
“My mother made mistakes.”
Maya’s eyes narrowed.
“What kind of mistakes?”
“She was trying to protect the company.”
“From what?”
Adrian swallowed.
“From you.”
Silence fell again.
Maya stared at the man she had loved for six years.
May you like
He lowered his voice further.
“You were never supposed to discover who you were.”
