Chapter 9 - THE LAST LIELaura arrived that night.
She sat across from me in the living room.
My father remained standing behind her.
I placed the old document on the table.
“Why did Julian pay you?”
Laura stared at it.
“Because he hired me.”
“For what?”
“To investigate you.”
I felt the room tilt.
“When?”
“Before your wedding.”
My voice became quiet.
“What was he looking for?”
Laura hesitated.
“Your inheritance.”
I stared at her.
“He knew?”
“He suspected your family controlled Blackwood Holdings.”
“And he married me because of it?”
“Yes.”
The word destroyed something inside me that I hadn't realized was still alive.
Every memory.
Our wedding.
Our honeymoon.
The first Christmas.
Harrison's birth.
All of it.
Was there ever love?
I asked her.
Laura answered honestly.
“At first, I don't know.”
“And later?”
“Later, I believe he did love you.”
I looked away.
“That doesn't make it better.”
“No.”
My father stepped forward.
“That is why we waited.”
“For what?”
“For him to reveal himself.”
I shook my head.
“You let me marry him.”
My father lowered his eyes.
“I was wrong.”
The silence was enormous.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice whispered:
“Elena.”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
“You don't know me.”
“Then why are you calling?”
“Because Julian wasn't the one who started this.”
My heart stopped.
“Who was?”
The man breathed quietly.
“Your mother.”
I stood.
“What?”
“She wasn't protecting you from Julian.”
He paused.
“She was protecting Julian from you.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
My father looked terrified.
“Who was that?”
I slowly raised my eyes.
“I don't know.”
Then someone knocked on the door.
Three times.
My father reached for the gun hidden beneath his coat.
Laura stood.
I walked toward the door.
And when I opened it—
there was a man standing in the snow.
Daniel Hayes.
May you like
Harrison's biological father.
Alive.
