CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 34
THE DAUGHTER CAROLINE LEFT BEHIND
Maya arrived at the Whitfield mansion one week later.
She stood outside the gate for ten minutes before entering.
Nathaniel waited alone.
He did not bring Elena.
He did not bring Lily.
He did not want Maya to feel surrounded.
When she entered the study, Nathaniel saw Caroline immediately.
Not in her face.
In the way she stood.
In the way she watched him.
In the way she kept her hands still when she was afraid.
"Hello," she said.
Nathaniel nodded.
"Hello."
"Do I call you Nathaniel?"
"Whatever you want."
She smiled bitterly.
"That sounds convenient."
He accepted the accusation.
"You're right."
Maya looked around the room.
"Did my mother spend time here?"
"Every day."
"Did she talk about me?"
"Every day."
Maya turned sharply.
"Then why did she never come for me?"
Nathaniel told her the truth.
Caroline had believed the hospital records were being monitored.
She feared that anyone searching for the missing child would be exposed.
She had planned to find Maya after uncovering the financial conspiracy.
But she died before she could.
Maya cried silently.
Nathaniel did not touch her.
Finally, she whispered:
"Did she love me?"
Nathaniel answered without hesitation.
"More than anything."
Maya looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Because she spent the last weeks of her life trying to find you."
That was the moment Maya finally broke.
Nathaniel stood there as she cried.
He did not know whether he was allowed to hold her.
So he waited.
May you like
Eventually, she stepped forward.
And he embraced the daughter he had lost before he ever knew he had her.
