Chapter 4
Sebastian did not answer right away.
That was how I knew Margaret’s words had found a real wound.
I stepped back from him.
“What does she mean?”
Daniel Kwan sighed.
“Mr. Valle.”
Sebastian lifted one hand.
“No. She deserves the truth.”
My stomach tightened.
Truth had already done enough damage for one night.
But lies had done worse.
So I stood there and waited.
Sebastian looked at the photograph of my mother and father.
“Your mother did not only run because of Margaret.”
I felt cold.
“Then why?”
“Because after Adrian died, I accused her of manipulating him.”
The words hit hard.
“You what?”
His eyes shone.
“I was grieving. Margaret showed me forged letters, bank withdrawals, messages that made it look as if Elena had been using him.”
I stared at him.
“My mother loved him.”
“I know that now.”
“You didn’t know then?”
“I chose not to.”
The honesty made me angrier.
“You were rich. Powerful. Surrounded by lawyers. She was pregnant and alone, and you chose to believe the convenient story?”
His face crumpled.
“Yes.”
My throat burned.
“Did you see her?”
“One time. After the funeral. She came to the house. She tried to tell me about you.”
The room blurred.
“And?”
“I told her if she used Adrian’s name again, I would bury her in court.”
The words stole the air from my lungs.
I stepped away as if he had struck me too.
“So Margaret didn’t take us from you,” I whispered. “You pushed us away first.”
Sebastian closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
I grabbed my bag from the chair.
Daniel moved slightly, but Sebastian stopped him.
“Charlotte, please.”
“No.”
I shoved the envelope and photograph inside.
“I came here because my mother left me that invitation before she died. I thought maybe she wanted me to find family.”
“She did.”
“No. She wanted me to find truth.”
I headed for the door.
Sebastian’s voice broke.
“I have spent twenty-four years trying to undo the worst hour of my life.”
I stopped.
My hand was on the handle.
“I spent twenty-four years living inside it.”
He had no answer.
Good.
I walked out.
The hallway was full of security, staff, and distant gala music from below.
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped inside alone.
Before they closed, Daniel Kwan slipped in beside me.
I glared.
“I don’t need a lawyer escort.”
“No. But you need someone who knows which exits Margaret controls.”
That stopped me.
“What?”
He pressed a lower-level button.
“She has people downstairs. If you walk out the main lobby, she’ll turn this into a trespassing incident before midnight.”
“Can she do that?”
“She has done worse.”
The elevator descended.
My reflection looked strange in the gold doors.
Red cheek.
Messy hair.
Clutching a bag full of proof that I belonged to people I wasn’t ready to forgive.
Daniel said, “There is a service exit through the kitchen. My car is there. I can take you wherever you want.”
“I don’t know where that is.”
His face softened.
I hated that too.
Kindness kept appearing in places I did not trust.
The elevator stopped.
We moved quickly through a back corridor, past waiters carrying trays and chefs shouting orders.
Then someone grabbed my arm.
Margaret.
She had changed tactics.
No rage now.
Only a smile.
“My dear, you must be overwhelmed.”
I yanked free.
“Don’t touch me.”
Daniel stepped between us.
“Move.”
Margaret ignored him.
She held out a phone.
“Before you run to Sebastian, you should hear your mother in her own words.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Margaret tapped the screen.
A recording played.
My mother’s voice.
You people destroyed him. I will never let my child carry your name.
The sound nearly dropped me to the floor.
“Mama,” I whispered.
Margaret watched my face carefully.
“She hated them. She hated you carrying Valle blood. Why do you think she hid you?”
Daniel snapped, “That recording is edited.”
“Prove it,” Margaret said.
Then she leaned toward me.
“Sebastian doesn’t want you. He wants redemption. There is a difference.”
The kitchen door opened behind us.
Two security guards entered.
Not Sebastian’s.
Margaret smiled.
“This girl is causing a disturbance.”
Daniel reached for his phone.
One guard knocked it from his hand.
My bag slipped from my shoulder.
The old envelope fell out again.
This time, it opened.
A second golden card slid across the floor.
I had never seen it before.
Daniel froze when he read it.
So did Margaret.
It was not an invitation.
It was a certificate.
Adrian Valle had signed it before he died.
Acknowledgment of unborn child and transfer of founding shares.
My mother had hidden the real weapon inside the envelope all along.
Daniel picked it up.
His voice shook.
May you like
“Charlotte, this gives you control tonight.”
Margaret’s smile disappeared.
