Chapter 2 - THE SECRET MY FATHER LEFT BEHIND
I couldn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Julian standing beside that Porsche.
I heard him saying the seats were too expensive.
I remembered every dinner where he told me we needed to save money.
Every time he refused to let me see the company accounts.
Every time he called my concerns “paranoia.”
And now Damon was telling me my father had known.
A nurse brought my daughter to me just after sunrise.
She was impossibly small.
Pink fingers.
Tiny eyelashes.
A hospital cap covering her dark hair.
I touched her hand.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
Her fingers curled around mine.
I cried silently.
Damon stood several feet away.
“You can come closer,” I whispered.
He approached.
He stared at the baby for a long moment.
“What will you name her?”
“Lily.”
“Lily.”
He repeated the name quietly.
Then his phone rang.
He stepped away.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Freeze every Sterling account.”
Another pause.
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“Not just the corporate accounts. Personal assets too.”
I looked at him.
He hung up.
“What happened?”
“Julian tried to withdraw three million dollars.”
My stomach twisted.
“Why?”
“He's preparing to leave the country.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Damon watched me.
“You expected loyalty from him.”
“I expected basic humanity.”
“You deserved better.”
I looked down at Lily.
“I should have seen it.”
“You were manipulated.”
“That doesn't make me stupid.”
“No.”
His expression softened.
“It makes you human.”
Then he gave me the envelope.
My father's handwriting was on it.
For Clara. Only if she is in danger.
My hands shook.
Inside was a letter.
My little girl,
If you are reading this, something has gone terribly wrong.
The Sterling family is not what they appear to be.
Your marriage to Julian was arranged long before you met him.
I stopped.
Arranged?
I continued.
They need access to the Voss inheritance.
My breath caught.
My father had never mentioned an inheritance.
I read faster.
Your mother has known.
My eyes blurred.
My mother?
Then:
The money was never mine.
It was placed in your name before I died.
If the Sterling family gains control of it, they will own enough of the city to bury every crime they have committed.
I looked at Damon.
“How much?”
He didn't answer immediately.
“Clara…”
“How much?”
“Approximately eighty-four million dollars.”
My throat went dry.
I stared at my daughter.
“They didn't marry me.”
Damon shook his head.
“They married your inheritance.”
That afternoon, Julian appeared at the hospital.
He looked exhausted.
His expensive suit was wrinkled.
“Clara.”
I turned away.
He approached the bed.
“Please listen.”
“No.”
“You don't understand what happened.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“I panicked.”
“You left me bleeding in the rain.”
“I thought the ambulance—”
“You handed your mistress the keys to our car.”
His face tightened.
“Victoria isn't—”
“Don't.”
He stopped.
Damon entered the room.
Julian immediately went pale.
Damon looked at him.
“You have thirty seconds.”
Julian swallowed.
“Clara, I love you.”
I almost laughed.
“You love the money.”
His silence answered for him.
Damon stepped closer.
“Twenty seconds.”
Julian looked terrified.
“You can't do this to me.”
Damon smiled without warmth.
“I haven't done anything yet.”
Julian left.
I watched the door close.
Then Damon said quietly:
“The real danger hasn't arrived.”
May you like
“What do you mean?”
“Your mother.”
