Chapter 7 - THE LIE THAT STOLE EIGHT YEARS
Victoria had convinced the medical facility that I was dangerous to my own brother.
For eight years, Thomas had been kept away from me partly because someone manipulated his treatment records and emergency contacts.
I felt physically sick.
"Did anyone verify her claim?" I asked.
Dr. Monroe hesitated.
"The original admission documentation contains serious irregularities."
Vivian leaned closer.
"What irregularities?"
"Several authorizations appear to have been signed by people who weren't present."
My jaw tightened.
"Fraud."
"Potentially. The facility is cooperating with an independent review."
I closed my eyes.
Thomas had been injured.
Frightened.
Vulnerable.
And Victoria used his condition to control him.
When I called my brother that evening, he sounded tired.
"Ellie?"
"Hey."
He smiled through the phone.
"How are you?"
I swallowed.
"Angry."
He laughed softly.
"That sounds familiar."
I almost smiled.
Then I asked, "Did anyone tell you I wanted you kept there?"
A long silence followed.
"Yes."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
"Victoria."
I closed my eyes.
Thomas continued.
"She said you blamed me for Grandfather's financial problems."
My voice broke.
"Thomas, I never blamed you."
"I know that now."
"She told me you'd be safer without me."
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
For years, I'd believed my brother abandoned me.
He believed I'd rejected him.
And Victoria had watched us suffer.
"Thomas, I'm so sorry."
He took a shaky breath.
"We have time now."
I pressed the phone against my ear.
"Yes."
For the first time in eight years, those words felt real.
After the call, Vivian contacted the authorities investigating the financial irregularities.
The forged documents.
The diverted trust funds.
The falsified medical authorizations.
Everything was connected.
But one question remained.
Why had Adrien allowed Victoria so much influence?
I decided to find out.
Two days later, I agreed to meet Adrien at Vivian's office.
Not at the mansion.
Not at a restaurant full of his men.
A neutral conference room.
He arrived wearing a dark suit.
For the first time since our wedding, he looked uncertain.
"Elena."
I nodded.
"Adrien."
He sat across from me.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then he said, "I miss you."
I looked at him.
"That's not why we're here."
His expression tightened.
"I know."
I placed the forged authorization on the table.
"Did you approve Victoria's appointment?"
He glanced at the document.
"No."
"Did you know she was trying to transfer my family's assets?"
"No."
I studied him.
"Did you know Thomas was alive?"
His face changed.
"Not until you told me."
I believed him.
And that surprised me.
Then I asked the question I'd been avoiding.
"Why did you announce our divorce like that?"
Adrien looked down.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Finally, he whispered, "Because Victoria told me you were planning to betray me."
I stared.
"What?"
"She claimed you were preparing to remove your trust's support and seize control of Moretti Maritime."
I felt sick.
"And you believed her?"
He closed his eyes.
"Yes."
I laughed bitterly.
"Without asking me?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
Then he looked up.
"Elena, Victoria showed me documents."
I froze.
"What documents?"
Adrien opened his briefcase.
He removed a photograph.
It showed me entering a private office building beside a man in a gray coat.
The image was dated three weeks before the party.
Adrien pointed toward the man.
"Who is he?"
I stared.
Then recognized him.
"That's Thomas."
Adrien went still.
"My brother."
The room fell silent.
Then I noticed something impossible.
The photograph showed Thomas walking normally beside me.
Three weeks before I'd discovered he was alive.
But I'd never been there.
May you like
Someone had created a false image to make Adrien believe I'd been secretly meeting my brother.
And suddenly, the entire divorce announcement looked like part of a carefully planned deception.
