Chapter 10 - The Father I Thought Had Abandoned Me
Evelyn Hart had spent eighteen years believing her father didn't want her.
Now she was discovering he may have vanished because he tried to stop the Bellandi family's financial crimes.
She sat beside Adrien in a private conference room, staring at Daniel Hart's employment record.
Her hands trembled.
"He worked for your family?"
Adrien nodded.
"According to the documents."
Evelyn swallowed.
"Mom told me he was an accountant. She never said where."
Adrien looked ashamed.
"Rose may have been trying to protect you."
Evelyn shook her head.
"I spent years thinking he didn't love me."
Her voice broke.
"I used to wait by the window on my birthday."
Adrien lowered his eyes.
She continued.
"I thought if I was good enough, maybe he'd come back."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
For a moment, Adrien didn't know what to say.
He'd spent most of his adult life giving orders.
Now he understood that there were moments when power meant absolutely nothing.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Evelyn looked at him.
"For what?"
"For everything my family may have done."
She wiped her face.
"You're not responsible for every choice they made."
He nodded slowly.
"But I am responsible for what I choose now."
That afternoon, investigators located an old storage facility rented under Daniel Hart's name.
Inside were accounting records.
Photographs.
And a series of letters addressed to Evelyn.
She opened the first.
My little girl,
If you're reading this, I hope you've grown into someone who laughs as loudly as your mother.
Evelyn began crying.
The letter continued.
I didn't leave because I stopped loving you.
I discovered money was being stolen from families who trusted the Bellandi foundation.
I tried to stop it.
Then someone threatened you and Rose.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Her father had been trying to protect them.
The final paragraph broke her heart.
If I cannot come home, remember that you were always my favorite part of every day.
Adrien turned away, giving her privacy.
For several minutes, Evelyn cried.
Then she opened the second envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel standing beside a younger Isabella Bellandi.
A handwritten note covered the back.
Isabella knows what happened to the missing accounts.
Evelyn looked up.
But another photograph lay beneath it.
Daniel standing outside a small house in Vermont.
The date was from only eight months earlier.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
"My father was alive last year."
Adrien leaned closer.
"Are you certain that's him?"
She nodded.
The same eyes.
The same crooked smile.
The same little scar beneath his chin.
Then she noticed something written across the bottom.
An address.
And three words.
Rose was right.
Adrien looked at her.
"What did Rose say?"
Evelyn's voice trembled.
"Before Mom died, she told me Dad had never stopped trying to come home."
For the first time, Evelyn understood.
Her mother hadn't been protecting her from abandonment.
She'd been protecting her from people who would hurt them if they reunited.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man's voice whispered:
"Evelyn?"
Her knees nearly gave way.
"Dad?"
He began crying.
"My little girl."
May you like
And his first warning was about Celeste Bellandi.
"Don't let Adrien trust the doctor treating his wife."
