Chapter 3 - MY MOTHER'S FIRST LIE
There are betrayals you expect from enemies.
The ones that destroy you usually come from the people who taught you the meaning of loyalty.
I read Evelyn's letter twice.
Then a third time.
She had written everything.
The pregnancy.
The threat.
The bullet.
Her fear.
Her request that I meet her at a hotel near O'Hare so we could leave Chicago together for a few days and decide what to do.
I never showed up.
Because I never knew.
“I waited four hours,” Evelyn said.
I could barely look at her.
“I thought you'd chosen business.”
“I didn't know.”
“I know that now.”
Those four words hurt more than accusation.
Nathaniel opened the door.
“Evelyn.”
She glanced toward him.
“The twins need lunch.”
I almost said our twins.
But I hadn't earned that word yet.
“Can I see them?”
Evelyn's expression changed instantly.
“Not today.”
“They're mine.”
“You don't know that.”
Her words cut, but she wasn't being cruel.
She was protecting them.
I nodded.
“DNA test.”
“Yes.”
“As soon as you want.”
She studied me, probably searching for the old Adrian—the man who turned every problem into an order.
Instead, I asked, “What do they know about me?”
“That you were someone I loved once.”
Once.
I deserved that too.
Then Nathaniel stepped outside again.
“You should leave before the children notice the tension.”
I looked at him.
“You called Evelyn your wife.”
“Yes.”
“Are you married?”
Evelyn answered.
“No.”
I frowned.
Nathaniel gave her a warning look.
“Nate.”
She shook her head.
“He came here for the truth.”
Then she turned to me.
“Nathaniel answers my phone that way for security.”
“Why?”
“Because for almost three years, someone has been periodically checking whether I'm alone.”
The anger inside me sharpened.
“Calls?”
“Calls. Flowers with no card. Cars outside the daycare. Once, someone mailed photographs of the twins.”
My hands curled into fists.
“Why didn't you come to me?”
“Because every threat led back to Chicago.”
The meaning was clear.
To my family.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Boss, we need to talk privately.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“No more private conversations about my life.”
Marcus inhaled slowly.
Then said, “The security reports from three years ago were altered.”
I turned.
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
“That's not good enough.”
“I know.”
He handed me his phone.
A scanned report showed the night of Evelyn's break-in.
The original report listed an unidentified vehicle outside our mansion.
A black Cadillac.
Registered to Moretti Holdings.
My company.
But the report had been changed the next morning.
The vehicle information disappeared.
Only four people had authority to alter that file.
Me.
Marcus.
My mother.
And my younger brother, Vincent.
Marcus looked me in the eye.
“I didn't change it.”
Neither had I.
That left two names.
May you like
Then Evelyn whispered:
“Adrian... Vincent was the last person I saw outside the doctor's office that day.”
