CHAPTER 3: THE WOMAN WHO STOLE A LIFE
CHAPTER 3: THE WOMAN WHO STOLE A LIFE
Margaret stood abruptly.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Richard opened the letter.
His hands trembled.
The room watched.
Every word felt like a knife.
The letter was dated twenty-three years ago.
Inside was a check.
A very large one.
And a simple message.
Leave Richard. Never contact him again.
Or you'll destroy his future.
Richard couldn't breathe.
Margaret looked cornered.
"I was protecting him."
"Protecting me?" Richard snapped.
"You were a nobody back then," she fired back.
"You had nothing."
Guests exchanged shocked looks.
Margaret continued.
"My daughter deserved someone successful."
Vanessa stared at her mother in horror.
"You did this?"
"I did what was necessary."
Richard laughed bitterly.
Twenty-three years.
Twenty-three years believing the love of his life had abandoned him.
Twenty-three years that could never be recovered.
Then he looked at Lily.
The young woman standing alone in the center of the room.
His daughter.
His actual daughter.
And he had missed her entire life.
First steps.
Birthdays.
Graduation.
Every single moment.
Gone.
Because of one selfish decision.
Vanessa slowly removed her wedding ring.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I didn't know."
Richard nodded.
"I believe you."
Then he looked at Margaret.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Done.
"Leave."
Margaret's face turned pale.
"Richard—"
"Now."
For the first time in decades...
Nobody obeyed Margaret Sinclair.
Because she no longer had power.
The truth had taken it away.
But Richard still faced one question.
The most important question of all.
May you like
Could Lily ever forgive him?
END OF CHAPTER 3
TO BE CONTINUED...
