Chapter 3 - THE LETTERS THAT NEVER REACHED ROBERTThe gala ended early.
Guests left whispering.
Phones were already buzzing.
By midnight, photographs of Oliver standing beside Robert were circulating online.
The billionaire had a secret son.
The headline was everywhere.
But Robert didn't care about the headlines.
He sat alone in his study.
The silver ring rested on the desk.
He stared at it for hours.
Victoria entered.
“You need to control this.”
Robert didn't look up.
“Did you know?”
She stopped.
“Know what?”
“About Clara.”
“I told you, I didn't.”
“About the letters.”
Victoria remained silent.
Robert looked at her.
“How many?”
“What?”
“How many letters did she send?”
Victoria's face tightened.
“I don't know.”
Robert stood.
“You're lying.”
“I am not.”
He opened a drawer.
Inside were old documents.
His hands shook as he searched.
Then he found something.
A receipt.
Thirty years old.
Private mail forwarding.
Addressed to Victoria's family estate.
His blood ran cold.
He turned toward her.
“Why were Clara's letters sent here?”
Victoria's eyes flickered.
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
Victoria's voice became defensive.
“You chose me, Robert.”
“Yes.”
“You left her.”
“Yes.”
“You built this life with me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you punishing me for the choices you made?”
Robert stared at her.
“Because I think you helped make them.”
Victoria's expression hardened.
“Careful.”
“Why?”
“Because accusations like that destroy marriages.”
Robert laughed bitterly.
“Maybe the marriage was destroyed thirty years ago.”
Victoria slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
Robert didn't react.
He simply stared at her.
Then he walked away.
The next morning, he hired a private investigator.
His name was Samuel Reed.
Samuel spent thirty years investigating people who thought money could erase the past.
Three days later, he returned.
“I found something.”
Robert looked up.
“What?”
“Clara didn't disappear voluntarily.”
Robert's stomach dropped.
“She moved three times.”
“Why?”
“She was threatened.”
Robert stood.
“By whom?”
Samuel placed a file on the desk.
“Someone connected to the Hale family.”
Robert opened it.
Inside were copies of letters.
Threatening letters.
Leave Robert alone.
You will destroy his future.
If you contact him again, your child will pay.
Robert's hands shook.
“Who sent these?”
“We don't know.”
“Find out.”
Samuel hesitated.
“There is more.”
He placed another photograph down.
A younger Victoria stood beside a man.
Robert recognized him.
His older brother, Richard.
Robert stared.
“Why are they together?”
Samuel answered,
“Because Richard handled your family's private affairs.”
Robert's blood ran cold.
Richard had died fifteen years earlier.
But if he had been involved...
Then Victoria might not have acted alone.
Robert looked at the silver ring.
Then at the photograph of Oliver.
“I want everything.”
Samuel nodded.
“There's one problem.”
“What?”
“The records from that year are missing.”
“Missing?”
“Not destroyed.”
Robert frowned.
“Someone removed them.”
That afternoon, Oliver returned to his small apartment.
He lived modestly.
One bedroom.
Secondhand furniture.
A tiny kitchen.
On the wall hung a photograph of Clara.
Oliver touched the frame.
“I found him, Mom.”
His voice cracked.
“But I don't know if I can forgive him.”
A knock came at the door.
Oliver opened it.
Victoria stood outside.
He immediately tried to close it.
She stopped him.
“I need to talk to you.”
“I don't want anything from you.”
“You should hear me.”
Oliver stared at her.
“Why?”
Victoria looked exhausted.
For the first time, she wasn't wearing designer clothes.
No makeup.
No jewelry.
Just fear.
“Because I know where your mother lived.”
Oliver froze.
“What?”
“I know where she worked.”
“How?”
Victoria swallowed.
“Because I helped find her.”
Oliver stared.
“You knew her?”
Victoria looked down.
“Yes.”
His heart pounded.
“What did you do to her?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“I made a mistake.”
Oliver's voice became cold.
“What mistake?”
Victoria whispered,
“I believed I was protecting my marriage.”
Oliver stepped back.
“You knew.”
“I knew about you.”
Silence.
“How long?”
“Since before you were born.”
Oliver's face went white.
Victoria continued.
“I knew Clara was pregnant.”
Oliver's fists clenched.
“And you let my father believe she disappeared.”
Victoria looked at him.
“I was afraid.”
Oliver laughed bitterly.
“Of what?”
“Losing Robert.”
“You had his money.”
“Yes.”
“You had his life.”
“Yes.”
“And still you were afraid of losing him?”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I knew he still loved her.”
Oliver stared at her.
Then he asked the question that would change everything.
“Did you send those threats?”
May you like
Victoria said nothing.
Oliver knew.
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