Chapter 3 - I Confronted My Mother at Her Mansion, and She Finally Admitted She Had Lied About My Wife Being BarrenMy mother's mansion sat above the lake like it had been built to overlook everyone else.
She was waiting for me.
That told me enough.
When I walked into the drawing room, Victoria Vance didn't look surprised.
She sat beside the fireplace wearing an ivory suit.
Tea untouched.
Hands folded.
Calm.
Too calm.
“You look tired,” she said.
“My wife almost died.”
“She is not your wife anymore.”
I stared at her.
“Why did you lie to Elena?”
She didn't answer.
“Why did you forge divorce documents?”
Her expression remained still.
“I did not forge anything.”
“Why did you offer her five million dollars?”
“Because she was never suitable for this family.”
“Why did you send her an ultrasound?”
That finally changed her face.
“You found it.”
“Yes.”
She stood.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“She was going to ruin you.”
“She was carrying my child.”
“And hiding it.”
“Because you made her afraid.”
My mother scoffed.
“I made her realistic.”
“You called her barren.”
“She was.”
“No.”
She froze.
I stepped forward.
“The fertility report was fake.”
My mother looked away.
“Who fabricated it?”
No answer.
“Mother.”
She finally whispered,
“Richard.”
My chest tightened.
“Richard Hale?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because we needed you to leave her.”
“For what?”
“To protect the family.”
I almost laughed.
“Protect it from my wife?”
“From what she represented.”
“What did she represent?”
My mother looked at me.
“A future you couldn't control.”
The words were so absurd that I almost didn't believe them.
Then she continued.
“Your father created provisions in the trust that most people don't know about.”
“I know about the grandchild clause.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“So you know.”
“Yes.”
“What you don't know is that the trust was challenged.”
“By whom?”
“By me.”
“Why?”
“Because your father's final wish was insane.”
I waited.
“If the first grandchild were born, voting control would shift.”
“To the child.”
“Yes.”
“And you wanted that control.”
“I wanted stability.”
“You wanted power.”
“I wanted to protect what your father built.”
I stepped closer.
“You destroyed my marriage for money.”
Her eyes hardened.
“I saved you from an opportunistic woman.”
“She loved me.”
“No.”
“She still loves me.”
“That is irrelevant.”
“No, Mother.”
I had never spoken to her like this.
“It is everything.”
She looked at me as though I'd become a stranger.
Then she whispered,
“You should ask yourself why she kept the baby secret.”
“I already did.”
“And?”
“Because she believed you would take our child.”
My mother's face changed.
I knew I had hit the truth.
She sat down.
For several seconds she said nothing.
Then she reached into a drawer and removed a file.
“This is why.”
She slid it toward me.
Inside were photographs.
Elena leaving a building.
Elena meeting a doctor.
Elena carrying groceries.
Elena entering a law office.
Then the last photograph.
Elena standing with a man.
I recognized him.
Gabriel Shaw.
The investigator.
“When were these taken?”
“Seven months ago.”
“Why was she meeting him?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why show me?”
“Because she was investigating the family.”
I stared at the photographs.
“Perhaps because she knew something.”
“Exactly.”
“What?”
My mother leaned back.
“Your father didn't die naturally.”
The room became silent.
I looked up.
“What?”
“He had enemies.”
“I know that.”
“Not those enemies.”
She lowered her voice.
“He was killed because he discovered someone had been stealing from the family trust.”
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
I stared at her.
“And Elena did?”
“I think she did.”
“Why?”
“Because she asked questions your father asked before he died.”
I looked down at the file.
“Which questions?”
My mother said nothing.
“Mother.”
“Why did the trust have no money in it for years?”
I froze.
“What?”
“Your father had transferred money into a private account.”
“How much?”
“Forty-two million dollars.”
I stared at her.
“Where?”
“That's what Elena was investigating.”
I felt something shift.
This was bigger than a divorce.
Bigger than a baby.
“Elena found the account?”
“I believe so.”
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
“Who was looking for it?”
My mother's eyes met mine.
“Everyone.”
The word echoed.
I thought about the man in the alley.
The photograph.
The note.
The doctor.
The hidden pregnancy.
Suddenly everything connected.
Someone had wanted Elena silent.
Someone had wanted the child hidden.
Someone knew about my father's trust.
Someone knew Elena had discovered something.
I left the mansion and called Jonas.
“I need every file Richard Hale has handled for my family.”
“Boss, that's hundreds.”
“Get all of them.”
“Legally?”
I hesitated.
“Yes.”
He understood.
“On it.”
Then I called another person.
Dr. Hannah Price.
The doctor Elena had named.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Dominic?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“Is Elena alive?”
“Yes.”
A breath.
“Thank God.”
“You knew about the pregnancy.”
“I suspected.”
“Did you know the fertility report was fake?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Elena asked me not to.”
“Why?”
“She was terrified.”
“Of my mother?”
“Of several people.”
“Who?”
There was another pause.
Then she said,
“Come to my office.”
“Tonight.”
“Not tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because someone has been following me.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Send me the address.”
“No.”
“Doctor—”
“Dominic, listen to me.”
Her voice trembled.
“If Elena's child is truly a Vance, you are not dealing with a family dispute.”
“What am I dealing with?”
“A succession war.”
The call ended.
I stood alone in my office.
For years, I had believed my family's greatest enemy lived outside our walls.
May you like
Now I knew better.
Sometimes the most dangerous people were sitting at your dinner table.
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