CHAPTER 3: The Sealed File
That night, I didn’t go home.
I couldn’t.
Because Damien followed us.
Not physically close—but close enough that I could feel him in every shadow behind me.
The boys fell asleep in the hotel bed within minutes, exhausted from the chaos they didn’t understand.
I stood by the window.
Waiting.
And eventually, a knock came.
When I opened the door, it wasn’t Damien.
It was his mother.
Alone.
“No security. No Damien,” she said quickly. “We need to talk.”
I crossed my arms. “You had five years to talk.”
Her composure cracked.
“I made a mistake,” she admitted.
I almost laughed. “A mistake?”
She shook her head urgently. “You don’t understand what was at stake. Damien’s future, the company, everything—”
“Don’t,” I said coldly. “Don’t rewrite it.”
Silence.
Then she pulled out a folder.
Thick. Official. Sealed.
My stomach tightened immediately.
“This file,” she said, voice shaking, “contains documents that should never have existed.”
I didn’t touch it.
“Five years ago,” she continued, “you weren’t the only one told to disappear.”
My breath caught.
“What are you talking about?”
Her eyes filled with fear.
“Your pregnancy wasn’t the only secret. There were… conditions. Agreements. Things that would have destroyed Damien’s entire inheritance.”
I stared at her. “You’re lying.”
“I wish I was,” she whispered.
A knock suddenly echoed behind me.
I turned.
Damien stood there.
Soaked from rain.
Eyes fixed on the folder.
May you like
“I want the truth,” he said again.
But this time… he sounded like a man who was ready to lose everything to get it.
