CHAPTER 2 — The Letter Hidden Before the Wedding
The Whitmore mansion had never felt so quiet.
Daniel sat alone in his father's old study.
The same room where he had spent his childhood.
The same room where his father had taught him about honesty, loyalty, and family.
But tonight, everything felt different.
His wedding ring sat on the desk.
Unused.
Unwanted.
He stared at it for almost an hour.
He couldn't understand what had happened.
Emily had always been kind.
At least, he thought she was.
She had volunteered at nursing homes.
She had helped strangers.
She had cried when watching emotional movies.
So why had she treated his mother like an enemy?
The door slowly opened.
Margaret entered.
She was still wearing the dress she had planned to wear to the wedding reception.
But now it looked different.
It looked like a costume from a day that never happened.
"Daniel."
He immediately stood.
"Mom."
She smiled sadly.
"You don't have to protect me every time."
"Yes, I do."
Margaret looked at him.
"You've always been like your father."
Daniel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
She walked toward the desk.
Then she placed something in front of him.
An envelope.
Old.
Yellow.
Sealed.
Daniel looked confused.
"What is this?"
"Something I should have shown you years ago."
His expression changed.
"Mom..."
"I was afraid."
Margaret sat down.
"For twenty-eight years, I kept a secret."
Daniel slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph of his father.
And a woman Daniel had never seen before.
His hands froze.
"Who is she?"
Margaret looked away.
"Her name was Claire."
"Who was Claire?"
His mother's silence answered before her words did.
"Your father's first love."
Daniel stared at the picture.
"That's impossible."
"Your father never told you everything."
A cold feeling moved through him.
"What does this have to do with Emily?"
Margaret looked at him.
And for the first time that night...
Daniel saw fear in his mother's eyes.
"Because Emily knew about Claire."
The room went silent.
"How?"
Margaret reached into the envelope again.
She pulled out another paper.
A letter.
With Emily's name written on it.
Daniel's heart stopped.
"Where did you get this?"
Margaret whispered:
"She left it in my room before the wedding."
Daniel opened the letter.
His hands started shaking.
The first sentence was enough.
"Margaret Whitmore, I know what your family did twenty-eight years ago."
Daniel looked up.
"What does this mean?"
His mother didn't answer.
May you like
Because she knew.
The wedding disaster was only the beginning.
