Chapter 13 — The Woman Who Carried the Secret
Nobody spoke.
The words remained in the underground room like a wound that refused to close.
It was me.
Nathan looked at his mother.
The woman who had raised him.
The woman who taught him honesty mattered.
The woman who had spent his entire life telling him that family protected one another.
Now she stood in front of him surrounded by proof that she had hidden the truth.
“Explain.”
Nathan’s voice was quiet.
But everyone heard the pain behind it.
Beatrice looked at the journals.
Not at him.
“I was twenty-eight years old.”
Her voice trembled.
“Your grandfather was dying. The company was collapsing. The family name was falling apart.”
Nathan listened.
Not because he forgave her.
Because he needed the truth.
“Your father wanted to bring Alexander home.”
Alexander looked at her.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
His expression hardened.
“Then why didn’t you help him?”
Beatrice closed her eyes.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing everything.”
The answer was simple.
And that made it worse.
She continued.
“Your grandfather told me that if Richard acknowledged Alexander, the board would destroy him. The newspapers would ruin him. The Ashcombe name would become a scandal.”
Nathan looked around the room.
“And you believed him?”
“I was young.”
“You were an adult.”
Beatrice lowered her head.
“I know.”
The silence that followed was painful.
Celia stepped closer.
“Then what happened that night?”
Beatrice looked at Alexander.
“I followed your grandfather to the greenhouse.”
Alexander froze.
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I finally realized he wasn’t trying to protect the family.”
Her voice broke.
“He was trying to control it.”
Nathan looked at the photograph.
“The picture.”
Beatrice nodded.
“That was taken before everything happened.”
“What happened after?”
She swallowed.
“Your grandfather told Alexander he was sending him away.”
Alexander’s face tightened.
“I remember.”
“He told him he was protecting him.”
A bitter laugh escaped Alexander.
“Protecting me.”
Beatrice looked at him.
“I know how it sounds.”
“No.”
His voice was cold.
“You don’t.”
The room went quiet.
“I was twelve years old,” Alexander said.
“I packed a suitcase because I thought my father was taking me somewhere safe.”
His eyes moved toward Edmund.
“Then I watched everyone I trusted stand there and let it happen.”
Edmund lowered his head.
Beatrice whispered:
“I tried to stop him.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
The admission broke something inside her.
“I was too late.”
Nathan looked at the journal again.
“What does my grandfather mean when he wrote he underestimated Edmund?”
Edmund answered.
“Because I helped Alexander escape.”
Everyone turned.
Nathan stared.
“You did?”
Edmund nodded.
“Your grandfather arranged for Alexander to disappear completely.”
“How?”
“He had contacts. People who could create new identities.”
Alexander looked down.
“Edmund found me before they did.”
Nathan looked between them.
“You saved him.”
Edmund nodded.
“But I made a mistake.”
“What?”
“I convinced him to stay hidden.”
Alexander looked at him.
“You told me the Ashcombes would destroy me.”
“Because I believed they would.”
“And I lost twenty-six years.”
Edmund accepted the blame.
“Yes.”
The room became silent.
Then Nathan noticed something.
A final page inside the journal.
A page folded carefully.
He opened it.
Only one sentence was written.
His grandfather’s handwriting.
If Nathan ever discovers the truth, tell him the second child was never Alexander.
Nathan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Everyone looked confused.
Then Celia suddenly stepped back.
Her face turned pale.
“No.”
Nathan looked at her.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“No…”
Her eyes moved toward the journal.
Then toward Beatrice.
“You knew.”
Beatrice looked confused.
“Knew what?”
Celia’s voice became a whisper.
“The second child.”
Nobody moved.
Nathan stared.
“Celia?”
She looked at him.
Tears filled her eyes.
“I thought I was the only one.”
A terrible silence followed.
“Only one what?”
Celia touched her stomach.
Then whispered:
“The child Edmund hid…”
She looked at Alexander.
“…was not his only secret.”
Nathan felt his heart stop.
“What are you saying?”
Celia looked at Edmund.
The older man closed his eyes.
Because he knew the truth had finally arrived.
Celia whispered:
“Edmund didn’t have one hidden child.”
May you like
A pause.
“He had two.”
