CHAPTER 15 Vanessa's Confession

For a moment, nobody moved.

Vanessa stood in the doorway.

But she wasn't the confident woman Richard remembered.

She looked exhausted.

Afraid.

Like someone who had spent years running.

Richard stepped forward.

"You were here."

Vanessa looked at him.

"Yes."

"You watched Sophie."

Her eyes changed.

"I protected her."

Richard almost laughed.

"Protected her?"

His voice became sharp.

"You starved my daughter."

Vanessa looked down.

"I never wanted that."

"Then why did you do it?"

Silence.

Finally, Vanessa whispered:

"Because I was told to."

Richard stared.

"By who?"

Vanessa didn't answer.

"Who?"

She looked at him.

"Your mother."

Richard froze.

"No."

Vanessa shook her head.

"You think Eleanor is innocent?"

Richard remembered his mother's secrets.

The envelope.

The hidden letter.

The years of silence.

But something still didn't make sense.

"Why would my mother want to hurt Sophie?"

Vanessa looked at the photograph.

"Because Sophie is the key."

"The key to what?"

Vanessa walked closer.

"Anna's inheritance."

Richard frowned.

"Anna didn't have an inheritance."

Vanessa smiled sadly.

"That's what everyone believed."

She explained.

Anna came from a powerful family.

A family that controlled information, money, and influence.

When Anna married Richard, she hid her past.

But when Sophie was born...

Everything changed.

Because Sophie inherited something.

Something valuable.

Something dangerous.

Richard looked confused.

"What?"

Vanessa opened her bag.

She pulled out a small device.

"Anna left this for Sophie."

Richard stared.

"Why do you have it?"

Vanessa looked ashamed.

"Because I was supposed to steal it."

A long silence.

Then she handed it to him.

"I failed."

Richard didn't trust her.

"Why should I believe you?"

Vanessa looked toward the basement door.

"Because the person who ordered me to hurt Sophie..."

She paused.

"Is coming here now."

A noise echoed from upstairs.

Footsteps.

Slow.

Calm.

Someone walking toward them.

Vanessa's face turned pale.

"He found us."

Richard looked at the stairs.

"Who?"

Vanessa whispered:

"The man who has been controlling everything."

The footsteps stopped.

A shadow appeared.

And a familiar voice said:

"Richard."

Richard froze.

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Because that voice belonged to someone he never expected.

Someone he thought was dead.