CHAPTER 20 The Truth That Still Remains Hidden
Nobody moved.
The world seemed frozen.
Richard stared at Anna.
His mind refused to accept what his eyes were seeing.
For three years, he had imagined this moment.
Finding her.
Holding her.
Hearing her voice again.
But never like this.
Not surrounded by secrets.
Not surrounded by unanswered questions.
Not after losing everything he believed.
"Anna..."
His voice broke.
She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Richard walked toward her slowly.
Not angry.
Not yet.
Just overwhelmed.
"You were alive."
Anna nodded.
"I was."
"And you let me believe you were dead."
Her eyes filled with pain.
"I didn't have a choice."
Richard stopped.
"Everyone says that."
Anna looked at Sophie.
Then back at him.
"I was trying to keep her alive."
Richard looked confused.
"From who?"
Anna didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she walked toward Sophie.
The little girl froze.
Then slowly stepped forward.
"Mommy?"
Anna fell to her knees.
And Sophie ran into her arms.
For the first time in years...
Sophie looked completely safe.
Richard watched silently.
Because he realized something.
His daughter had never forgotten her mother.
She had been waiting.
After several minutes, Anna stood.
"I need to tell you everything."
Richard nodded.
"Then tell me."
Anna looked around the room.
"There is something everyone has been trying to find."
"The inheritance?"
Anna shook her head.
"No."
"The database?"
Again, she shook her head.
"Something much more dangerous."
Richard frowned.
"What?"
Anna looked at Sophie.
"The truth about who she really is."
Richard felt a chill.
"What does that mean?"
Anna reached into her pocket.
She pulled out an old document.
A birth certificate.
But it wasn't Sophie's.
It belonged to another child.
Richard looked at the name.
His face changed.
Because the child's name was:
Sophie Elizabeth Hale.
But underneath...
A second name was written.
A name he had never seen before.
Anna whispered:
"Your daughter was never supposed to inherit money."
"She was supposed to inherit a secret."
Before Richard could ask another question...
The lights went out.
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Then a voice echoed through the mansion.
A voice everyone recognized.
"You were never supposed to find her."
Richard turned toward the hallway.
Anna's face became pale.
Because she knew that voice.
The person standing there...
May you like
Was the one person who had controlled every event from the beginning.
And they had finally come to take Sophie.
