Chapter 5: The Hidden Letter
That night, Alexander refused to leave Lily alone.
The entire Valemont mansion was awake.
Servants whispered.
Family members gathered.
Everyone wanted answers.
But Alexander locked himself inside the old family library.
The same room where his father kept every secret.
Lily sat beside him.
Quietly watching.
Alexander placed the silver hairpin on the table.
Next to an old family photograph.
A photograph of Isabella.
She was smiling.
Young.
Happy.
Alive.
“I should have found you.”
His voice was barely a whisper.
Lily looked at him.
“You loved my mommy?”
Alexander looked at the photograph.
“She was my little sister.”
A small smile appeared.
“She used to steal my desserts when we were kids.”
Lily smiled slightly.
“My mommy liked chocolate cake.”
Alexander closed his eyes.
Because he knew.
That was Isabella.
Always stealing chocolate cake.
Always laughing afterward.
For the first time in years...
He felt close to her again.
Then Lily reached into her small bag.
“I have something else.”
Alexander looked up.
“What?”
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Old.
Yellow.
Carefully protected.
“My mommy told me never to open it.”
Alexander stared.
“Why?”
“She said only Uncle Alex could read it.”
His hands trembled.
He slowly opened the letter.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Isabella.
His sister.
The first words destroyed him.
Dear Alex,
If you are reading this, it means I couldn't come back.
Alexander stopped.
His breathing changed.
Lily watched him.
I know everyone will tell you that I abandoned our family.
Please don't believe them.
I never wanted to leave you.
I left because I discovered something terrible about our family.
Alexander continued reading.
His face became pale.
Father did not lose his fortune because of bad business.
He lost it because he was hiding something.
Something connected to our bloodline.
Alexander looked up.
The Valemont family fortune.
The royal connection.
The secrets.
Everything was connected.
He continued.
The person who destroyed my life is someone you trust.
His fingers tightened around the paper.
Then he read the final sentence.
The sentence that changed everything.
Alex, be careful of our own family.
A sound came from outside.
The library door.
Someone was listening.
Alexander immediately folded the letter.
“Who's there?”
Silence.
Then footsteps.
Running away.
Alexander rushed outside.
The hallway was empty.
But on the floor...
Was another object.
A broken golden hairpin.
Not Lily's.
A different one.
With a different symbol.
Alexander picked it up.
And his blood turned cold.
Because this wasn't Isabella's crest.
May you like
This belonged to someone else.
Someone still alive.
