CHAPTER 2 — The Lie Inside the Mansion
Twenty minutes later...
the jet never left.
Instead, Adrian ordered everyone off except Emma.
The children refused to leave her side.
Finally, Adrian spoke.
"You deserve the truth."
Emma remained silent.
"I never fired you."
She looked at him.
"What?"
"I came home from London three days after you disappeared."
He slid a thin envelope across the table.
Inside...
was her resignation letter.
Signed with her name.
Emma's hands trembled.
"I never wrote this."
"I know."
Another document followed.
Security footage.
The mansion's former house manager entering Emma's room.
Carrying blank employment files.
Emma's breathing became uneven.
"Someone forged my signature."
Adrian nodded once.
"For years..."
"I believed you abandoned my children."
Emma looked toward Lucas and Lily.
The children looked back with confused eyes.
Then Adrian revealed the final piece.
"The manager disappeared the same week."
"So did three million dollars."
Emma whispered,
"Who would do that?"
Adrian answered only one word.
"My fiancée."
The cabin fell silent.
Emma remembered Victoria.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Perfect.
May you like
The woman who had always smiled...
with eyes that never smiled.
