Chapter 2: The Secret My Mother Buried
The room didn’t just become quiet.
It became frozen.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
My mother’s smile disappeared completely.
“Excuse me?”” she whispered.
Alexander ignored her.
His eyes stayed on me.
“My father had a photograph of that necklace.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
He took out his phone again and opened an image.
He held it toward me.
It was a picture of an older man standing beside a younger man.
I recognized the older man immediately.
My father.
My breath caught.
I hadn’t seen his face in years.
Not in a photograph.
Not anywhere.
My hands started shaking.
“Where did you get this?””
Alexander’s expression softened.
“My father kept it in his office until the day he died.””
The memories came rushing back.
My father sitting at the kitchen table.
His warm smile.
His rough hands fixing broken things around the house.
Before everything changed.
Before he was gone.
“Your father’s name was Daniel Carter, wasn’t it?””
I nodded slowly.
Alexander looked away for a moment.
“My father always said Daniel saved his life.””
The entire room listened.
Even my sisters.
Even my mother.
Alexander continued.
“Twenty years ago, my father’s company was collapsing. Someone inside the company was stealing money and preparing to destroy him.””
He looked at me.
“Your father discovered the fraud.””
I felt my heartbeat grow louder.
“He could have stayed silent. He could have protected himself.””
Alexander’s jaw tightened.
“But instead, he exposed the person responsible and saved my father’s company.””
My mother suddenly stepped forward.
“That was a long time ago.””
Alexander finally looked at her.
“Yes. It was.””
His voice was calm.
But there was something dangerous underneath it.
“Interesting that you never mentioned it.””
My mother’s face turned pale.
“There was no reason to.””
“No reason?””
Alexander looked around the mansion.
“At the very least, I expected Daniel Carter’s daughter to be treated with respect.””
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew.
Everyone in that room knew exactly how I was treated.
I looked at my mother.
For one second, I thought she might apologize.
I was wrong.
She looked angry.
Not guilty.
Angry.
“Emma never told us anything about her father’s business connections.””
I almost laughed.
Connections?
My mother had spent years telling me my father was a simple man.
A nobody.
Now she was trying to use his name.
Alexander noticed.
“Did you know about the necklace?””
My mother hesitated.
Just for a moment.
But it was enough.
Alexander saw it.
“Yes,” he said quietly.
“You knew.””
My mother looked away.
The silence was an answer.
I felt something inside me crack.
“You knew?””
My voice was barely above a whisper.
My mother looked at me.
“Emma—”
“No.””
I stepped back.
“You knew my father mattered to him?””
Her lips pressed together.
“You were young. You wouldn’t have understood.””
That sentence hurt more than anything.
Because she wasn’t denying it.
She was admitting she hid it.
Alexander’s expression hardened.
“Why hide it?””
My mother crossed her arms.
“Because I was protecting my family.””
I stared at her.
“Your family?””
She looked toward Olivia and Charlotte.
The answer was obvious.
Not me.
Never me.
Alexander watched my face carefully.
Then he said something I never expected.
“Emma, do you know why I came here tonight?””
I shook my head.
My mother immediately interrupted.
“Mr. Hayes came to meet my daughters.””
Alexander looked at her.
“No.””
The single word silenced her.
“I came here because I received information that Daniel Carter’s daughter lived in this house.””
My stomach dropped.
“What information?””
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at my sisters.
Then at my mother.
“There were documents my father left behind.””
My mother suddenly looked nervous.
“What kind of documents?””
Alexander’s eyes sharpened.
“The kind that prove Daniel Carter owned part of Hayes International before he died.””
The room exploded.
“What?”” Olivia gasped.
Charlotte stood up.
“That’s impossible.””
My mother went completely still.
I felt like the floor disappeared beneath me.
My father?
A part owner?
The man everyone treated like he was ordinary?
Alexander took a step closer.
“Your father never cared about money.””
His voice softened.
“He cared about people.””
I looked down.
My eyes filled with tears.
Because that sounded exactly like him.
Before he died, he always told me:
“Emma, never measure your worth by what people give you. Measure it by what you give the world.””
I had forgotten those words.
Until tonight.
My mother suddenly grabbed her glass.
“This is ridiculous.””
Everyone looked at her.
She forced a smile.
“Daniel was my husband. If there were documents, I would know.””
Alexander’s eyes narrowed.
“Would you?””
The question hit harder than an accusation.
My mother’s face changed.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
She was hiding something.
Alexander saw it too.
“Where are the documents, Victoria?””
No one breathed.
My mother looked at him.
Then at me.
And I knew.
Whatever secret she had buried for years…
It was about to come back.
She slowly said:
“Ask your precious Emma where she hid them.””
My blood turned cold.
Because I had no idea what she was talking about.
And then Alexander’s phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed after hearing the first sentence.
“What do you mean the file was found?””
He looked directly at me.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Someone opened Daniel Carter’s private account today.””
