Chapter 3: The Secret My Mother Hid
I didn’t sleep.
Not that night.
Not after finding my mother’s letter.
I sat on the floor beside my bed until sunrise, reading the same words again and again.
“If you are reading this, then David Bennett has finally found you.””
She knew.
She knew this day might come.
But why had she hidden the truth?
The next morning, I arrived at the Bennett Foundation headquarters feeling like I had walked into someone else’s life.
The building was enormous.
Glass walls.
Marble floors.
Employees rushing through the lobby.
I looked down at my patched dress and suddenly felt like I didn’t belong.
Again.
A woman at the front desk smiled.
“Can I help you?””
“I’m here to see David Bennett.””
Her expression changed.
“Of course. He’s expecting you.””
A minute later, I was sitting across from my father.
My father.
The word felt strange.
Mr. Bennett placed the letter on his desk.
“I need to know what she wrote.””
I hesitated.
Then I handed it to him.
He read silently.
His face changed with every line.
Finally, he whispered:
“She was afraid.””
“Of you?””
He looked at me.
“No.””
He folded the paper carefully.
“She was afraid of someone else.””
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?””
Before he could answer, someone knocked on the door.
A man in a gray suit entered.
“David, we need to talk.””
Mr. Bennett immediately stood.
“Not now, Richard.””
The man looked at me.
His eyes narrowed.
“So this is her.””
Something about his voice made me uncomfortable.
“Richard Cole,” Mr. Bennett said.
“My former business partner.””
I recognized the last name.
Cole.
My last name.
The man smiled slightly.
“Interesting.””
I looked between them.
“What’s going on?””
Richard ignored me.
“After all these years, you finally found her.””
Mr. Bennett’s jaw tightened.
“Leave.””
Richard stepped closer.
“Does she know what Elena discovered before she disappeared?””
My heart stopped.
“What did my mother discover?””
Nobody answered.
That silence told me everything.
Mr. Bennett looked furious.
“Richard, get out.””
Richard smiled.
“You should tell her the truth before someone else does.””
He left.
The door closed.
I stared at Mr. Bennett.
“What was he talking about?””
He looked exhausted.
“Your mother found evidence that someone inside my company was stealing from the foundation.””
I frowned.
“And?””
“She was going to expose them.””
“Who?””
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Someone we trusted.””
The room suddenly felt colder.
That night, I returned home and opened my mother’s sewing box again.
Something bothered me.
The dress.
The initials.
Why had my mother hidden something inside a dress she made when I was seven?
I turned the sleeve inside out.
The stitching looked different from the rest.
Carefully, I pulled at the thread.
A tiny piece of paper slipped out.
My hands shook as I unfolded it.
There were only three words written on it.
“Trust no one.””
Then below it was a name.
May you like
A name that made me drop the paper.
Richard Cole.
