Chapter 8: The Heir Nobody Knew About
I stared at the photograph until the edges blurred.
A baby.
My mother.
Edward Sterling.
And that bracelet.
L.
One letter.
One impossible possibility.
“No,” Liam whispered.
I looked at him.
His face had lost all color.
Because he understood before I did.
Or maybe he was simply afraid of what it meant.
Victoria watched both of us carefully.
She had wanted this moment.
The shock.
The confusion.
The destruction.
“You see?”” she said quietly.
“This is why I tried to stop everything.””
I turned toward her.
“You didn’t try to protect anyone.””
My voice was shaking.
“You tried to control the story.””
Victoria’s expression hardened.
“Be careful.””
“No.””
For the first time, I wasn’t afraid of her.
“You spent three years making me feel like I was lucky to be here.””
The room went silent.
“But you knew something about me that I didn’t even know myself.””
Liam looked at his mother.
“Is she my sister?””
Nobody answered.
That was the loudest answer possible.
Victoria closed her eyes.
“This family has already suffered enough.””
Liam stepped back.
“That’s not an answer.””
Margaret spoke softly.
“The baby in that photograph…”
She looked at me.
“Was not Avery.””
My breath caught.
Everyone froze.
Margaret continued.
“Your mother was helping Edward protect the child.””
Liam stared.
“Then who was the baby?””
Margaret looked at Victoria.
And Victoria looked away.
The silence stretched.
Then Clara spoke.
“Liam.””
He turned.
“Your father had a daughter.””
The words landed like a storm.
A daughter.
Not me.
Someone else.
Someone connected to Edward.
Someone Victoria had hidden.
Liam shook his head.
“No.””
Clara nodded.
“Yes.””
“Where is she?””
Nobody answered.
And I knew.
That was the secret.
The one that had frightened Victoria more than anything else.
The missing heir.
The person who could challenge everything.
Victoria walked toward the window.
“When Edward discovered the truth, he made a choice.””
“What choice?”” Liam asked.
“He chose to protect his daughter.””
Liam’s voice dropped.
“And my mother?””
Victoria’s face tightened.
“She chose to protect the Sterling name.””
There it was.
The excuse she had used for years.
The Sterling name.
Not people.
Not family.
The name.
I looked at Liam.
“Did you know any of this?””
His eyes filled with regret.
“No.””
For once, I believed him.
Because Liam looked just as destroyed as I felt.
The man I loved wasn’t the villain I thought he was.
He was another person trapped inside Victoria’s carefully built world.
My phone suddenly vibrated.
Everyone looked at me.
I pulled it from my purse.
Unknown number.
One message.
*Stop looking for answers. Your husband has already lost one family member. Don’t make him lose another.*
My blood ran cold.
Liam noticed my expression.
“What is it?””
I handed him the phone.
He read the message.
Then looked at Victoria.
“Who sent this?””
She didn’t answer.
But someone else did.
A voice came from the hallway.
“I did.””
Everyone turned.
A woman stood outside the room.
She looked around thirty.
Dark hair.
Calm expression.
And around her wrist…
A silver bracelet.
The same bracelet from the photograph.
The one with the letter L.
Liam stared at her.
The woman looked directly at him.
“I think it’s time you met your sister.””
Nobody spoke.
Then she looked at me.
“And you…”
May you like
Her eyes narrowed.
“You need to know why your mother died protecting my secret.””
