Chapter 8: The Enemy Inside The Family
The sound of footsteps approached the house.
Slow.
Controlled.
Confident.
The same kind of footsteps Eleanor had heard in boardrooms for years.
Someone who believed they owned every room they entered.
Lillian moved toward the window.
Her face became pale.
"I knew this day would come.""
Grace looked frightened.
"Who is it?""
Lillian didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
The front door opened.
And Victor Vance walked inside.
Eleanor stared at him.
"You followed us.""
Victor adjusted his coat.
"I had to.""
Grace stepped forward.
"Why?""
Victor looked at her.
Not with anger.
With something worse.
Regret.
"Because you were never supposed to find out.""
Eleanor's voice became cold.
"You knew.""
Victor looked at her.
"Yes.""
The honesty shocked everyone.
Samuel stepped forward.
"You helped him.""
Victor didn't deny it.
"I helped protect the family.""
Eleanor laughed bitterly.
"Protect?""
Her voice rose.
"You destroyed my life.""
Victor looked down.
"I made a choice twenty-five years ago.""
"A choice?""
Eleanor walked toward him.
"You let me raise another woman's child while my daughter lived without me.""
Victor closed his eyes.
"I know.""
Grace stared at him.
"Why?""
Victor looked at her.
"Because your father believed the Vance legacy could not be left to chance.""
Grace shook her head.
"My father?""
Victor nodded.
"Your biological father.""
Eleanor felt sick.
"You mean...""
Victor looked at her.
"Your husband.""
The truth finally landed.
The man Eleanor had loved.
The man she had trusted.
The man she believed had shared her pain.
Had been part of the reason she suffered.
But Victor wasn't finished.
"There is something you still don't know.""
Eleanor looked at him.
"What?""
Victor reached into his coat.
He removed an old envelope.
"I kept this because I knew one day someone would need to see it.""
Lillian immediately recognized it.
"Where did you get that?""
Victor looked at her.
"You wrote it.""
Eleanor took the envelope.
Her name was written on the front.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
Inside was a letter from her husband.
But it wasn't an apology.
It was a confession.
The first line made Eleanor's heart stop.
"If you are reading this, then my plan failed.""
She continued reading.
"I never wanted to hurt you. I wanted to protect what I built.""
Her eyes moved faster.
"The Vance name needed a certain future. I could not allow uncertainty.""
Grace looked over her shoulder.
"What does that mean?""
Eleanor kept reading.
Then she reached the final paragraph.
And the words destroyed whatever remained of her trust.
"Chloe was never chosen because she was my daughter. She was chosen because she was the daughter who could carry the Vance name.""
Eleanor dropped the letter.
Grace whispered:
"He knew.""
Victor nodded.
"He knew from the beginning.""
The room became silent.
Then Lillian suddenly gasped.
"No.""
Everyone looked at her.
She was staring at the letter.
"What?""
Lillian pointed at the bottom.
"There should be another page.""
Eleanor picked up the papers.
Only one page remained.
"What do you mean?""
Lillian's face filled with fear.
"Because that letter wasn't written after the baby switch.""
She stepped backward.
"It was written before.""
Samuel frowned.
"Before?""
Lillian nodded.
"Your husband didn't discover the switch.""
She looked at Eleanor.
"He planned it.""
At that exact moment, Eleanor's phone rang.
The caller ID showed a name she never expected.
Chloe.
She answered immediately.
"Chloe?""
But her daughter's voice sounded terrified.
"Mother...""
Eleanor stood.
"What happened?""
A pause.
Then Chloe whispered:
"I found the person who changed my birth records.""
Everyone became silent.
"Who was it?"" Eleanor asked.
Chloe's voice broke.
"It was someone still working for our family.""
Another pause.
May you like
Then she said:
"Mother... it's someone you trust.""
