Chương 7
“Of what?”
His answer came after a long pause.
“That if you found out where you came from, you would realize you never needed me.”
The honesty caught her off guard.
Because beneath the arrogance had always been fear.
Not an excuse.
A weakness.
A flaw.
Julian had spent years trying to stand above everyone because he was terrified of being ordinary.
Elena understood that now.
And somehow, understanding made it hurt more.
“You were right about one thing,” she said.
Julian looked up.
“I do not need you.”
The words wounded him.
She saw it.
But she continued.
“That does not mean I never loved you.”
His expression changed.
“And that is why this hurts.”
Nobody spoke after that.
The silence was not peaceful.
It was the silence of people who knew something important had ended, even if nobody had officially said it.
A security officer appeared at the office door.
“Mr. Kensington.”
Richard turned.
“Yes?”
“There are reporters outside.”
Everyone became still.
“Reporters?” Eleanor repeated.
The officer nodded.
“Someone leaked information about the Whitmore investigation.”
Julian closed his eyes.
Elena looked at him.
“You?”
He opened them.
“No.”
She believed him.
That surprised her.
Not because he deserved trust.
Because she was beginning to separate two things she had mixed together for years.
The man he had been.
And the man he was trying to become.
Richard looked at the officer.
“Can you identify who leaked it?”
“Not yet.”
“Find out.”
The officer left.
Julian looked exhausted.
“My company is going to collapse.”
Richard did not answer immediately.
Maybe because he knew it was possible.
Maybe because he knew consequences were not the same as revenge.
Elena picked up the document again.
“Where is Rosa’s original copy?”
Julian frowned.
“What?”
“This payment record.”
She looked at him.
“You said the file had missing pages.”
She turned toward Richard.
“Where is the original investigation?”
Richard hesitated.
That hesitation bothered her.
“What?”
Richard walked to a cabinet.
He unlocked it.
Inside were several old folders.
“I kept copies.”
Julian stared.
“You had these?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Richard looked at the files.
“Because I learned a long time ago that trusting powerful people with evidence is dangerous.”
He removed a folder.
The label was faded.
Elena noticed his hand paused before opening it.
A small movement.
A private one.
A man trying not to revisit something painful.
Inside were photographs.
Reports.
Notes.
And one item that made Elena stop.
A hospital bracelet.
Tiny.
Old.
The plastic had yellowed with time.
Richard picked it up carefully.
“This was found with the child.”
Elena stared.
“What?”
“The night of the fire.”
Her fingers trembled.
“Why do you have it?”
Richard looked at her.
“Because your grandmother gave it to me.”
Elena froze.
“My grandmother?”
“Rosa.”
The room went silent again.
“She came to me three days after the fire.”
Richard sat down.
“She was scared.”
Elena looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because she knew the child’s identity.”
Julian stepped forward.
“But why hide her?”
Richard looked at him.
“That is the question.”
Elena felt anger rising.
Not at Richard.
Not yet.
At the fact that every answer opened another door.
“What did Rosa tell you?”
Richard looked directly at her.
“She told me the girl was alive.”
Elena waited.
“She told me she could not bring her back.”
“Why?”
Richard looked at the old hospital bracelet.
“Because someone was watching.”
Richard’s words remained in the room after he stopped speaking.
Because someone was watching.
Elena looked at the faces around her.
Richard.
Eleanor.
Julian.
Three people connected to different pieces of her life.
Three people who had known something about her before she ever knew there was something to know.
“Who?” she asked.
Richard did not answer immediately.
That bothered her.
She had spent her entire life surrounded by unanswered questions, but she was no longer the little girl who accepted whatever adults decided to tell her.
“Richard.”
He looked at her.
“I need the truth.”
The billionaire nodded slowly.
“You are right.”
He returned to the folder.
“Rosa believed the people responsible for the fire would not stop looking.”
“Why?”
“Because they were not only trying to hide a crime.”
He looked at Julian.
“They were trying to protect a business empire.”
Julian’s expression changed.
“My father.”
Richard nodded.
“Your father knew information that could destroy several people.”
Julian looked uncomfortable.
“But he was not the only one involved.”
Elena noticed that.
The way Richard said it.
Not one person.
Several.
“Who else?”
Richard removed another document from the folder.
“This was found after the investigation was reopened.”
Elena took the page.
It was a list of names.
Most meant nothing to her.
Executives.
Contractors.
Legal representatives.
Then she saw one name she recognized.
Whitmore Holdings.
Not Julian.
His company.
The company he had spent his entire adult life trying to lead.
Her eyes moved lower.
Another name appeared.
Thomas Whitmore.
Another.
A private security company.
Another.
A man she had never heard of.
“What does this mean?”
Richard leaned against the desk.
“It means your disappearance was not an accident.”
The words should have shocked her.
Instead, she felt strangely calm.
Maybe because part of her had already known.
A person did not hide a child unless there was something worth hiding.
“What happened that night?”
Richard looked at the old files.
“Your mother discovered financial fraud connected to people working with my company.”
Elena’s heart tightened.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“Claire?”
Richard nodded.
“She was helping my company audit several accounts.”
Eleanor added quietly, “She was very intelligent.”
Elena looked at her.
“You knew her?”
“I met her twice.”
The older woman smiled sadly.
“She was stubborn.”
A small smile appeared despite everything.
“That sounds familiar.”
Eleanor looked at Elena.
“Yes.”
The resemblance in that moment felt uncomfortable.
Not because it was impossible.
Because it felt natural.
Richard continued.
“Claire found evidence that money was being moved through fake contracts.”
“By Thomas?”
“Thomas knew about it.”
Julian looked down.
“My father.”
May you like
Richard nodded.
“But your father was not the person who organized everything.”
