Chapter 5: The Mother Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The words refused to make sense.
My mother.
Alive.
For twenty-eight years, I had carried a single story in my heart.
A story where my parents were gone.
A story where I was the child nobody wanted.
A story where I had been left behind because there was nobody coming back for me.
And now Vincent Gallo was standing in front of me, telling me the impossible.
That my mother might have been alive the entire time.
I stared at him.
“No.””
My voice was barely audible.
“No, that can’t be true.””
Vincent didn’t look away.
“I know how this sounds.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t understand.””
My hands began trembling.
“I spent my whole life believing she abandoned me.””
The room was silent.
“I spent years wondering what I did wrong.””
My voice cracked.
“And now you’re telling me she was alive?””
Vincent’s expression changed.
Pain.
Real pain.
“Emily…”
I stepped back.
“No.””
I looked around the room.
At the Thompsons.
At James.
At everyone who had watched my life fall apart.
“This is too much.””
Nobody spoke.
Because there was nothing anyone could say.
A lifetime of questions had been answered in one night.
And somehow, I had even more questions than before.
Vincent moved closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he was afraid I would break.
“I never wanted you to find out this way.””
I looked at him.
“Then how did you want me to find out?””
He didn’t answer.
Because there was no good answer.
I laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
“Of course.””
My eyes burned.
“Everyone always has a reason.””
James lowered his head.
Vincent looked at him.
But I stopped him.
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Not tonight.””
I looked at James.
“I don’t want anyone explaining anything to me.””
His eyes filled with regret.
But I didn’t care anymore.
Regret didn’t change the past.
It didn’t erase the nights I cried alone.
It didn’t erase every time I defended him when he stayed silent.
It didn’t erase the moment he chose another woman in front of me.
The front doors suddenly opened.
Several men entered.
Not rushing.
Not panicking.
Just moving with the confidence of people who knew exactly what they were doing.
Vincent’s attention shifted.
One of them approached.
“Sir.””
He handed Vincent a tablet.
Vincent looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What is it?”” I asked.
He hesitated.
That scared me more than anything.
Vincent Gallo did not look afraid.
But now he did.
He turned the tablet toward me.
On the screen was an old photograph.
A woman.
Dark hair.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
My breath stopped.
I had never seen her before.
But somehow…
I knew.
The shape of her eyes.
The small curve of her smile.
The feeling that hit me wasn’t recognition.
It was something deeper.
Something impossible.
“That’s her,” Vincent whispered.
My fingers touched my lips.
“My mother?””
He nodded.
“She was photographed three days ago.””
Three days.
I stared at the picture.
A woman who should have been gone.
A woman who somehow existed.
“Where?””
Vincent looked at the man beside him.
“Tell her.””
The man hesitated.
“Sir…”
Vincent’s voice became firm.
“Tell her.””
The man looked at me.
“Chicago.””
I frowned.
“Chicago?””
“Yes.””
My heart raced.
“Why would she be there?””
Nobody answered.
Then Vincent said:
“Because she has been hiding.””
The word echoed.
Hiding.
Not dead.
Not gone.
Hiding.
I looked at him.
“From who?””
His jaw tightened.
“That’s what we need to find out.””
A bitter feeling rose inside me.
Another secret.
Another hidden truth.
My entire life was built on things people refused to tell me.
James suddenly spoke.
“Maybe this is a trap.””
Everyone turned.
I looked at him.
He looked nervous.
“Think about it. Someone wants something from you.””
Vincent stared at him.
“And you would know about manipulation.””
James flinched.
I watched him.
For years, I thought James was the one person who understood me.
Now every memory felt different.
Every conversation had another meaning.
“You knew someone was after my inheritance.””
James looked away.
“Emily…”
“Answer me.””
Silence.
“Did you?””
His shoulders dropped.
“Yes.””
The honesty hurt.
More than a lie.
“When?””
“Before we got married.””
I closed my eyes.
The room spun.
Before we got married.
Again.
Always before.
Everything important had happened before I knew.
“Who told you?””
James didn’t answer.
Vincent stepped forward.
“Who told you?””
James looked at him.
And for the first time, he looked truly terrified.
“I can’t.””
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“You can.””
James shook his head.
“You don’t know what you’re dealing with.””
A cold silence followed.
Vincent leaned closer.
“Neither did you.””
James looked at me.
“Emily, I was trying to protect you.””
I stared at him.
“No.””
My voice was quiet.
“You were protecting yourself.””
He looked hurt.
But I continued.
“You didn’t tell me because you thought I would leave.””
James didn’t deny it.
“And you were right.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because they were true.
I would have left.
I would have chosen myself.
And maybe that was exactly what he was afraid of.
Sophia suddenly grabbed her purse.
“I think I should leave.””
Nobody stopped her.
Except Vincent.
“Sit down.””
She froze.
“I said I should leave.””
“And I said sit down.””
For the first time, Sophia looked nervous.
She slowly sat.
Vincent turned to his men.
“Bring the files.””
One of them placed another folder on the table.
“What is that?”” Richard asked.
Vincent opened it.
“An investigation into the people connected to my daughter’s disappearance.””
Richard’s face changed.
“You investigated us?””
“I investigated everyone.””
His eyes moved to James.
“Especially the people closest to her.””
He pulled out photographs.
Documents.
Records.
My stomach tightened.
“How long have you been investigating?””
“A month.””
“A month?””
“Yes.””
Vincent looked at me.
“The moment I found out you were alive, I started searching for answers.””
He looked at the documents.
“And the answers led here.””
The first photograph slid across the table.
A picture of James.
Standing with someone.
Someone I didn’t recognize.
I picked it up.
“Who is this?””
Nobody answered.
Then Vincent said:
“Ethan Cole.””
My blood ran cold.
“That’s impossible.””
The man in the photograph was older.
But it was clearly the same person.
The same face.
The same eyes.
The dead lawyer.
Alive.
James looked sick.
“You don’t understand.””
I looked at him.
“Then explain.””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Vincent placed another photograph down.
This one showed James meeting Ethan.
Three months before our wedding.
Again.
The same timeline.
Always before.
I felt numb.
“You worked with him.””
James whispered:
“I didn’t know who he really was.””
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
“Then why did you meet him?””
James looked at me.
And what he said next changed everything.
“Because he told me your mother was alive.””
Nobody moved.
I stared.
“What?””
James looked broken.
“He came to me before our wedding.””
My heart pounded.
“What did he say?””
James swallowed.
“He said your mother wanted to see you.””
The room went silent.
“And?””
James closed his eyes.
“He said there was one condition.””
I felt a chill.
“What condition?””
James looked at me.
A tear slipped down his face.
“The only way to keep you alive…”
He paused.
“…was to make sure you never knew who you really were.””
The words destroyed the last piece of trust I had left.
Because suddenly, I didn’t know what was worse.
That James had lied to me.
Or that maybe…
He believed he was saving me.
Vincent picked up the final document.
His face became darker.
“James.””
James looked up.
“What?””
Vincent held the paper.
“Where is the rest of this agreement?””
James stared at it.
“I don’t know.””
Vincent’s voice dropped.
“You should.””
“Why?””
Vincent turned the document around.
At the bottom was a second signature.
A signature that made James lose all color from his face.
Because it belonged to the person who had controlled everything from the beginning.
James whispered:
“No…”
I looked at the name.
And my heart stopped.
Because the person behind my stolen inheritance…
The person who had hidden my mother…
The person who had arranged my marriage…
Was not a stranger.
It was someone standing in that room.
Someone I had trusted.
May you like
Someone who had smiled at me for five years.
Victoria Thompson.
