Chapter 6: The Woman Who Stole My Life
For five years, I had called her mother.
Not because she treated me like a daughter.
But because James told me that was what I was supposed to do.
“Victoria has a difficult personality,” he once whispered to me after she insulted my dress at a family dinner.
“She’ll warm up.””
I believed him.
I believed everything he told me.
That was the cruelest part.
I spent years trying to earn love from a woman who had been destroying my life from the beginning.
Now I stood across from her, staring at the same person who had watched me cry, watched me apologize, watched me shrink myself just to survive.
And she wasn’t denying it.
Victoria Thompson sat perfectly still.
No panic.
No confusion.
No outrage.
Just silence.
“Say something,” I whispered.
Her eyes met mine.
For the first time, I didn’t see a powerful woman.
I saw someone who had been exposed.
Richard immediately stepped forward.
“This is nonsense.””
Nobody looked at him.
“Victoria has done nothing.””
Vincent slowly turned.
“Then why is her signature on a document connected to my daughter’s stolen inheritance?””
Richard opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was when I knew.
They both knew.
Maybe not every detail.
Maybe not every secret.
But they knew enough.
I looked at Victoria.
“How?””
My voice cracked.
“How did you know who I was?””
She remained quiet.
“Victoria.””
Still nothing.
Then Vincent spoke.
“You owe her an answer.””
Victoria finally looked at him.
Her expression changed.
Not fear.
Anger.
“You think you can walk into my home and accuse me?””
Vincent gave a cold smile.
“You spent twenty-eight years hiding my daughter from me.””
The room became colder.
Victoria stood.
“I protected this family.””
I almost laughed.
Protected.
That word.
Everyone used it.
James.
Vincent.
Everyone.
But nobody ever asked what I wanted.
I stepped forward.
“Protected who?””
Victoria looked at me.
“You don’t understand.””
“No.””
My voice became stronger.
“You’re right.””
I pointed at the documents.
“I don’t understand how someone could look me in the eyes for five years knowing exactly who I was.””
Her expression flickered.
“I saved you.””
The words shocked me.
“What?””
Victoria took a breath.
“You think I wanted this?””
I stared at her.
“You stole my life.””
Her jaw tightened.
“No. I gave you one.””
I felt anger rising.
“A fake one?””
“A safe one.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to call it safe.””
My eyes burned.
“You let me believe nobody wanted me.””
Victoria looked away.
And that tiny movement hurt more than any confession.
Because it meant she knew.
She knew exactly what she had done.
Vincent stepped closer.
“Explain.””
Victoria looked at him.
“You want the truth?””
“Yes.””
She laughed bitterly.
“Fine.””
She looked at me.
“The night your mother disappeared, everything changed.””
I froze.
“Disappeared?””
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
“Choose your words carefully.””
Victoria ignored him.
“Isabella Gallo was running from people who wanted her dead.””
I listened.
Unable to move.
“She knew she couldn’t keep Emily with her.””
My throat tightened.
“So she gave me away?””
Victoria shook her head.
“No.””
A pause.
“She trusted me.””
The room went silent.
I stared.
“What?””
Victoria looked almost angry.
“She came to me because she knew I could hide you.””
My heart sank.
“My mother knew you?””
“Yes.””
The answer felt impossible.
“She believed I would protect you.””
I looked around the room.
At the mansion.
At the family.
At the life I had lived.
“This was protection?””
Victoria’s expression hardened.
“You were alive.””
I stepped back.
“That’s your excuse?””
“No.””
Her voice became sharp.
“That’s the truth.””
Nobody spoke.
Victoria continued.
“Your father’s enemies were everywhere. Isabella knew they would search for you.””
She looked at Vincent.
“You were too powerful. Too visible.””
Vincent’s face was unreadable.
“And you?””
Victoria looked away.
“I had access to something you didn’t.””
“What?””
She answered quietly.
“An ordinary life.””
I almost smiled.
Because it was almost believable.
Almost.
Until I remembered everything else.
“You knew about my inheritance.””
Victoria’s silence answered.
“You knew.””
She didn’t deny it.
“Yes.””
My chest tightened.
“Why?””
Her eyes moved to the documents.
“Because money changes everything.””
I stared at her.
“You took my money.””
“No.””
“You controlled it.””
She looked at me.
“I protected it.””
I shook my head.
“You keep using that word.””
My voice became colder.
“But every time you say it, someone else loses a choice.””
Victoria looked hurt.
For a moment.
Only a moment.
Then it disappeared.
“You were a child.””
“I was twenty-three when I married James.””
“You were still vulnerable.””
I laughed.
“Because I didn’t have a rich family name?””
“No.””
She stepped closer.
“Because you trusted too easily.””
The words hit me.
Because part of me knew they were true.
I had trusted everyone.
James.
Victoria.
The people who promised they loved me.
And they all used that trust against me.
James suddenly spoke.
“Mom.””
Everyone looked at him.
He looked devastated.
“You never told me everything.””
Victoria turned.
“I did what I had to do.””
“You made me marry her.””
Silence.
My heart stopped.
Victoria’s face changed.
James continued.
“You said it was the only way.””
My eyes moved between them.
“What?””
James looked at me.
“I didn’t know the whole plan.””
My voice was quiet.
“Then tell me what you knew.””
He looked broken.
“My mother told me I needed to be close to you.””
The room spun.
“To protect me?””
He nodded.
“Yes.””
I stared.
“Was any of it real?””
James looked away.
That was answer enough.
I felt something inside me go completely silent.
The love.
The hope.
The excuses.
Everything.
Gone.
Vincent noticed.
His expression softened.
But he didn’t interrupt.
Because this was something I needed to hear.
James took a step toward me.
“Emily…”
I lifted my hand.
“Don’t.””
He stopped.
“I spent five years wondering why I wasn’t enough.””
My voice shook.
“Why your family hated me.””
A tear escaped.
“Why you never chose me.””
James looked devastated.
“I did choose you.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You chose a mission.””
The words destroyed him.
Because he knew.
Victoria suddenly looked toward the windows.
And something about her expression changed.
Concern.
Real concern.
“Where is Ethan?””
Everyone turned.
Vincent noticed immediately.
“Why?””
Victoria didn’t answer.
“Where is Ethan Cole?””
The question sounded desperate.
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
“You know where he is.””
“No.””
Her voice was different.
Afraid.
“I know what he was planning.””
The room went silent.
“What was he planning?”” I asked.
Victoria looked at me.
And for the first time…
She looked sorry.
“Your mother didn’t disappear because she was running from Vincent’s enemies.””
My heart pounded.
“Then why?””
Victoria hesitated.
“Because she discovered someone inside her own circle betrayed her.””
Vincent became still.
“Who?””
Victoria looked at the documents.
Then at me.
“Someone who wanted Emily’s inheritance.””
I swallowed.
“But you already said that.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
A pause.
“Not the money.””
The entire room waited.
Victoria whispered:
“The person who betrayed Isabella wanted something much bigger.””
Vincent’s face darkened.
“What?””
Victoria looked at me.
And what she said next made every person in the room go silent.
“They wanted Emily herself.””
A chill went through me.
“What does that mean?””
Victoria didn’t answer.
Instead, she walked toward the old cabinet near the dining room wall.
She opened a hidden compartment.
Inside was a small black box.
She carried it back.
Then placed it in front of me.
“I kept this for twenty-eight years.””
I stared at it.
“What is it?””
Victoria looked at Vincent.
Then at me.
“Something your mother left behind.””
My hands shook as I opened the box.
Inside was a necklace.
A simple silver necklace.
And beneath it…
A folded piece of paper.
My name was written on the outside.
Not Emily Thompson.
Not Emily Gallo.
Just:
*My little girl.*
I looked at Vincent.
At Victoria.
At the letter.
And somehow, I knew.
Whatever was inside that paper…
Would reveal the truth my mother had died trying to hide.
I unfolded it.
May you like
The first sentence made my entire body freeze.
*“Emily, if you are reading this, it means I failed to keep you away from him.””*
