Chapter 2 - THE SECOND HEIR
We left the chapel through a private entrance.
My wedding guests were still talking behind us.
Some cried.
Some called.
Some were already posting photographs.
I didn't care.
I only wanted answers.
My father drove me to his house.
Jonathan followed.
Andrew came too.
I almost told him to leave.
But something inside me wanted to hear what he had to say.
The moment we entered the study, I turned toward my father.
“Who is Evelyn Bennett?”
He closed the door.
“She was your mother's sister.”
I stared.
“I have an aunt?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“She disappeared twenty-six years ago.”
“Why?”
My father looked at the floor.
“That is complicated.”
“No.”
My voice became firm.
“Today was complicated.”
I held up the trust document.
“This is my life.”
“You deserve the truth.”
“Then give it to me.”
He sighed.
“Your mother and Evelyn fought over the trust.”
“About what?”
“Your mother wanted to protect it.”
“From whom?”
“Thomas Carter.”
Andrew stepped forward.
“My grandfather?”
“Yes.”
My father explained that Thomas had tried to gain control of the Bennett fortune decades earlier.
My mother refused.
So Thomas began manipulating the family.
He created shell companies.
He bought debts.
He placed people inside banks.
And eventually he targeted Evelyn.
“She disappeared because she was afraid,” my father said.
“Afraid of Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“Is she alive?”
My father hesitated.
“I don't know.”
Jonathan interrupted.
“We may have found her.”
Everyone turned.
He opened his laptop.
A photograph appeared.
An older woman standing outside a small house.
I stared.
“That's her?”
Jonathan nodded.
“Evelyn Bennett has been living under another name.”
Andrew looked confused.
“Why would she hide for twenty-six years?”
Jonathan looked at him.
“Because someone wanted her dead.”
The room became silent.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice whispered:
“Lily.”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
“Don't trust Andrew.”
I looked at him.
“Who are you?”
“You need to leave Napa.”
“Why?”
“Because Helen knows where you are.”
The call ended.
I lowered the phone.
Andrew looked at me.
“What happened?”
I told him.
He immediately reached for his phone.
“I'll call security.”
“No.”
“Lily—”
“I don't need you to protect me now.”
He stopped.
My father looked at him.
“She's right.”
Andrew lowered his hand.
Jonathan received a message.
His expression changed.
“We found Evelyn.”
“Where?”
“Napa.”
My father stared at him.
“Exactly where Helen told her to go.”
We drove there that night.
The house was small.
Old.
Hidden behind trees.
A woman opened the door.
She looked at me.
Then she began crying.
“Eleanor's daughter.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You knew my mother?”
“She was my sister.”
“Why did you disappear?”
“Because she made me.”
My father stepped forward.
“She thought Thomas would find you.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You promised to protect Lily.”
“I did.”
“You failed.”
My father lowered his eyes.
She turned toward me.
“Your mother knew the Carter family would eventually come for the trust.”
“Why?”
“Because you were never supposed to marry Andrew.”
I froze.
“What?”
“The trust had a condition.”
“What condition?”
“If you married into the Carter family, the Carter heirs could challenge your inheritance.”
Andrew looked horrified.
“My family knew?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
I looked at Andrew.
He shook his head.
“I swear I didn't.”
“I believe you.”
He looked relieved.
Then I added:
“But I don't know if I can ever trust you again.”
His face fell.
Evelyn reached for a box.
Inside was a photograph.
My mother.
Helen.
Thomas.
And another man.
I recognized him immediately.
Andrew's father.
“What were they doing together?”
May you like
Evelyn answered:
“Planning how to take your inheritance.”
