Chapter 2: The Letter That Changed Everything
Damien did not open the envelope in the ballroom.
He could feel hundreds of eyes following him as he guided Lily and the baby toward a private lounge behind the reception hall. His assistant, Marcus Reed, hurried ahead with a blanket and a bottle of water.
Victoria followed them in her wedding gown, the silk train sweeping over the marble floor.
“Damien, stop this right now.””
He kept walking.
“Marcus, get the car ready,” Damien ordered.
Marcus glanced at the children.
“Of course, sir.””
“And find a pediatrician who can examine the baby immediately.””
“Already calling one.””
Victoria caught up with them outside the lounge.
“You're abandoning our wedding for a stranger?””
Damien turned.
“She knows my name. She has a photograph of me with Elena. And she knows details about my father that were never made public.””
“Children can be coached.””
“Then we will find out who coached her.””
Victoria folded her arms.
“And when we discover this is a fraud, what will you tell the guests? That the billionaire groom ran away because a dirty little girl called him Daddy?””
Lily went completely still.
Damien saw her glance down at her shoes.
He had heard investors insult competitors, politicians threaten opponents, and executives humiliate employees. None of it had prepared him for the sight of a child trying to make herself smaller because a grown woman had called her dirty.
He stepped between them.
“Say another word about her, Victoria, and there will be no wedding.””
Victoria's face drained of color.
“You wouldn't dare.””
“Try me.””
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Victoria leaned closer, lowering her voice.
“You have no idea what you're bringing into this family.””
Damien looked at her carefully.
“Perhaps that's the first honest thing you've said all evening.””
He opened the lounge door and ushered Lily inside.
The room smelled of fresh roses and expensive furniture polish. A fire crackled behind a glass screen. Lily stood near the doorway as if she were afraid someone might order her out.
“Come sit down,” Damien said gently.
“Will the chairs get dirty?””
The question nearly broke him.
“No, sweetheart. Chairs are meant to be sat on.””
She looked uncertainly at the cream-colored sofa before sitting on its very edge, keeping Rose wrapped in the blanket Marcus had brought.
Damien crouched in front of her.
“When was the last time you ate?””
“Yesterday.””
Marcus swore quietly under his breath.
Damien turned toward him.
“Get food. Something warm. Soup, bread, whatever she wants.””
“I'm not hungry,” Lily protested.
Her stomach growled loudly.
Marcus disappeared before she could object again.
Damien sat across from her.
“Lily, I need you to tell me exactly what happened to your mother.””
Her eyes filled.
“She got sick. First she was coughing. Then she couldn't get out of bed. I called the number she kept beside the telephone, but nobody answered.””
“What number?””
“I don't know. It had a man's name on it.””
“Did you take her to a hospital?””
Lily shook her head.
“Mommy said hospitals were dangerous for us.””
Damien frowned.
“Why would she say that?””
“She said some people might take us away if they found out who we were.””
A terrible possibility began forming in his mind.
“What happened when she died?””
Lily stared at her hands.
“I called the neighbor. She came and stayed with us. But the next morning, two men came to our apartment. They said they were from a company that owned the building.””
“Property managers?””
“I don't know. They said we had to leave because Mommy owed money.””
Damien's jaw tightened.
“Did they give you any papers?””
Lily nodded.
“They took everything. The table, the television, Mommy's bed. I hid Rose in the closet because one man shouted when she cried.””
“Where did you sleep?””
“In the laundry room downstairs. Then the neighbor said she couldn't keep us anymore because her husband was angry.””
The room fell silent.
Damien had spent the past decade acquiring companies, negotiating billion-dollar deals, and building a fortune large enough to purchase entire city blocks.
Yet a little girl had been sleeping in a laundry room three miles from one of his penthouses.
He looked away for a moment, ashamed of how little he knew about the world outside his guarded gates.
Marcus returned carrying a tray of soup, bread, and warm milk.
Lily stared at the food.
“Can Rose have some too?””
“Of course,” Marcus replied.
Damien watched as she carefully dipped a piece of bread into the soup, broke it into tiny pieces, and softened each one before eating.
“Why are you doing that?”” he asked.
“She doesn't like big pieces.””
“She's a baby. She shouldn't be eating bread like that without someone checking what's safe for her.””
Lily froze.
“I didn't know.””
Her voice cracked.
“I'm sorry. Mommy always made her food.””
Damien immediately softened his tone.
“You don't have to apologize. We're going to get her checked by a doctor.””
He took out his phone and called the private pediatrician who cared for his sister's children. Within minutes, a medical team was on its way.
Then he turned his attention to the envelope.
The paper inside had yellowed with age. Elena's handwriting filled three pages.
Damien,
If Lily has found you, then I have failed to protect our daughters from the truth I tried so hard to hide.
I never abandoned you. I never accepted your father's money. The night I left, I came to your house to tell you I was pregnant.
Your father met me at the gate.
Damien stopped reading.
His fingers had begun to shake.
He continued.
He told me you had agreed to marry Victoria Sterling. He showed me photographs of the two of you together and said you had already chosen your future.
I told him I didn't care about your money. I only wanted you to know you were going to be a father.
He laughed.
Then he told me that if I contacted you, he would have me arrested for theft. He said he had enough influence to make sure I never practiced medicine, and that he would take my child before I ever had the chance to hold her.
Damien's vision blurred.
He remembered that period. His father had insisted he travel overseas for a merger. Every attempt to contact Elena had been met with silence. Richard had told him she was unstable, manipulative, and dangerous.
He had believed him.
I was afraid, Damien. I was young, pregnant, and alone. I thought leaving was the only way to protect our baby.
I wanted to tell you the truth after she was born. But your father sent someone to the hospital. He made me believe he would destroy you if I came near you again.
Damien pressed the letter against his knee.
“God,” he whispered.
Lily looked up.
“Is Mommy lying?””
He immediately shook his head.
“No. No, sweetheart. I don't think she was.””
The final paragraph was written in darker ink, as though Elena had added it years later.
There is something else you must know. Richard was not the only person who wanted our family destroyed.
Victoria Sterling knew about Lily before you did.
Damien stopped breathing.
Behind him, the lounge door opened.
Victoria stood in the doorway.
She had removed her veil. Her makeup was perfect, but her hands were trembling.
“What did that letter say?”” she demanded.
Damien rose slowly.
“Why did Elena write your name?””
Victoria glanced at Lily, then at the open pages.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“You're upset. You're letting a dead woman's accusations cloud your judgment.””
“Did you know Elena was pregnant?””
Victoria's lips parted.
For one brief second, her expression changed.
It was enough.
Damien stepped closer.
“You knew.””
“I was twenty-four,” she snapped.
“My father handled everything. I had nothing to do with your little romance.””
“Then why did Elena write that you knew about Lily?””
Victoria's face hardened.
“Because Elena was obsessed with you. She couldn't accept that you had moved on.””
Lily began crying quietly.
Damien noticed Victoria looking at the child with an expression that was not confusion.
It was recognition.
He lowered his voice.
“What did your father do to Elena?””
Victoria swallowed.
“Damien, please. Not here.””
“Answer me.””
She glanced toward the door, as though searching for an escape.
Then she said something that made his blood turn to ice.
“Your father didn't just threaten Elena. He paid someone to make sure she disappeared.””
Damien stared at her.
“Who?””
Victoria's eyes filled with tears, but her next words were barely audible.
“The same man who helped me hide the fact that I had been married before.””
Damien went completely still.
“Married to whom?””
May you like
Victoria looked at Lily.
Then she whispered, “Elena's first husband.””
