Her Father Called Him a Killer. Seven Years Later, She Discovered He Went to Prison for Her.
CHAPTER 4
Eleanor spent three days searching through her father’s private records.
Every time she thought she found something, the trail disappeared.
Then she discovered an old court document.
Marcus Hale had a sister.
Clara Hale.
Eleanor found her address.
Adrian insisted on coming.
Clara opened the door.
When she saw Adrian, her expression hardened.
“You.”
“You know why I’m here.”
“You killed my brother.”
“No.”
Clara looked at Eleanor.
“You believe him?”
Eleanor hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
Clara stepped aside.
“Then come in.”
The apartment was nearly empty.
One photograph hung above the fireplace.
Marcus holding the baby.
Noah.
Clara stared at it.
“My brother knew he was going to die.”
“How?” Eleanor asked.
“He found out who the child’s real mother was.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Clara looked at Eleanor.
“Sophia Vale.”
Eleanor froze.
“My aunt?”
Clara nodded.
“Your father told everyone Sophia died.”
“She did.”
“No.”
Clara opened a drawer.
Inside was an old cassette recorder.
She pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Marcus’s voice.
“If anything happens to me, Noah belongs with Eleanor.”
Eleanor’s heart stopped.
The recording continued.
“Richard doesn’t know the whole truth about the boy.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“What truth?”
Marcus’s voice became weaker.
“The boy inherited the controlling shares.”
Silence.
Eleanor stared.
“My grandfather?”
Clara nodded.
“Your grandfather placed his controlling interest into a trust.”
“Why?”
“Because he didn’t trust Richard.”
Eleanor’s world shifted.
Her father wasn’t the owner of the empire.
He was only managing it.
The real beneficiary was Noah.
The missing child.
The boy everyone believed was dead.
“Where is he?” Eleanor whispered.
Clara looked toward the window.
“Your father found him three years ago.”
Adrian’s fists tightened.
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
A car engine sounded outside.
Adrian moved to the window.
A black sedan was disappearing down the street.
For one second, Eleanor saw a woman’s face inside.
She knew her.
She had seen her in old family photographs.
“Sophia.”
Clara nodded.
“She has been alive this entire time.”
They found Sophia three hours later.
She was living under another name near the coast.
When Eleanor knocked on her door, Sophia opened it.
For several seconds, mother and niece simply stared at each other.
Then Sophia whispered:
“Your father lied to you.”
Eleanor’s voice shook.
“About Noah?”
“About everything.”
Sophia stepped aside.
“Noah is alive.”
Eleanor felt her knees weaken.
“Where?”
Sophia looked at Adrian.
“Richard found him three years ago.”
“And now?”
Sophia’s face became pale.
“He is inside your father’s house.”
Eleanor’s phone rang.
Richard.
She answered.
His voice was calm.
“I know where you’ve been.”
Her blood ran cold.
“You have until midnight.”
“For what?”
Richard replied:
“To decide which one of them you are willing to lose.”
The line went dead.
