Chapter 9
Victoria asked to see me.
I almost said no.
Then decided she deserved enough rope to hang her own excuses.
She stood in the empty bridal suite.
No veil.
No ring.
No audience.
“You found Daniel.”
“Yes.”
Her face tightened.
“Richard lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“So did Stephen.”
“Yes.”
She stepped closer.
“I can help.”
I stared.
“You locked my daughter in a wall.”
Her jaw tightened.
“She wouldn't give me the envelope.”
“She is four.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep forgetting it.”
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“She knew exactly what she was doing.”
“What?”
“Walking into my wedding.”
I almost smiled.
“She came looking for her father.”
“On my day.”
There.
Her day.
Not marriage.
Ownership.
“She ruined everything.”
“No.”
I looked around the bridal suite.
“You did.”
Her face twisted.
“I waited years for you.”
“And?”
“I watched Elena get everything first.”
“She got cancer.”
Victoria flinched.
Good.
“You wanted her life.”
Silence.
“You got the gown.”
Nothing.
“The ring.”
Nothing.
“The wedding.”
Nothing.
“And still lost because a four-year-old said one word.”
Her eyes filled with rage.
“Daddy.”
I saw it land.
That was the word she could never control.
She stepped closer.
“You think Clara loves you?”
I stared.
“She doesn't know you.”
“True.”
“She loves the idea Elena gave her.”
“Maybe.”
“She'll hate you when she gets older.”
“Maybe.”
That surprised her.
I continued.
“If she does, I listen.”
Victoria laughed.
“You'd let a child judge you?”
“Yes.”
Her face hardened.
“That is pathetic.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“It's what people do when they don't need obedience to feel loved.”
Silence.
Victoria looked away.
Then changed tactics.
“Richard has another man.”
My attention sharpened.
“Who?”
“Inside your house.”
“Name.”
She smiled.
“See?”
“What?”
“You still need me.”
“No.”
I stared.
“I need the name.”
“Same thing.”
I almost laughed.
“Not remotely.”
Her smile faded.
“Guarantee I leave with dignity.”
“No.”
“Adrian.”
“No.”
Her voice sharpened.
“You humiliate me and I say nothing.”
“You humiliated a child.”
“She ruined my wedding!”
There.
Shouted.
Raw.
I stared until she heard herself.
Four-year-old girl.
Her wedding.
Same scale in her mind.
“Name.”
She breathed hard.
Then:
“Leon Hale.”
My uncle.
My father's younger brother.
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because he thinks you're wasting the organization.”
Of course.
Children.
Safety.
Closed routes.
Same grievance.
Victoria continued.
“He told Richard the wedding would lock Ashford support behind you.”
“And if Clara appeared?”
Her face changed.
There.
He knew.
“He knew about her.”
“Yes.”
My blood went cold.
“How long?”
“Before I did.”
Silence.
Another elder.
Another person who knew my daughter existed.
I looked at Victoria.
“Who told him?”
“Elena.”
I stopped breathing.
“She went to Leon before Catherine.”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
Victoria smiled bitterly.
“Told her you weren't ready to be a father.”
There.
May you like
Everyone had spoken for me.
Except me.
