Chapter 2: The Secret Behind My Father’s Last Letter
I don't remember breathing after Charlotte's confession.
I only remember staring at Vanessa.
The woman standing in front of me was wearing the dress I had paid for.
The ring I had chosen was on her finger.
The smile I had trusted for two years was gone.
"Vanessa," I said quietly, "what is she talking about?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Marcus, please don't listen to her.""
Charlotte shook her head.
"I'm sorry.""
Vanessa turned toward her.
"You promised.""
Charlotte flinched.
"I promised I wouldn't expose you. I never promised I would let him destroy his life.""
I felt like the ground beneath me was moving.
"Expose me?"" Vanessa whispered.
Charlotte wiped her face.
"Tell him the truth.""
Vanessa looked back at me.
"I love you.""
The words sounded empty.
Because I was suddenly questioning every memory we had created.
Our first date.
Our first vacation.
The night she told me she felt safe with me.
Was any of it real?
I looked at my mother.
She was holding the broken pieces of the gift box.
Like she was trying to protect something that had already been destroyed.
"Mom," I said, "what did Dad know about Vanessa's family?""
She looked at Vanessa.
Then at the letter in my hand.
"I never wanted you to find out this way.""
My stomach dropped.
"Find out what?""
Before she could answer, Vanessa stepped between us.
"Marcus, your mother has always hated my family.""
My mother shook her head.
"No.""
"Yes," Vanessa snapped.
Then she turned toward the guests.
"Everyone here thinks I'm some horrible person because I didn't accept a gift from a woman who has judged me since the beginning.""
Nobody responded.
Because nobody knew what to believe.
Vanessa walked closer to me.
"Marcus, you know me.""
I wanted to say yes.
I wanted to believe her.
But then I remembered her face when she saw the envelope.
She didn't look confused.
She looked scared.
"Why did you know there was a letter?"" I asked.
Her silence was the answer.
I opened it.
The paper was old.
The ink had faded.
But the first sentence was clear.
"Marcus, if you are reading this, then I am no longer alive to protect you.""
My hands shook.
My father's voice filled my head.
He had been gone for eight years.
Yet somehow, in that moment, it felt like he was standing beside me.
I continued reading.
"If you ever meet a woman from the Mitchell family, you must know the truth before making any promises.""
My eyes lifted.
Vanessa's last name was Mitchell.
The same name.
The same family.
My mother closed her eyes.
"Your father spent years trying to uncover what happened.""
"What happened to what?""
She didn't answer.
Vanessa did.
"Nothing.""
I looked at her.
"Nothing?""
She forced a smile.
"Your father was paranoid.""
My mother's expression changed.
"Don't you dare say that.""
The calm woman I had known my entire life suddenly looked furious.
"Your father trusted too many people. That was his mistake.""
Vanessa stepped back.
"You don't get to accuse my family.""
My mother picked up another paper from the broken box.
It was folded beneath the bracelet.
A legal document.
"What is that?"" I asked.
She handed it to me.
"Your father's will.""
I scanned the pages.
Then I saw a highlighted section.
A trust.
A family trust worth millions.
I looked at the number.
$3.5 million.
Vanessa noticed.
Her eyes moved to the paper.
Only for a moment.
But it was enough.
She knew.
My voice became colder.
"You knew about this too.""
"No.""
"You knew about the money.""
"I knew your family was wealthy.""
"That's not what I asked.""
She looked away.
That hurt more than anything.
My father had built that trust after years of work.
But the next sentence made my blood run cold.
"Under no circumstances shall any member of the Mitchell family become a beneficiary of this trust.""
I read it again.
Then again.
My mother whispered:
"Marcus...""
I looked at Vanessa.
"Why would my father write that?""
She didn't answer.
Charlotte did.
"Because your father knew her mother.""
I turned.
"What does that mean?""
Charlotte looked terrified.
"It means Vanessa didn't just find out about your inheritance.""
She paused.
"She found out about the condition.""
The entire garden erupted in whispers.
Vanessa shook her head.
"Charlotte, stop.""
But Charlotte continued.
"She knew she couldn't access anything unless she married you.""
My chest tightened.
"Is that true?""
Vanessa began crying.
"Marcus, I was going to tell you.""
"When?""
She didn't answer.
"When were you going to tell me that you knew my father's will?""
She stepped closer.
"When I knew you trusted me.""
I laughed once.
A painful, empty sound.
"So you were testing me?""
"No.""
"Then what was I?""
Her face broke.
"You were the person I loved.""
But before I could respond, my mother's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
And all the color disappeared from her face.
"What is it?"" I asked.
She slowly handed me the phone.
There was a message.
From an unknown number.
Only one sentence.
"Ask Marcus who really caused his father's death.""
My blood ran cold.
I looked up.
Vanessa was staring at the phone.
Like she knew exactly who sent it.
May you like
Then my mother whispered:
"Marcus... your father didn't die in an accident.""
