Chapter 6: The Woman in the Photograph
I couldn’t move.
The words didn’t make sense.
My real mother?
I looked at the photograph again.
The woman smiling beside my mother looked familiar.
Too familiar.
I had seen that face before.
In old pictures.
In forgotten boxes.
In the moments when my mother thought I wasn’t paying attention.
“Who is she?”” I whispered.
Nobody answered immediately.
Daniel looked at Alexander.
Alexander looked at my mother.
And my mother looked like she had been carrying a secret too heavy to hold anymore.
Her shoulders dropped.
“Her name was Isabella.””
My throat tightened.
“Was?””
My mother nodded slowly.
“She died when you were a baby.””
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
“You told me you were my mother.””
Tears filled her eyes.
“I raised you.””
“That’s not what I asked.””
She looked down.
“I know.””
The honesty hurt more than another lie would have.
Alexander stepped closer.
“Claire, your biological mother was part of my family’s inner circle.””
I looked at him.
“Then why didn’t I know?””
“Because after she died, people wanted control over you.””
Victor smiled from across the room.
“And they succeeded.””
Daniel looked at him.
“You were involved.””
Victor didn’t deny it.
“I was protecting the family.””
“By destroying a child’s identity?””
Victor shrugged.
“By preserving power.””
I felt sick.
All my life, I thought my biggest tragedy was believing my father abandoned me.
Now I learned the truth was much worse.
People had made decisions about my life before I was old enough to speak.
Daniel came closer.
“I’m sorry.””
I looked at him.
“You knew about Isabella too?””
“I knew pieces.””
“Pieces?””
He nodded.
“I knew your name appeared in old royal records. I knew someone had erased parts of your history.””
“And you still married me?””
His expression changed.
“Claire, I married you because you were the only person who never cared about my title.””
My eyes burned.
“But you kept secrets.””
“Yes.””
He didn’t argue.
“I did.””
That honesty stopped me.
He could have defended himself.
He could have blamed circumstances.
Instead, he accepted it.
“I was afraid,” he admitted.
“Of what?””
“Of telling you everything and losing the only person who saw me as Daniel.””
The room became quiet.
For the first time that night, I saw something behind his royal image.
A man.
A scared man.
A man who had fallen in love with someone who knew nothing about his world.
Then my mother spoke.
“Claire.””
I looked at her.
“I did love you.””
I said nothing.
“I know what I did was wrong.””
Her voice broke.
“But when Isabella died, you were all I had.””
Alexander closed his eyes.
“You were not the only one who lost her.””
My mother nodded.
“I know.””
Then a guard suddenly entered.
“Your Majesty.””
Daniel turned.
“What is it?””
The guard looked uncomfortable.
“There is a vehicle outside.””
“Whose?””
The guard hesitated.
Then he handed Daniel a small envelope.
“No one knows who left it.””
Daniel opened it.
His face changed.
Again.
I stepped closer.
“What now?””
He looked at the paper.
Then at me.
And I knew immediately.
Whatever was written there involved me.
“Claire…”
My heart sank.
“What does it say?””
Daniel slowly handed me the note.
Three words were written in black ink.
My hands began shaking.
Because the handwriting was familiar.
It was mine.
And beneath the message was a date.
May you like
A date from twenty years ago.
The day I was told my mother died.
