Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
HOME
Nobody spoke for nearly ten minutes.
The photograph was still on my phone.
My mother's face.
Older than I remembered.
But unmistakable.
Anna Mercer.
Anna Vale.
My mother.
Alive.
Damon looked at the photograph.
“This could be fake.”
“I know.”
Michael stared at the screen.
“It's not.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because that's where she was kept.”
My heart stopped.
“Kept?”
Michael nodded.
“Your mother discovered the truth about the trust.”
“And Thomas?”
“He couldn't kill her.”
“Why?”
Michael looked at me.
“Because she knew where the original document was.”
“The trust?”
“No.”
“The original?”
Michael nodded.
“The first letter Elias ever wrote.”
I felt dizzy.
“What does it say?”
“No one knows.”
“Then why does Thomas want it?”
“Because it can destroy everything.”
Damon looked at him.
“How?”
Michael's expression became serious.
“The letter names the person who was supposed to inherit before Thomas.”
I swallowed.
“Who?”
Michael looked at me.
“Anna.”
I stared.
My mother.
“The first hidden daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't she inherit?”
“Because Thomas forged her death.”
Damon stood.
“Then this whole time…”
“Your mother was alive,” Michael said.
“Where?”
Michael looked toward the distant shore.
“At the Vale estate.”
I closed my eyes.
My entire life had been built on a lie.
My mother wasn't dead.
She had been hidden.
And the family that had told me I was nothing had spent decades terrified of my existence.
Damon sat beside me.
“We don't have to go.”
I looked at him.
“Yes, we do.”
“No.”
“Damon.”
“If this is a trap—”
“It is.”
He stopped.
I continued.
“But so is every road we've taken.”
I looked at Eli.
“He deserves the truth.”
Damon nodded slowly.
Michael looked at me.
“Your mother may not be the person you remember.”
“I don't care.”
“She may have made choices.”
“So did I.”
“She may have been afraid.”
“So was I.”
“She may not forgive herself.”
I looked at him.
“Neither do I.”
Damon took my hand.
“You don't have to do this alone.”
I squeezed his fingers.
“I know.”
The boat reached the mainland before dawn.
We drove through the darkness.
No headlights unless necessary.
No phones.
No stopping.
The Vale estate appeared at the end of the road.
I had seen photographs of it.
But photographs didn't prepare me for the reality.
The house looked less like a home than a fortress.
Stone walls.
Iron gates.
Dark windows.
Damon stopped the car.
“Stay behind me.”
I almost smiled.
“You always say that.”
“And you never listen.”
“No.”
I reached for his hand.
“Because I'm tired of hiding behind you.”
He looked at me.
Then kissed my forehead.
“I love you.”
The words hit me unexpectedly.
After everything.
After years of believing he had never loved me.
I whispered,
“Say it again.”
“I love you.”
“Again.”
“I love you, Evelyn.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I love you too.”
Behind us, Eli made a dramatic coughing sound.
Damon laughed.
“Sorry.”
Eli rolled his eyes.
“Finally.”
Michael smiled.
Marian shook her head.
For one second, we were almost normal.
Then the gates opened.
We drove inside.
Nobody stopped us.
That was worse.
The front door was already open.
I stepped inside.
The smell hit me first.
Lavender.
The exact scent of my mother's perfume.
My knees nearly gave out.
“Mom?”
A voice came from upstairs.
“Evelyn?”
I couldn't breathe.
I ran.
Damon followed.
I reached the staircase.
A woman stood at the top.
Thin.
Gray-haired.
Holding the railing.
Her face was older.
Her eyes were exactly the same.
My mother.
I stopped.
She looked at me.
Neither of us moved.
Then she whispered,
“My little girl.”
I broke.
I ran up the stairs.
She opened her arms.
I fell into them.
She smelled like lavender.
Like childhood.
Like a memory I had spent years trying to bury.
“Mom.”
She sobbed.
“I thought you were dead.”
“So did everyone.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed them to believe it.”
I pulled back.
“You let me believe it.”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“Everyone says that.”
Her face crumpled.
“I know.”
I stared at her.
“Did you know about Eli?”
She nodded.
“I knew.”
“Did you know about Damon?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know his father was alive?”
“Yes.”
My anger returned.
“Then why didn't you come?”
She closed her eyes.
“Because every time I tried, someone died.”
Silence.
She looked at Damon.
“I am sorry.”
He nodded.
“I believe you.”
My mother looked at Eli.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Come here.”
Eli hesitated.
Then walked to her.
She touched his face.
“You have Elias's eyes.”
Eli smiled slightly.
“Everyone says that.”
She laughed through tears.
Then she looked at me.
“There is something you need to know.”
“What?”
“The trust has already been activated.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don't.”
She reached into her pocket.
She pulled out an old envelope.
It was sealed with black wax.
“The real trust was never about who inherits.”
I looked at Damon.
My mother continued.
“It was about who refuses to inherit.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“The first heir must voluntarily reject the Vale fortune.”
Damon stared.
“Then the trust ends.”
My mother nodded.
“But there's one condition.”
“What?”
She looked at me.
“The heir must reject it publicly.”
My heart stopped.
“And if I do?”
“The entire Vale empire is dissolved.”
Damon understood.
“Thomas loses everything.”
“Yes.”
I looked at my mother.
“Then why hasn't anyone done it?”
“Because the heir was never brave enough.”
I swallowed.
“And if I refuse?”
“Thomas keeps control.”
“What happens to Eli?”
“He remains a target.”
I looked at my son.
Then at Damon.
Then at my mother.
The answer was obvious.
But before I could speak, the front doors slammed open.
Thomas walked inside.
He was holding a gun.
Behind him stood Celeste.
Lucas.
And six armed men.
Thomas smiled.
“Good.”
May you like
His eyes settled on me.
“Now we're all home.”
