Chapter 2: The Price of a Perfect Life
Chapter 2: The Price of a Perfect Life
The birthday celebration ended without music.
Without dancing.
Without a single toast.
News spread across the city before sunrise.
"The Ashford Heiress Has a Secret Sister."
"The Missing Daughter Returns as a Maid."
"The Family Scandal Hidden for Decades."
Reporters flooded every entrance of Ashford Manor.
The board of directors demanded answers.
Sponsors withdrew their support.
Victoria locked herself inside her study for three days.
She refused to eat.
Refused to speak.
Meanwhile, Amelia quietly packed her belongings in the servants' quarters.
She had never come for money.
She had never wanted revenge.
She only wanted to know one thing.
"Why?"
Before she could leave, Evelyn stopped her.
"Please..."
Amelia continued folding her clothes.
"I don't blame you," Evelyn said through tears.
"I didn't know you existed."
Amelia nodded.
"I know."
"But knowing now changes everything."
Evelyn looked around the tiny room.
A single narrow bed.
One cracked mirror.
Three dresses.
No family photographs.
No birthday presents.
Nothing.
She imagined herself growing up there while another girl lived inside the mansion.
The thought made her sick.
"I'm sorry."
Amelia smiled sadly.
"You were loved."
"I survived."
"There is a difference."
Later that afternoon, Victoria finally walked into the room.
She looked years older.
Gray streaks had appeared in her hair almost overnight.
She knelt before Amelia.
Not as the head of the Ashford family.
Not as a billionaire.
Only as a broken mother.
"I failed you."
Amelia remained silent.
Victoria held out an old teddy bear.
Its fur was faded with age.
"I kept this."
"It belonged to you."
"I told myself every birthday that one day I'd find you."
Amelia accepted the toy with shaking hands.
She buried her face into it.
The scent had long disappeared.
But somehow...
It still felt like home.
For the first time in twenty-four years...
She cried in her mother's arms.
May you like
Not because the pain had vanished.
But because someone had finally admitted it existed.
