Chapter 1: The Truth Behind the Tears
The ballroom remained frozen.
Sophie clung to Anna as if letting go would send her into the darkness.
Adrian slowly rose to his feet.
For months, he had convinced himself that his daughter was adjusting to life after losing her mother. He believed the expensive toys, private tutors, and luxurious home could somehow fill the emptiness she carried inside.
Now he realized how wrong he had been.
"Anna," he said quietly.
The maid looked terrified.
"Sir, I never encouraged this."
Before Adrian could answer, Victoria—the woman he intended to marry—stepped forward.
"This is ridiculous."
Her voice was sharp enough to cut through the silence.
"She's a child. She doesn't understand what she's saying."
Sophie immediately tightened her grip around Anna.
"I do understand."
The little girl looked up with red eyes.
"When I have nightmares, Anna stays with me."
She pointed toward Victoria.
"You never do."
A murmur spread through the guests.
Victoria's smile faltered.
"Sophie—"
"When I was sick last month, Anna slept on the floor beside my bed."
Another murmur.
Adrian's face darkened.
He remembered that week.
Victoria had told him Sophie was recovering well.
He had been away on business.
Now he wasn't so sure.
The little girl wiped her tears.
"Anna reads Mommy's letters to me."
The room went silent again.
Adrian froze.
"What letters?"
Anna's eyes widened.
She never meant for this to happen.
But Sophie had already spoken.
"The letters my real mommy wrote before she died."
Adrian felt his heart stop.
His late wife had written letters?
And he knew nothing about them.
Slowly, every eye in the room turned toward Victoria.
May you like
Because she had been the one managing the estate after his wife's death.
The first crack in the perfect image she had built was beginning to show.
