CHAPTER 2 — The Letter That Destroyed Every Lie
The ballroom emptied within minutes.
Police sealed the exits.
Reporters gathered outside.
The engagement had already become breaking news.
Inside a private conference room...
Adrian stared at the envelope in silence.
Across the table sat Detective Evelyn Brooks.
Dana slept beneath warm blankets beside the rescued baby.
Neither child had let go of the other's hand.
Adrian slowly opened the envelope.
Inside...
A handwritten letter.
Not to him.
To whoever found the baby.
His heartbeat slowed.
"If you're reading this... I failed."
"My family will kill me if they discover she's alive."
"They told me giving birth would destroy everything."
"They promised someone else would raise her."
"Instead... they ordered me to leave her where nobody would ever find her."
Adrian frowned.
He looked toward Celeste.
She burst into tears.
"I didn't write that."
The detective placed another document beside it.
A forensic analyst had already compared the handwriting.
It matched.
Perfectly.
Celeste collapsed into her chair.
"They forced me..."
"Who?"
She looked toward the ballroom doors.
"My father."
Every person in the room froze.
Victor Laurent.
One of the richest financiers in Europe.
A man famous for buying politicians.
Judges.
Police departments.
Even hospitals.
Adrian suddenly remembered something.
The hospital bracelet.
Someone had removed the official patient barcode.
Someone had tried to erase the baby's identity.
That required access.
Inside help.
Victor Laurent owned forty-two percent of Saint Aurelia Medical Center.
The detective's face hardened.
"This wasn't abandonment."
"It was organized."
Just then...
Dana woke suddenly.
"No!"
She sat upright screaming.
"They're here!"
Everyone turned.
Outside...
Black SUVs rolled into the hotel entrance.
Eight vehicles.
Tinted windows.
No license plates.
The detective reached for her radio.
Too late.
The lobby lights suddenly went dark.
Someone had cut the power.
Screams echoed downstairs.
Glass shattered.
Then...
Heavy footsteps.
Coming toward the conference room.
May you like
Dana whispered in terror...
"They found us."
