CHAPTER 4 — The Woman in Diamonds Begged for Mercy
The next morning, Eleanor arrived at Hawthorne Tower.
This time, nobody laughed.
The same security guards who had tried to remove her now stood straight like soldiers.
The same receptionist who had smirked at her old coat lowered her head in shame.
But Eleanor did not look angry.
That frightened everyone even more.
Adrian walked beside her, still unable to believe the poor woman he had searched for his entire life was not only his mother...
She was the true owner of the empire.
At the boardroom, Richard Hawthorne's second wife, Victoria, was already waiting.
She wore diamonds, a white designer suit, and a smile sharp enough to cut glass.
"So this is the old woman causing trouble."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
But Eleanor gently touched his arm.
"Let her speak."
Victoria laughed.
"You think a few yellow papers can take what my husband built?"
Eleanor placed the old envelope on the table.
"No."
"The truth will."
Then Adrian's lawyer entered with a sealed file.
Inside was Richard's final confession.
He had written it before he died.
He admitted everything.
He abandoned Eleanor.
He stole her company.
And worst of all...
He paid people to make sure she and her baby disappeared forever.
Victoria's face turned white.
Because her signature was on the last page.
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She had known everything.
For thirty-five years.
