Chapter 7 - THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL
Three months passed.
The legal storm had finally settled. Victoria, Arthur, and Julian were convicted on multiple federal charges and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Vance Enterprises was stronger and more profitable than ever, and Richard had spent every free moment rebuilding his relationship with Maya, showering her with love, security, and the finest education money could buy.
They had moved out of the old mansion—which Richard had demolished completely to build a private children's hospital in Maya's honor—and relocated to an ultra-secure, breathtaking estate overlooking the ocean.
Life seemed peaceful. But a secret was still lurking in the shadows—a secret that was about to shatter Richard's reality once again.
One evening, Richard received a encrypted package sent directly to his desk from a high-level private investigator in Europe.
Inside was an old medical file and a DNA analysis report dated sixteen years ago—the year Maya was kidnapped as a baby.
Richard opened the folder, skimming through the pages.
As his eyes read the final paragraph, his hand began to shake uncontrollably. His face drained of all color.
The report revealed a horrifying truth: Sixteen years ago, Maya was never kidnapped by strangers.
The entire kidnapping had been orchestrated from the inside.
And the person who paid the human traffickers to steal baby Maya away from Richard... was Victoria Sterling.
Victoria had been Richard's ambitious executive assistant at the time. She knew that as long as Richard was happily married to his first wife and had a baby daughter, she would never be able to marry him and claim his fortune.
So, she arranged the kidnapping, paid off the kidnappers to drop the baby off at an orphanage miles away, and then spent the next decade comforting Richard in his grief—eventually manipulating him into marrying her!
And eight months ago, when Richard miraculously found Maya and brought her home through a random DNA database match, Victoria was horrified. She realized that her dark secret was in danger of being exposed.
That was why Victoria had treated Maya like a servant! She wasn't just trying to humiliate her—she was actively trying to break Maya's spirit, drive her insane, or force her to run away from home so her 16-year-old crime would never be uncovered!
Richard sat in his dark office, staring at the documents, tears of pure rage burning his eyes.
"She didn't just abuse my child..." Richard choked out, his voice shaking with terrifying grief. "She stole sixteen years of her life from me."
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He picked up his phone and called the warden of the federal women's penitentiary where Victoria was serving her sentence.
"Warden," Richard said, his voice flat and terrifyingly calm. "I am coming to visit Victoria Sterling tonight. Clear the visitor room."
