Chapter 2: The Lie That Buried Her Mother
Mason stared at Emma as if she had just dragged a ghost into the diner.
"Your mom..." he whispered. "What was her name?"
Emma's lips trembled.
"Claire Bennett."
The coffee cup slipped from Mason's hand and shattered on the floor.
Claire.
The woman he had searched for after coming home from war.
The woman everyone told him had married another man and moved away.
The woman he had spent twelve years trying to hate because loving her hurt too much.
Emma reached into her pocket again and pulled out a folded letter.
"Mom told me to give this to you only if you recognized the photo."
Mason opened it with shaking hands.
The handwriting was Claire's.
Mason, if you're reading this, then I was right. They lied to both of us. I never left you. I waited. I wrote. I called. But every letter came back, and every call was blocked. When I found out I was pregnant, your father came to my apartment and told me you were dead.
Mason's face turned pale.
His father?
The powerful judge who had always hated Claire because she was poor?
The man who said she would ruin the Carter family name?
Mason kept reading.
I named our daughter Emma because you once said that name sounded like hope. If something happens to me, find her. Protect her. Because the people who separated us will come for her next.
A cold silence swallowed the diner.
Then the bell above the door rang again.
Two men in black suits stepped inside.
Emma's face went white.
"That's them," she whispered.
Mason slowly stood up.
For the first time in years, the broken biker looked like the soldier he used to be.
One of the men smiled.
"Mr. Carter. The girl is coming with us."
Mason stepped in front of Emma.
"No."
The man leaned closer.
"Your father said you might be difficult."
Mason's jaw tightened.
"My father is dead."
The man smiled wider.
"That's what he wanted you to believe."
Mason froze.
And at that exact moment, Emma pulled one final paper from her pocket.
A death certificate.
But it wasn't for Claire.
It was for Mason Carter.
Signed twelve years ago.
May you like
By his own father.
To Be Continued...
