CHAPTER 5 — THE MAN WHO LOST FOUR YEARS IN A SINGLE MOMENT
No one spoke.
Not the minister.
Not the orchestra.
Not even the reporters standing along the aisle.
Every camera remained pointed at Julian Prescott.
The billionaire heir who had just learned he was the father of three children he had never known existed.
Julian stared at Emma, Ethan, and Ellie as though trying to memorize every tiny detail before they disappeared.
Four birthdays.
Four Christmas mornings.
Four first steps.
Four years of bedtime stories.
Gone.
Moments he would never get back.
He slowly turned toward Clara.
His voice cracked.
"Why... didn't you come to my office yourself?"
Clara looked at him with tired eyes.
"I did."
Julian frowned.
"What?"
"I waited in your lobby for almost three hours."
The guests fell silent again.
"You walked past me."
Julian's face went white.
"I... I don't remember."
"You never saw me."
Clara swallowed hard.
"Your security team told me I wasn't welcome."
"They said your mother had left strict instructions."
Flashbacks slammed into Julian's mind.
He remembered that day.
His assistant had told him there was a "disturbed woman" causing trouble downstairs.
Vivian had laughed.
"Poor girl. She can't accept rejection."
He had believed her.
Without asking a single question.
Julian closed his eyes in agony.
"I'm so sorry."
Clara didn't answer.
Some apologies arrived years too late.
Emma tugged gently on Julian's sleeve.
"Mister..."
He opened his eyes.
"Yes?"
"My mommy says people shouldn't cry for too long."
Julian managed a weak smile.
"She's very smart."
Emma nodded proudly.
"She knows everything."
The little girl reached into her tiny purse and pulled out a faded crayon drawing.
She handed it to Julian.
"I made this."
He unfolded the paper.
A house.
Three children.
One mother.
And beside them...
A tall stick figure with the words:
"Daddy (I hope)."
Julian's knees nearly gave out.
His tears fell freely.
"You drew me?"
Emma smiled shyly.
"I didn't know what you looked like."
"So I guessed."
Julian covered his face with both hands.
The strongest businessman in South Carolina was completely broken by a child's innocent hope.
Across the ballroom, even guests who had mocked Clara wiped tears from their eyes.
One elderly woman whispered,
"That little girl waited for him..."
"...without ever meeting him."
Vivian suddenly stepped forward.
"Enough."
Her sharp voice cut through the emotion.
"This circus ends now."
She pointed directly at Clara.
"You planned this."
"You waited until today to embarrass us."
Clara calmly shook her head.
"I stayed away for four years."
"You invited me."
Vivian looked toward the reporters.
"She's after our money."
The accusation echoed through the ballroom.
Before Clara could respond...
Ethan suddenly spoke.
"My mommy doesn't like rich people."
Everyone looked at him.
Vivian laughed coldly.
"Oh really?"
The little boy nodded seriously.
"She says money doesn't hug you when you're scared."
A reporter quietly lowered his camera.
Another wiped away tears.
Julian stared at his son.
That sentence...
It sounded exactly like something Clara would say.
He realized his children had grown up carrying her kindness instead of his family name.
And somehow...
That made him prouder than any fortune ever could.
Then another voice interrupted.
"Mr. Prescott?"
A middle-aged man stepped forward from the crowd.
Julian recognized him instantly.
Thomas Reed.
The former head of Prescott Security.
"I resigned three years ago."
Thomas looked directly at Vivian.
"Because of her."
The ballroom fell silent once again.
"I have copies of every visitor log."
He removed a thick folder.
"Mrs. Clara Bellamy came to this estate."
"Seven times."
Julian stared in disbelief.
"Seven?"
Thomas nodded.
"Each time Mrs. Prescott ordered us to turn her away before you arrived."
Julian's breathing became uneven.
"Every single visit was documented."
Thomas placed the folder into Julian's trembling hands.
"I kept copies."
"I couldn't destroy the evidence."
Julian looked at his mother.
His voice was almost a whisper.
"You erased my family..."
Vivian didn't answer.
May you like
Because she knew...
The truth was becoming impossible to bury.
