CHAPTER 4 — “The Letter That Destroyed a Dynasty”
Eleanor tried to hide the letter inside her purse.
Grace saw it.
“Give it to me.”
For the first time all night, the Blackwood matriarch looked afraid.
Richard snatched the letter from her hand and opened it.
His face collapsed as he read.
“Richard… my mother is dying. I’m not asking for money. I just need to see you once before I leave…”
His voice broke.
Grace covered her mouth.
That letter had never reached him.
Eleanor’s cold mask cracked.
“I protected this family.”
Richard stared at his mother in horror.
“You destroyed the woman who saved us.”
Then Grace noticed something on the back of the letter.
A hospital name.
A date.
A child’s bracelet number.
Her body went completely still.
Richard saw her face change.
“What is it?”
Grace whispered,
“I was pregnant when I wrote that letter.”
The ballroom froze.
Vanessa’s face turned ghost-white.
Richard stepped back like the floor had vanished beneath him.
Grace’s voice trembled.
“I gave birth alone. They told me my baby died.”
Eleanor suddenly panicked.
“No…”
Grace turned slowly toward her.
“What did you do?”
Eleanor’s knees weakened.
Richard grabbed her shoulders.
“Mother… where is the child?”
Eleanor looked at Vanessa.
And the entire ballroom understood before anyone said a word.
Grace stared at Vanessa, shaking.
Vanessa whispered,
“No… no, that’s not true.”
Eleanor finally broke.
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“Vanessa… was never yours, Richard.”
“She was Grace’s daughter.”
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