Chapter 2 - The Secret Behind the Silver Screen
The kitchen of the Sapphire was a chaotic symphony of clattering pots, shouting chefs, and escaping steam. But when James burst through the double doors, the room fell into an uneasy hush. The staff knew who he was. They knew his company owned the holding group that managed the very land the restaurant sat on.
"Where are they?" James demanded, his eyes scanning the stainless-steel counters.
A terrified line cook pointed toward the back exit. "The alley, Mr. Wright. They just left."
James lunged for the heavy metal door, throwing it open into the cool Burlington evening. The alleyway was damp, smelling of rain and old brick. Thirty yards away, under the dim yellow glow of a security light, Catherine was fast-walking, holding Lucy’s hand. Lucy’s violin case bounced against her leg.
"Catherine! Stop! Please!" James screamed. He ran down the alley, his custom leather-soled shoes slipping slightly on the wet cobblestones.
Catherine stopped. She didn't turn around immediately. She let out a long, shuddering breath, her shoulders sagging. "Lucy, go stand by the bus stop at the corner. Don't look back."
"But Mom—"
"Go, Lucy. Now."
Lucy looked at her mother, then glared at James with an intensity that made him flinch. She turned and walked toward the street lamp at the end of the alley.
Catherine slowly turned to face James. The contrast between them was stark. He stood in a three-thousand-dollar suit; she stood in a grease-stained apron.
"What do you want, James?" she asked, her voice hollow. "You got your entertainment. You got to show off for your friends. Go back inside."
"Why didn't you tell me?" James’s voice cracked. He took a step closer, but Catherine raised a hand, stopping him.
"Tell you what? That I was pregnant?" Catherine let out a bitter, joyless laugh. "James, your father sat me down in his office fifteen years ago. He showed me a contract. He told me that if I stayed with you, he would blacklist me from every orchestra in the country. He said he would ruin my family's music academy. And then he showed me the papers proving you had already agreed to marry Vivienne Vance to secure the merger."
James felt the ground tilt beneath him. "No... no, Catherine, that's not how it happened. I didn't agree to marry Vivienne until after you disappeared! I searched for you! I went to your apartment, and it was empty!"
"Because your father had me evicted, James!" Catherine yelled, her voice echoing off the brick walls. "He gave me twenty-four hours to leave the state. I tried to call you. I called your office thirty times. Your secretary told me you were in meetings, and then she told me to stop harassing you or they would involve the police."
James felt a sickening realization settle in his gut. His father, Arthur Wright, had been a ruthless, tyrannical patriarch who ruled both his family and his business with an iron fist. Arthur had died five years ago, leaving James the keys to the kingdom. But James had never known the true depth of his father's cruelty.
"I didn't know," James whispered, tears finally spilling over his eyes. "I swear to you, Catherine, I had no idea. I thought you abandoned me because you realized I was turning into my father. I thought you hated the wealth."
"I did hate the wealth, James. Because it turned you into a coward," Catherine said softly. "But I never hated you. Not until I realized I had to raise our daughter in basements and shelters while your face was on the cover of every financial magazine."
"She is mine," James said, his chest aching with a mixture of profound grief and sudden, terrifying hope. "Lucy is my daughter."
"She is my daughter," Catherine corrected him sharply. "She doesn't know who you are. She thinks her father died before she was born. And I want to keep it that way."
"You can't do this, Catherine! Look at how you're living!" James gestured wildly to her apron, to the wet alleyway. "She's playing on the street for single dollars! I have billions! I can give her the best teachers, the best schools, the finest violins in the world! I can give you everything!"
"We don't want your money, James. We survived twelve years without it. We don't need the Wright family curse ruining her life too." Catherine turned to walk away.
"I won't let you go again," James pleaded, grabbing her arm.
Catherine pulled away violently. "Don't touch me! If you try to force your way into her life, James, I will take her and disappear so deep you'll never find us. Do you understand me? Leave us alone."
May you like
She walked away, her figure dissolving into the shadows of the street lamp where Lucy waited.
James stood alone in the dark alley, the cold rain beginning to fall, soaking through his expensive Italian wool suit. He had all the money in the world, and yet, he had never felt so utterly bankrupt.
