Chapter 2: The Envelope Under the Glass
I didn't move.
I didn't blink.
I just stared at Vanessa while the words landed like a slap across the room.
"Signing away the fortune?" I said quietly.
"What are you talking about?"
Vanessa crossed her arms, her chin lifting.
"Ask her.
Ask your sainted mother what she's been doing behind your back every time you travel for work."
I turned to my mother.
Eleanor's lips were trembling, her hand still pressed to her chest.
Her eyes weren't guilty.
They were frightened.
"Mom.
Look at me."
"Adrienne, I can explain—"
"She already signed it." Vanessa cut in, her voice sharp and cold.
"I found the documents in her nightstand three weeks ago.
She's been transferring assets to Grace's name.
Quietly.
Piece by piece."
Grace made a small, broken sound from the floor.
"Miss Eleanor, please don't—"
"Quiet." Vanessa snapped at her.
"You've already taken enough."
I looked at Grace — her burned arm, her wet eyes, the way she was shaking.
She wasn't defending herself.
She was protecting my mother from having to speak.
That's when I noticed it.
A folded envelope on the bedside table, half hidden under a water glass.
My mother's eyes moved to it the second I did.
"Adrienne," she whispered.
"Don't let her have it."
I reached for the envelope.
Vanessa moved faster.
---
What was inside that envelope — and why was Vanessa willing to do anything to keep Adrienne from reading it?
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The full truth is darker than anyone expected.
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