CHAPTER 2 â The Woman Who Stole The Truth
The ballroom became colder than before.
Tony stared at Vanessa.
"What did she mean?"
Vanessa's confident smile disappeared.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
But Helen finally spoke.
Her voice was quiet.
Broken.
"I remember that night."
Everyone turned toward her.
"Twenty years ago, I was going to tell Tony I was pregnant."
Tony's eyes filled with pain.
"But before I could..."
Helen looked at Vanessa.
"Someone came to my apartment."
The guests listened carefully.
"They told me Tony would never choose a poor woman like me."
"They told me if I stayed, they would make sure I lost my baby."
Tony's hands clenched.
"Who was it, Helen?"
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Her family."
The room exploded with whispers.
Vanessa stepped back.
"That's a lie!"
But the hotel manager slowly pulled out an old envelope.
"I kept this because I knew one day the truth would come out."
Inside was a letter.
A letter threatening Helen to leave Tony forever.
Tony read every word.
His hands shook.
The woman he planned to marry had destroyed the life he could have had.
The family he could have known.
The son he had never held.
He looked at Vanessa.
"Did you know about him?"
Vanessa said nothing.
That silence was enough.
Tony closed his eyes.
The pain was worse than anger.
"You knew I had a son..."
"And you let me believe he never existed."
Vanessa tried to explain.
"I loved you."
Tony looked at her.
"No."
His voice was cold.
"You loved winning."
The bride who once stood proudly in front of hundreds of guests suddenly looked small.
Meanwhile, Helen held her son tighter.
The little boy looked up.
"Mommy... are we leaving again?"
Helen's heart broke.
She had spent twenty years running.
Hiding.
Surviving.
But now Tony stepped closer.
And for the first time in two decades...
He reached out his hand.
"You don't have to run anymore."
Helen looked at him.
"Tony..."
He swallowed his tears.
May you like
"I lost twenty years with my son."
"I won't lose another second."
