Chapter 7 - The Wife Who Hid The Truth
Richard stared at the note for several seconds.
His wife.
The woman who had been beside him for ten years.
The woman who had helped him build his empire.
The woman who knew every secret about his family.
Sophia Harrison.
Richard drove home without saying a word.
His security team followed closely behind.
The mansion was quiet when he entered.
Too quiet.
Sophia was sitting in the living room.
She looked surprised.
“Richard?”
“You knew Lily Carter.”
Her face changed instantly.
Only for a second.
But Richard saw it.
“You know that name.”
Sophia slowly stood.
“Where did you hear it?”
Richard placed the photograph on the table.
Sophia looked at it.
Then looked away.
“Richard, I can explain.”
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“Explain why a seven-year-old girl knows more about my son’s medical condition than our doctors.”
Sophia said nothing.
“Explain why Colin had files about her family.”
Silence.
Richard stepped closer.
“Tell me the truth.”
Sophia’s eyes filled with tears.
“I wanted to protect you.”
Richard laughed once.
Bitterly.
“Protect me?”
“You hid something about a child dying.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
Years of guilt finally appeared on her face.
“Lily’s brother was part of the same research program as Ethan.”
Richard froze.
“What?”
Sophia looked at him.
“Before Ethan was born, you funded a medical project.”
“A project designed to help children with rare neurological conditions.”
Richard remembered.
The project.
The failed trial.
The millions lost.
“I shut it down because the results were dangerous.”
Sophia nodded.
“But someone continued it.”
Richard’s face changed.
“Who?”
Sophia whispered.
“Colin.”
The room went silent.
“He convinced investors to continue secretly.”
“Your company was being used without your knowledge.”
Richard felt anger rise.
“And Lily’s brother?”
Sophia looked down.
“He was one of the children.”
Richard’s voice became quiet.
“What happened to him?”
Sophia wiped her tears.
“He died because someone changed his treatment settings.”
The same way Ethan almost did.
Richard stepped back.
Everything connected.
But one question remained.
“Why did Lily tell me to ask you?”
Sophia looked terrified.
“Because she found something.”
“What?”
May you like
Sophia whispered:
“She found proof that Ethan’s illness was never natural.”
