Chapter 4: The Letter Victoria Never Wanted Emma To Read
Chapter 4: The Letter Victoria Never Wanted Emma To Read
Emma stared at the letter in her hands.
For seven years, she had carried pain.
She had carried anger.
She had carried the memory of the night Ryan walked away.
But she never imagined that behind all of it...
There was another secret.
A secret Victoria Anderson had tried to bury.
The paper trembled slightly between Emma's fingers as she continued reading.
"Emma, if you are reading this, then I failed to keep the truth hidden..."
Her heart started beating faster.
She looked toward Lily's bedroom.
Her daughter was sleeping peacefully.
The only person who had never abandoned her.
The only reason she survived those difficult years.
Emma continued.
"You deserve to know what really happened the night Lily was born."
Emma froze.
The night Lily was born.
The night she spent alone in a hospital room.
The night she waited for Ryan to show up.
The night she called him twenty-three times...
And he never answered.
She remembered holding her newborn baby against her chest.
Crying.
Not because she was unhappy.
Because she realized she was completely alone.
Seven years earlier.
The hospital room was quiet.
Emma looked exhausted but happy.
A tiny baby girl slept in her arms.
"Hello, Lily."
She whispered.
"You don't know this yet..."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"But your mommy is going to protect you."
The door opened.
Emma looked up.
For one beautiful second...
She thought Ryan had finally come.
But it wasn't him.
It was Victoria.
Standing there.
Cold.
Perfectly dressed.
Like she was visiting a business meeting.
Not her son's girlfriend who had just given birth.
Emma's smile disappeared.
"Mrs. Anderson?"
Victoria walked closer.
She looked at the baby.
Then at Emma.
"You need to understand something."
Emma frowned.
"What?"
"You and Ryan cannot be together."
Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"My daughter was just born."
Victoria's expression didn't change.
"Exactly."
Emma held Lily tighter.
"What does that mean?"
Victoria placed an envelope on the table.
"Money."
Emma stared at it.
Then slowly pushed it away.
"I don't want your money."
Victoria smiled.
"You will."
"No."
Emma's voice became stronger.
"I don't need anything from your family."
Victoria leaned closer.
"You don't understand."
Her voice became colder.
"Ryan has a future. A reputation. A family name to protect."
Emma felt her chest tighten.
"And what about me?"
Victoria looked at the baby.
"You were never part of that future."
Present day.
Emma stopped reading.
Her hands were shaking.
She looked back at the letter.
There were more pages.
"I told Ryan you left. I told him you chose money instead of him."
Emma's eyes widened.
"What?"
She continued.
"I lied because I believed I was protecting my son."
Emma covered her mouth.
The pain she had buried for years suddenly returned.
Ryan didn't leave because he believed she wanted money.
He left because someone convinced him she did.
Victoria.
His own mother.
The woman who had spent years humiliating Emma.
The woman who had watched her clean this mansion every day.
Knowing the truth.
At that exact moment...
Ryan was standing outside the door.
He had come to talk to Emma.
But he heard his mother's name.
He stopped.
"Victoria?"
The door opened.
Emma looked up.
Ryan saw the letter in her hand.
The color drained from his face.
"What is that?"
Emma stared at him.
For the first time in seven years...
She didn't hide her emotions.
"It was your mother's confession."
Ryan froze.
"What confession?"
Emma slowly stood.
"The truth about why you left me."
Silence.
Ryan looked confused.
"My mother?"
Emma laughed softly.
But there was no happiness in it.
"Yes, Ryan."
She walked closer.
"Your mother told you I trapped you for money."
Ryan's face changed.
Because he remembered.
Those exact words.
The words that destroyed everything.
Emma held up the letter.
"She lied."
Ryan stepped back.
"No..."
"She told you I abandoned you."
Emma's voice cracked.
"She told you I chose money over love."
Ryan's breathing became heavier.
"But..."
Emma looked directly at him.
"I never left."
The room became silent.
Ryan looked like he had been hit.
Because suddenly...
Every memory changed.
The phone calls he ignored.
The messages he deleted.
The apartment door he refused to open.
The woman he blamed...
Was never the person who betrayed him.
Ryan rushed through the mansion looking for his mother.
He found Victoria in the study.
She looked surprised.
"Ryan?"
He closed the door.
"Tell me the truth."
Victoria's expression changed.
"What are you talking about?"
"Seven years ago."
Silence.
"Emma's pregnancy."
Victoria looked away.
And that was enough.
Ryan knew.
"You lied to me."
Victoria quickly stood.
"I did what I had to do."
Ryan stared at her.
"You destroyed my family."
"No."
Victoria snapped.
"I saved you."
"Saved me?"
Ryan laughed bitterly.
"You made me lose my daughter."
Victoria's face changed.
"Ryan..."
"Did you know I spent seven years believing Emma betrayed me?"
Victoria said nothing.
That silence was the answer.
But neither Ryan nor Emma knew...
Victoria wasn't the only person involved.
Because the letter had one more page.
A page Emma had not read yet.
A page that revealed the darkest secret.
At the bottom of the letter was one final sentence:
"Emma, Lily is not the only child connected to the Anderson family..."
Emma stared at the words.
Her heart stopped.
Because for seven years...
She thought the only thing stolen from her was love.
She was wrong.
Something much bigger had been taken from her.
And the person who knew the truth...
May you like
Was still hiding inside the Anderson mansion.
To be continued...
