chap 4 The Secret He Had Buried for Twenty Years
The Secret He Had Buried for Twenty Years
Amelia stared at him.
"There has to be another way."
"There wasn't."
Julian walked toward the fireplace.
For several seconds neither of them spoke.
Finally he reached into his jacket and removed an old photograph.
Its edges had yellowed with age.
He handed it to her.
She looked down.
A little boy.
A smiling woman.
And Richard Sterling.
Only...
Richard wasn't holding the woman.
He was pushing her away.
"What is this?"
"My mother."
"I thought your mother was Eleanor."
Julian nodded.
"Eleanor raised me."
"But she isn't the woman who gave birth to me."
Amelia looked up.
Confusion spread across her face.
Julian continued.
"My biological mother worked for my father's company."
"They had an affair."
"When she became pregnant, he paid everyone to disappear."
Amelia slowly looked back at the picture.
"She died?"
Julian closed his eyes.
"She didn't die."
"She killed herself."
Silence filled the room.
"I was six."
"I watched the ambulance carry her away."
"My father told everyone she was mentally unstable."
"But she left me something."
He unfolded another sheet of paper.
A letter.
"My sweet Julian...
One day you'll learn the truth.
If your father ever tells you I abandoned you...
Don't believe him."
Amelia felt tears running down her face.
"Oh my God..."
May you like
Julian nodded.
"That letter became my life."
