Chapter 7 - THE SECRET INSIDE THE OLD HOUSE
The message stayed on Maya’s table all night.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE PAST BURIED.
Three seconds.
That was all it took.
Three seconds for her entire life to change again.
She had spent years believing her biggest pain was growing up without a father.
Now she realized something much worse.
Someone had made sure she never had one.
Arthur stood beside the broken window.
His face was pale.
Not from fear.
From memory.
Maya noticed.
“You know who did this.”
Arthur didn’t answer.
She stepped closer.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not.”
“Then tell me.”
Arthur looked at the city lights outside.
“When I was young, my father had enemies.”
Maya frowned.
“Your father?”
Arthur nodded.
“My family built Sterling Global through power.”
“Through deals.”
“Through relationships.”
“And sometimes…”
He paused.
“Through fear.”
Maya crossed her arms.
“So someone from your father’s world threatened you?”
“Yes.”
“And Victoria was involved?”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
Maya laughed bitterly.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I spent thirty years refusing to know.”
The honesty surprised her.
Arthur turned around.
“I need to tell you something.”
Maya waited.
“Victoria was not the only person who wanted Isabella gone.”
“Who else?”
Arthur looked at her.
“My father.”
The room became silent.
Maya stared.
“Your own father?”
Arthur nodded.
“He believed Isabella was a weakness.”
“He believed love made powerful men vulnerable.”
Maya looked at the old photograph again.
“So my mother was destroyed because rich people thought they were above everyone?”
Arthur lowered his head.
“Yes.”
That answer hurt more because it was true.
The next morning, Arthur took Maya to an old Sterling property outside the city.
An abandoned mansion.
Maya looked at the broken gates.
“Why are we here?”
Arthur walked toward the front door.
“Because this is where I kept the things I couldn’t face.”
Inside, dust covered everything.
Old furniture.
Old paintings.
Old memories.
Arthur entered a small office.
He opened a hidden drawer.
Inside were dozens of letters.
Maya froze.
“My mother’s letters.”
Arthur nodded.
“I found them after my father died.”
Her eyes widened.
“You had them?”
“Yes.”
“And you never sent them?”
Arthur looked destroyed.
“No.”
“Why?”
He had no answer.
Because the truth was too painful.
He had been given a second chance.
And he still failed.
Maya picked up one letter.
The date was twenty-nine years ago.
Her mother had written:
Arthur,
I know you are scared.
But our daughter asks about you every night.
She wants to know if you are real.
She wants to know if her father loves her.
Maya’s hands shook.
She turned away.
Arthur watched her.
“I’m sorry.”
She wiped her eyes.
“I hate that I still want to believe you.”
Arthur whispered:
“You have every right to hate me.”
Before Maya could answer…
the lights suddenly turned off.
The mansion went completely dark.
Arthur immediately moved toward her.
“Stay behind me.”
A sound came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Someone was inside.
Daniel rushed in with security moments later.
“Mr. Sterling!”
Arthur looked up.
A figure disappeared at the end of the hallway.
Security chased after them.
Minutes later…
they returned with nothing.
But one thing had been left behind.
A small old music box.
Maya recognized it instantly.
Her mother owned one exactly like it.
She opened it.
Inside was a hidden photograph.
A photograph of Victoria.
Thirty years younger.
Standing beside Isabella.
And beside them…
was a baby.
Maya stared.
May you like
Because written on the back were four words.
VICTORIA KNEW EVERYTHING.
