Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Stopped Them
Adrian’s mother, Margaret Blackwood, had died nine years earlier.
All his life, he believed she knew nothing about Sofia.
Now her signature was attached to the document that had prevented Claire from being taken away.
There was a handwritten note beneath it.
I WILL NOT ALLOW MY HUSBAND TO TAKE A CHILD FROM HER MOTHER. END THIS NOW.
Adrian read it twice.
Charles remained silent.
“You knew my mother stopped this.”
Charles looked away.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
“Did she know Claire was mine?”
“Yes.”
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
Charles said nothing.
An investigator stepped closer.
Charles finally answered.
“Because your father threatened her.”
“With what?”
“Divorce. Financial ruin. Public humiliation.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“You think that would have stopped my mother?”
“No.”
Charles looked at the photograph.
“What stopped her was Sofia.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
“Your mother found Sofia after Claire was born.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“She met her?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Charles hesitated.
Then Sofia’s voice came from behind them.
“I asked her not to tell you.”
Everyone turned.
Sofia stood in the boardroom doorway with Claire beside her.
Noah was not there; Claire had wisely left him with a trusted friend.
Adrian stared.
“Sofia?”
She stepped inside.
“Your mother came to the hospital.”
“Why?”
“To warn me.”
“About my father?”
“Yes.”
Sofia looked toward Charles.
“She told me your father had prepared legal documents claiming I was unstable and financially incapable of caring for Claire.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“He was going to take her.”
“Yes.”
“What did my mother do?”
“She destroyed enough of the plan to stop him.”
“And then?”
“She offered to take me somewhere safe.”
Adrian looked confused.
“Why didn’t she bring you to me?”
Sofia’s eyes filled.
“Because I was terrified.”
“Of me?”
“Of your family.”
She stepped closer.
“I was twenty-three, Adrian. I had a newborn baby. Your father had already forged your letter. Charles had threatened me. I didn’t know who to trust.”
“You could have trusted me.”
“I know that now.”
Her voice softened.
“But back then, I had no way of knowing.”
Adrian lowered his eyes.
“What did my mother do?”
“She gave me enough money to leave safely. Not to disappear. To survive.”
Sofia looked toward the document.
“She promised your father would never touch Claire.”
Adrian swallowed.
“And she kept that promise.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t she ever tell me later?”
Sofia was silent.
Charles answered.
“Because by then, your father had convinced her that revealing the truth would expose Sofia and Claire again.”
Adrian turned sharply.
“And you helped him.”
Charles’s face tightened.
“I served the Blackwood family.”
“No.”
Adrian’s voice was ice.
“You served the man with the most power.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“My father made decisions decades ago. What does that have to do with me?”
Adrian looked at her.
“You found Sofia six months ago.”
Vanessa froze.
“You found Claire. You realized who she probably was. And instead of telling me, you accelerated the demolition of their building.”
“I was protecting Blackwood Holdings.”
“From what?”
“From you!”
The words exploded across the room.
Vanessa realized too late what she had admitted.
Adrian stared at her.
She continued anyway.
“You were about to close the most important acquisition in company history. If you discovered you had a daughter, you would question everything. Your estate plan. Your voting shares. Your succession strategy.”
“So you tried to make them disappear.”
“I tried to move tenants out of a building scheduled for redevelopment.”
“You knew exactly which tenant.”
Vanessa said nothing.
Claire stepped forward.
“You almost put my son on the street because you were afraid I might inherit money?”
Vanessa looked at her.
“This is more complicated than you understand.”
Claire smiled without humor.
“No. Rich people just use longer sentences when they’re doing something cruel.”
Even Adrian almost smiled.
Vanessa turned to him.
“You need me.”
“I thought I did.”
“You cannot run this company without me.”
“I’m about to find out.”
Adrian looked toward the investigators.
“Give them everything.”
Vanessa’s confidence finally broke.
“Adrian.”
May you like
He didn’t look at her.
“Everything.”
