Chapter 5 – Victoria's Lies
Chapter 5 – Victoria's Lies
Rain fell steadily over the Harrison estate.
Dark clouds swallowed the morning sky, and thunder rolled faintly in the distance.
From the floor-to-ceiling windows of his study, Adrian Harrison watched the rain strike the gardens where Sophia had once planted white roses.
For three years, those flowers had bloomed every spring.
He had never had the heart to remove them.
Now, for the first time, he wondered if they had been waiting for her return.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Sir."
His longtime butler, Thomas, stepped inside carrying a sealed envelope.
"The laboratory called."
Adrian's heart skipped.
"The DNA report?"
Thomas nodded.
"It arrived an hour ago."
Adrian stared at the envelope.
For a long moment, he couldn't bring himself to touch it.
Inside were answers that could either free him...
Or destroy everything he believed.
The Truth in Black and White
He slowly broke the seal.
The pages trembled slightly in his hands.
His eyes skipped over the technical language until they reached the final conclusion.
Probability of maternity: 99.999998%.
Biological relationship confirmed.
The room fell silent.
Adrian read the sentence again.
Then a third time.
His knees weakened, and he sank into his chair.
Anna Bennett...
Was Emma's biological mother.
Which meant there was only one possible conclusion.
Sophia Harrison had never died.
A tear slipped down Adrian's cheek before he even realized he was crying.
For three years, he had visited a grave that held no one.
For three years, he had whispered apologies to an empty headstone.
For three years, the woman he loved had been alive...
Living without her memories.
"Don't Tell Anyone"
Thomas looked concerned.
"Sir?"
Adrian carefully folded the report.
"No one sees this."
"Not the board."
"Not the media."
"Not even Miss Langford."
Thomas hesitated.
"She'll ask questions."
"I know."
"And if she does..."
Adrian's voice hardened.
"Tell her nothing."
The old butler had served the Harrison family for nearly forty years.
He had watched Adrian grow from a shy boy into one of the country's most successful businessmen.
He had rarely seen that expression.
It meant only one thing.
Someone had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed.
A Lie Too Perfect
Meanwhile, Victoria sat in her private suite, pretending to read fashion magazines.
She wasn't reading a single word.
Her attention remained fixed on the security camera feed displayed on her tablet.
Since Anna's arrival, she'd secretly monitored nearly every hallway in the mansion.
She watched as Adrian left his study carrying the DNA envelope.
His expression wasn't confused.
It wasn't uncertain.
It was determined.
Victoria's stomach tightened.
"He knows."
She whispered the words aloud.
Before panic could consume her, she picked up her phone.
"Victor."
The man answered immediately.
"I assume this isn't a social call."
"The DNA results came back."
Silence.
Then—
"They matched?"
"Yes."
A heavy curse echoed through the phone.
Victoria lowered her voice.
"She's remembering things."
"I need more time."
"You don't have time," Victor replied coldly.
"If Adrian starts reopening the yacht investigation, we'll all be exposed."
Victoria closed her eyes.
"I know."
"There is only one solution."
She already knew what he was going to say.
And this time...
Even she hesitated.
Emma's Favorite Song
Later that afternoon, Anna sat in the music room with Emma on her lap.
The child held a worn picture book.
"Can you sing?"
Anna smiled awkwardly.
"I don't remember many songs."
Emma pouted.
"You know my favorite."
"I do?"
Without thinking, Anna gently brushed the little girl's curls away from her face.
Then a melody escaped her lips.
Soft.
Gentle.
A lullaby about stars guiding children safely home.
Emma smiled instantly.
"You remembered!"
Anna stopped singing.
Her heart pounded.
"I've... never heard that before."
Claire, standing quietly outside the room, wiped away tears.
Sophia had written that lullaby during her pregnancy.
She had never recorded it.
She had never performed it in public.
Only Adrian...
Emma...
And Sophia had ever known it.
Adrian Starts Asking Questions
That evening, Adrian drove to the county police archives.
Detective Alan Pierce, now retired, welcomed him into a small office stacked with dusty case files.
"I wasn't expecting you."
Adrian placed the DNA report on the desk.
"You investigated my wife's death."
Pierce looked confused.
"I did."
"I need every file."
The detective frowned.
"Why?"
Adrian met his eyes.
"Because I don't think my wife died."
For several seconds, Pierce simply stared.
Then he slowly opened a locked cabinet.
"I always wondered."
Adrian looked up.
"What?"
Pierce removed a thick folder labeled:
Case 47-221: Harrison Yacht Explosion
"There were details that never made sense."
He spread photographs across the desk.
Burned debris.
Rescue boats.
The damaged yacht.
Then one particular image.
"The explosion started here."
He pointed to the engine room.
"The official report blamed a fuel leak."
"But?"
Pierce sighed.
"Our fire investigator believed the blast began from a small explosive device."
Adrian's face turned pale.
"You mean a bomb?"
"We could never prove it."
"Why not?"
"Because two days after submitting his preliminary report..."
"...he withdrew it."
"What changed?"
Pierce looked uncomfortable.
"He resigned."
"And disappeared."
Thomas Speaks
That night, Thomas knocked gently on Adrian's study door.
"There is something I've never told you."
Adrian looked up.
"What is it?"
The old butler hesitated.
"It concerns Miss Langford."
Adrian's expression sharpened.
"Go on."
Thomas clasped his hands behind his back.
"The night Mrs. Harrison disappeared..."
"I saw Miss Langford leave the mansion."
"At what time?"
"A little after midnight."
Adrian frowned.
"She told me she was driving to the hospital."
"She said Mrs. Harrison had forgotten some medication."
"But?"
Thomas swallowed.
"I later learned the hospital had no record of her arriving."
Adrian stood.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You had just lost your wife."
"I didn't want to add suspicion to your grief."
He lowered his head.
"I've regretted that decision every day."
The Necklace
The following morning, Emma insisted on helping Anna fold laundry in the servants' quarters.
As they worked, something small fell from the pocket of an old housekeeping apron.
A delicate gold necklace.
Anna picked it up.
The moment her fingers touched it—
Another memory exploded inside her mind.
Victoria.
Smiling.
Holding the necklace.
"You'll never wear this again."
Then—
A violent shove.
Cold seawater.
A deafening explosion.
Someone screaming her name.
"SOFIA!"
Anna collapsed onto the floor.
Emma cried out.
"Mommy!"
By the time Adrian reached the room, Anna was shaking uncontrollably.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I remember..."
She whispered.
"I remember her..."
"Who?"
Anna slowly looked up.
Fear filled her eyes.
"Victoria."
The room fell silent.
Then she spoke the words that made Adrian's blood run cold.
"She was on the yacht."
Adrian froze.
"That's impossible."
Victoria had sworn she had spent that entire night at a charity fundraiser in Manhattan.
There had been photographs.
Witnesses.
A carefully documented timeline.
Anna squeezed the necklace so tightly it cut into her palm.
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"I saw her."
"She lied."
A Visitor in the Dark
Long after midnight, the mansion slept.
Rain continued tapping against the windows.
Anna finally drifted into an exhausted sleep.
Outside the guest house, a shadow moved silently through the garden.
A hooded figure unlocked the back door with surprising ease.
Black leather gloves.
Soft footsteps.
A small syringe filled with clear liquid.
The intruder climbed the staircase without making a sound.
Stopped outside Anna's bedroom.
Slowly reached for the doorknob.
Just as the door began to open—
A deep voice echoed from the darkness.
"I wouldn't take another step."
The intruder spun around.
Thomas stood at the end of the hallway.
Holding a shotgun that had protected the Harrison family estate for decades.
His eyes were calm.
Unwavering.
Behind him, Harrison Security officers emerged from the shadows.
The intruder bolted toward the window.
Glass shattered.
The figure disappeared into the storm.
Thomas didn't chase.
Instead, he looked toward Anna's bedroom.
Then quietly whispered to himself,
"They've finally realized..."
"...she remembers too much."
Far beyond the mansion gates, a black SUV sped into the rain.
Inside, Victoria stared at the escaped intruder.
Her face was pale.
"Did you do it?"
The man ripped off his soaked hood.
Victor Kane slammed his fist against the dashboard.
"No."
"They were waiting for me."
Victoria's breathing became shallow.
"Then Adrian knows someone is trying to kill her."
Victor looked straight ahead.
His voice was ice cold.
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"Which means we have one last chance..."
"...before she remembers everything."
