Chapter 5 — Victoria’s First Lie
Chapter 5 — Victoria’s First Lie
Edmund Vance stood in the rain as if he had never died.
For six years, his name had been spoken in the past tense.
My mother had mourned him.
Arthur had buried him.
The newspapers had published photographs of his funeral.
The Vance family had held a private memorial behind locked gates.
And now he stood outside the Reed estate, looking directly at me.
Alive.
Smiling.
Waiting.
I stared through the window.
Arthur stood beside me.
His face had lost all color.
“My father.”
My mother nodded.
“Yes.”
Arthur's hands curled into fists.
“He's alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe he was dead.”
“I had to.”
Arthur turned toward her.
“You had to?”
My mother didn't flinch.
“If Edmund knew I was alive, he would have killed you.”
Arthur laughed bitterly.
“He already destroyed my life.”
“He was capable of much worse.”
I looked at my mother.
“Why is he here?”
She stared through the glass.
“Because he knows you found Leo.”
“Then we leave.”
Rose shook her head.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because every road out of this property is being watched.”
Arthur checked his phone.
“No signal.”
“Edmund blocked it.”
“How?”
Rose answered.
“Private security network.”
Arthur looked toward the windows.
“How many men?”
“At least twelve.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then we call the police.”
My mother shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Edmund already owns three people in the department.”
I stared.
“Three?”
“Possibly more.”
Arthur looked at me.
“Then we need another way.”
Before anyone could answer, the front door opened.
No one had touched it.
Edmund stepped inside.
He removed his wet coat.
Placed it neatly over a chair.
Then looked around the room.
“My house hasn't changed.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“This isn't your house.”
Edmund smiled.
“You still sound like your mother.”
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“I was.”
“For six years?”
“Long enough.”
“You let me bury you.”
Edmund looked at him.
“You were always good at following instructions.”
Arthur moved toward him.
I stepped between them.
“Why are you here?”
Edmund looked at me.
For a moment, something almost like affection crossed his face.
“You look like Eleanor.”
My mother stiffened.
“Don't.”
Edmund ignored her.
“Same eyes.”
I asked again.
“Why are you here?”
“To correct a misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding?”
He looked toward the hallway.
“Victoria.”
My stomach tightened.
“What about her?”
“She lied to you.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Edmund smiled.
“You don't.”
The next morning, Victoria's lawyer requested a private meeting.
I almost refused.
Then Arthur told me something that changed my mind.
“She asked for you specifically.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Did she say anything else?”
Arthur shook his head.
“She said you deserve to hear the truth.”
I stared at him.
“From Victoria?”
“Yes.”
I almost laughed.
“That's like asking a thief to appraise your jewelry.”
Arthur didn't smile.
“She may know something we don't.”
He was right.
Victoria had spent years inside the Vance family.
She had lived with Edmund.
She had raised Leo.
She had lied to me.
But sometimes the person who tells the most lies also knows where the deepest secrets are buried.
So I went.
The detention center was colder than I expected.
Victoria sat behind a glass partition.
No diamonds.
No designer gown.
No elegant hairstyle.
She wore a plain gray prison uniform.
Her hair was tied back.
Her face looked older.
But her eyes were exactly the same.
Sharp.
Calculating.
She picked up the phone.
I sat opposite her.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Victoria smiled.
“You came.”
“I almost didn't.”
“But you did.”
“Tell me what you know.”
She laughed softly.
“You haven't changed.”
“Neither have you.”
“I have.”
She looked down at her hands.
“I lost everything.”
“You stole my child.”
“I know.”
“You lied to me.”
“I know.”
“You told me Leo was dead.”
Victoria's eyes flickered.
“I never said that.”
I stared at her.
“Yes, you did.”
“No.”
Her voice became quieter.
“I told you the hospital lost him.”
I froze.
“What?”
Victoria leaned toward the glass.
“That was my first lie.”
I stared.
“Your first?”
“Yes.”
She smiled sadly.
“You thought the kidnapping was the beginning.”
“It wasn't.”
“No.”
She looked toward the door.
“It started before Leo was born.”
I felt my heart pound.
“What did you do?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“I told you your pregnancy was dangerous.”
“It was.”
“No.”
She opened her eyes.
“You were healthy.”
I stared at her.
“The doctor said I had complications.”
“The doctor was paid.”
My blood went cold.
“By whom?”
Victoria whispered:
“Edmund.”
I remembered the hospital.
The doctors.
The warnings.
The tests.
The sudden recommendation that I stay under observation.
I had thought they were protecting me.
They weren't.
They had been controlling me.
Victoria continued.
“Your pregnancy was the first problem.”
“Why?”
“Because Edmund didn't want you to have the baby.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because the baby would inherit something.”
“The Vance fortune.”
Victoria shook her head.
“Not only that.”
“What?”
“The Reed trust.”
I remembered my mother's documents.
The bloodline.
The genetic marker.
The inheritance.
Everything suddenly connected.
Victoria leaned closer.
“Edmund believed that if Leo was born, the Reed trust would activate.”
“And?”
“He needed the child under his control before that happened.”
“Why?”
“Because the trust had a condition.”
“What condition?”
Victoria smiled bitterly.
“The biological heir had to choose the family.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Leo couldn't inherit automatically.”
“He had to choose?”
“Yes.”
“At what age?”
“Eighteen.”
I stared.
“So why take him as a baby?”
“Because Edmund believed he could shape him.”
My stomach turned.
“He wanted to raise Leo.”
“Yes.”
“As his heir.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you raise him?”
Victoria's expression changed.
“Because Edmund trusted me.”
I laughed.
“He trusted you?”
“No.”
She looked down.
“He used me.”
“Then why did you pretend to be his mother?”
Victoria stared at me.
“Because I couldn't have children.”
I knew that part.
But something in her voice made me wait.
“My first pregnancy ended badly.”
She looked at the table.
“I was twenty-two.”
I said nothing.
“I lost the baby.”
Her voice trembled.
“After that, I was told I couldn't carry another child.”
I had expected anger.
Instead, I felt something else.
Pity.
It disappeared quickly.
Because she continued.
“Then Edmund offered me a solution.”
“Leo.”
“Yes.”
“He told you he would be your son.”
“He told me I could have a family.”
“And you agreed.”
“Yes.”
“Knowing I was his mother.”
“Yes.”
“You stole him.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes filled.
“I stole him.”
The admission sounded different from every apology I had imagined.
It wasn't an excuse.
It was a confession.
But there was something else.
“You said that was your first lie.”
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.”
“What was the second?”
She looked at me.
“I told you Leo was taken because I wanted a child.”
My stomach tightened.
“That wasn't true?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Victoria whispered:
“Because I wanted to save him.”
I stared.
“What?”
She leaned closer.
“Sarah, I didn't take Leo because I wanted to own him.”
“Then why did you?”
“Because Edmund was going to kill him.”
Silence.
I couldn't speak.
Victoria continued.
“The night Leo was born, Edmund came to the hospital.”
My heart pounded.
“He told me to take the baby.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother had already moved against him.”
“What did she do?”
“She stole something.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
I stared.
“The Reed ledger?”
Victoria nodded.
“Names. Accounts. Children. Judges. Doctors. Everyone.”
My blood ran cold.
“My mother stole it.”
“Yes.”
“And Edmund wanted it back.”
“Yes.”
“Where was it?”
Victoria looked at me.
“Your mother hid it inside Leo's medical records.”
I stared.
“What?”
“The ledger was encrypted.”
“And?”
“The key was genetic.”
I remembered the rare marker.
The DNA.
The bloodline.
Leo.
“He needed Leo.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Leo's blood could unlock the ledger.”
I sat back.
Everything suddenly felt impossible.
My mother.
The Reed family.
Edmund.
Victoria.
Leo.
All connected.
But one question remained.
“If you were trying to save Leo, why did you keep him for three years?”
Victoria looked at me.
“Because I failed.”
“How?”
“I tried to run.”
“With Leo?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Canada.”
I stared.
“You never left.”
“I was stopped.”
“By Edmund?”
“No.”
“Who?”
Victoria's eyes filled with fear.
For the first time since I had entered the room, she looked genuinely terrified.
“Your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“Why would she stop you?”
“Because she didn't trust me.”
“Was she right?”
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“She was.”
“Then why?”
“Because I had already made a deal.”
“With whom?”
Victoria whispered:
“Your father.”
My blood ran cold.
“My father?”
“Not the man you called Father.”
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
She leaned toward the glass.
“The man who raised you was not your biological father.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Victoria looked directly into my eyes.
“Your biological father is Jonathan Reed.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I couldn't breathe.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You're lying.”
“This is the truth.”
“My mother married him?”
“Yes.”
“Then married my father?”
“Yes.”
“And never told me?”
“She was protecting you.”
“From what?”
Victoria's face hardened.
“From knowing what you were.”
“What am I?”
Victoria whispered:
“You are the last female heir of the Reed bloodline.”
I stared.
“And Leo?”
“The last male heir.”
My blood went cold.
“So we're both heirs.”
“Yes.”
“To the trust.”
“Yes.”
“To the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“And Edmund wants both of us.”
Victoria nodded.
“He doesn't just want Leo.”
I remembered what my mother had said.
He wants you.
Victoria looked at me.
“Now you understand.”
I stood.
“Why tell me?”
Victoria smiled sadly.
“Because I'm going to die.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Edmund doesn't leave witnesses.”
“You're in custody.”
“He has people everywhere.”
“Then testify.”
“I will.”
“Against him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victoria looked down.
“Because I finally understand what I did.”
I said nothing.
“I stole your son.”
“Yes.”
“I lied.”
“Yes.”
“I allowed a monster to use me.”
“Yes.”
“But I never stopped loving Leo.”
I stared at her.
“Love doesn't excuse what you did.”
“I know.”
“You hurt him.”
“I know.”
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
“You destroyed three years of his life.”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“I know.”
I turned toward the door.
“Sarah.”
I stopped.
She whispered:
“There is one more thing.”
I looked back.
“What?”
“Your father isn't dead either.”
My heart stopped.
“Which one?”
Victoria smiled.
“The one who raised you.”
I froze.
She continued.
“Your family has been lying about death for a very long time.”
That evening, I returned to the hospital.
Leo was sitting in bed, coloring.
He looked up.
“Mommy!”
I smiled.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
He held up the picture.
“Look.”
It was a drawing of three people.
Me.
Him.
And Arthur.
A crooked yellow sun hung above us.
“That's beautiful.”
“We're a family.”
I sat beside him.
“Yes.”
He pointed at the third figure.
“Daddy.”
I kissed his forehead.
“Yes.”
Then he pointed toward the fourth figure.
“Grandma.”
I froze.
The fourth person was drawn with long hair.
Gray.
And a small black heart.
“Who's that?”
Leo smiled.
“Your mommy.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
He pointed again.
“Your mommy.”
“My mother?”
He nodded.
“She came to see me.”
My blood ran cold.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
I looked toward Arthur.
He had just entered the room.
“What did she say?”
Leo shrugged.
“She said she missed you.”
My heart stopped.
My mother had been at the hospital.
While I was meeting Victoria.
While we were investigating the Reed estate.
She had come to see Leo.
“What else?”
Leo thought.
“She said I have her eyes.”
I stared.
Then he said something that made my blood freeze.
“She said not to tell Daddy.”
I looked at Arthur.
He hadn't heard.
I leaned closer.
“Leo.”
“Yes?”
“Did Grandma say anything else?”
He nodded.
“She said…”
He lowered his voice.
“She was sorry she had to lie.”
My stomach tightened.
“About what?”
Leo looked at me.
“She said you're not really my mommy.”
The room went silent.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Arthur stared.
“What?”
Leo immediately smiled.
“But I know she was joking.”
I couldn't breathe.
Because my mother wasn't the kind of woman who joked about things like that.
And Victoria had just told me I was the last female heir of the Reed bloodline.
My son was the last male heir.
Yet someone had just told him I wasn't his mother.
I looked at Arthur.
“We need to find my mother.”
He nodded.
“Now.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then I heard breathing.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Sarah.”
“Mom?”
Silence.
Then:
“Don't trust Arthur.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Arthur looked at me.
“What did she say?”
I couldn't answer.
Because at that exact moment, another message arrived.
From the same unknown number.
Victoria told you one truth tonight.
A second message.
But she still lied about the most important thing.
Then a final message.
Ask her who Leo's real biological mother is.
I looked toward the door.
My heart stopped.
Because suddenly, the DNA test I had trusted more than anything in the world no longer felt like proof.
It felt like another lie.
And somewhere inside the Vance family, someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure I believed Leo was my son.
The question was no longer whether Victoria had stolen my child.
May you like
The question was far more terrifying.
What if the child I had spent three years mourning was never Leo at all?
