CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 6
The Perfect Marriage Lie
Nathan stared at the photograph for almost an hour.
He did not move.
He did not blink.
He barely breathed.
A woman he had never heard of was holding him as a baby.
A woman his mother had never mentioned.
A woman connected to Victor Hale.
A woman whose name carried enough weight to make Margaret Whitmore lose her composure.
Rebecca.
The name felt unfamiliar.
But the photograph felt strangely personal.
Because the baby in her arms was him.
Nathan had spent his entire life believing he knew his own story.
Born into the Whitmore family.
Raised in privilege.
Protected by wealth.
Loved by his parents.
But now he wondered...
How much of that story had been written for him?
The next morning, he confronted Margaret.
She was sitting in the garden when he approached.
The same garden where she used to drink tea with Eleanor.
The same garden where Eleanor had smiled and pretended to be the perfect daughter-in-law.
"Who is Rebecca?"
Nathan asked.
Margaret froze.
Not dramatically.
Not like someone caught in a lie.
Like someone hearing a name they had spent decades trying to forget.
"Where did you find that name?"
Nathan placed the photograph on the table.
For several seconds, Margaret said nothing.
Then she touched the picture with trembling fingers.
"She loved you."
Nathan's heart tightened.
"Who was she?"
Margaret looked away.
"Someone who sacrificed everything for our family."
"Then why don't I know her?"
A painful silence followed.
"Because your father made sure nobody spoke about her."
Nathan felt anger rise.
"My father?"
Margaret nodded slowly.
"Your father made many mistakes."
The sentence sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
"Everyone keeps telling me that."
Nathan said.
"But nobody tells me what he did."
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Because the truth would destroy the image you had of him."
Nathan laughed bitterly.
"That image is already gone."
Finally, Margaret began.
"Rebecca Hale was Samuel Hale's daughter."
Nathan immediately understood.
Victor's sister.
"She was part of the Hale family?"
"Yes."
"Then why was she holding me?"
Margaret looked at the photograph.
"Because she saved your life."
Twenty-eight years earlier...
The Whitmore and Hale families were not always enemies.
Before revenge.
Before betrayal.
Before hatred.
There was friendship.
Rebecca Hale was different from her father and brother.
She did not believe in revenge.
She believed mistakes could be corrected.
When Samuel Hale discovered William Whitmore had stolen ownership of their company, Rebecca wanted the truth revealed.
But she did not want war.
She tried to negotiate.
She tried to repair what was broken.
Then she discovered something worse.
William Whitmore had not acted alone.
Someone else had helped him.
Someone close to both families.
And when Rebecca tried to expose the truth...
She disappeared.
"Disappeared?"
Nathan asked.
Margaret nodded.
"Everyone believed she left."
"But she didn't?"
Margaret looked at him.
"No."
Nathan felt cold.
"What happened to her?"
Margaret's voice broke.
"She died."
The words were quiet.
But they destroyed something inside him.
"How?"
Margaret looked down.
"An accident."
Nathan immediately noticed.
The hesitation.
"You don't believe that."
Margaret did not answer.
She didn't need to.
That night, Nathan returned to the office.
He reopened every file connected to Eleanor.
But now he wasn't searching for her crimes.
He was searching for the connection.
The reason.
Why did Victor choose Eleanor?
Why did Eleanor target his family?
Why did everyone hide Rebecca?
Then he found something.
A wedding photograph.
His wedding photograph.
Eleanor standing beside him.
Smiling.
Behind them, almost invisible among the guests...
Was Victor Hale.
Nathan stared.
Impossible.
Victor had been there.
At their wedding.
He zoomed in.
Victor was not looking at the bride.
He was looking at him.
The next morning, Nathan visited Eleanor.
The detention center allowed only thirty minutes.
She entered the room wearing plain clothes.
No designer dress.
No perfect makeup.
No public image.
For the first time, Nathan saw Elena Voss.
Not Eleanor Whitmore.
"You found Rebecca."
She said immediately.
Nathan stopped.
"How do you know?"
Eleanor smiled sadly.
"Because that's the one secret your family was desperate to protect."
Nathan sat down.
"Tell me the truth."
Eleanor looked at him.
"The marriage was planned."
The words hurt more than Nathan expected.
"What?"
"Not by me."
A pause.
"By Victor."
Nathan's hands tightened.
"Why?"
Eleanor looked away.
"Because Victor didn't want money."
"Then what did he want?"
Her answer was quiet.
"You."
Nathan stared.
"What does that mean?"
Eleanor leaned closer.
"Victor believed you were the key to destroying the Whitmores."
"Why?"
"Because you were the only person your family truly loved."
Nathan said nothing.
Eleanor continued.
"Your family built an empire by sacrificing others."
"And Victor wanted you to feel what he felt."
Nathan looked at her.
"So he sent you."
She nodded.
"I was supposed to marry you."
A pause.
"Make you trust me."
"Make your family trust me."
"Then destroy everything."
Nathan felt sick.
"Was anything real?"
For the first time, Eleanor looked uncertain.
A long silence.
Then:
"At the beginning?"
She swallowed.
"No."
Nathan looked away.
The answer hurt.
But he needed it.
"And later?"
Eleanor's eyes changed.
A flash of something real.
Regret.
"I don't know."
Nathan stood.
"You ruined innocent people's lives."
Eleanor looked down.
"I know."
"Why?"
Her voice became quiet.
"Because Victor taught me something."
"What?"
"That love is just another weakness people use against you."
Nathan looked at her.
"And you believed him?"
Eleanor smiled sadly.
"I did."
Before Nathan left, Eleanor called his name.
"Nathan."
He stopped.
"There is something else."
He turned.
"What?"
Her expression became serious.
"The person who betrayed Rebecca..."
A pause.
"Is still inside your family."
Nathan froze.
"What?"
Eleanor looked directly into his eyes.
"Victor didn't create this war."
"He inherited it."
That night, Nathan returned home.
He walked through the mansion.
Past the portraits.
Past the rooms.
Past every memory.
The perfect family.
The perfect marriage.
The perfect life.
All of it had been a lie.
But the most terrifying thought was not that Eleanor had lied.
It was that everyone had.
And somewhere in his own family...
May you like
The person who started everything was still hiding.
End of Chapter 6
