CHAPTER 3: THE LIE THAT LASTED TEN YEARS
CHAPTER 3: THE LIE THAT LASTED TEN YEARS
Victoria suddenly raised her voice.
"Claire is lying!"
"She always wanted attention."
But Ethan calmly handed his phone to the family attorney.
"Play the recording."
The ballroom speakers filled with the voice of an elderly woman.
It was Margaret Ellis.
The retired nurse who had cared for Ethan after his rescue.
"I always knew the wrong child received the credit," she said.
"I watched Victoria pay Claire's older stepsister, Sophia, to tell reporters she had found Ethan."
"My silence has haunted me for ten years."
Gasps echoed through the room.
Claire looked at Victoria in disbelief.
"You knew?"
Victoria lowered her eyes.
"I couldn't let you become more important than Sophia."
"You weren't my daughter."
"You were only... a responsibility."
Claire felt tears fill her eyes.
Not because she had finally learned the truth.
But because the woman she had spent years trying to please had never intended to love her at all.
May you like
Ethan quietly walked to Claire's side.
"You deserved better."
