CHAPTER 3 — THE SECRET THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
"Bring the security footage."
The order echoed through the mansion.
Within minutes, every employee gathered in the private theater.
The screens lit up.
Day after day.
Week after week.
Video after video.
The room watched in horror.
The little girl was forced to wake before sunrise.
She cooked.
She cleaned.
She carried heavy laundry baskets larger than herself.
When she made the slightest mistake...
She was slapped.
Locked in a storage room.
Denied dinner.
The billionaire could no longer watch.
"Stop."
His voice broke.
His daughter quietly reached for his hand.
"It's okay, Dad."
No.
It wasn't.
The head housekeeper stepped forward with tears in her eyes.
"Sir... we tried to tell you."
She handed him a stack of unopened envelopes.
Every one was addressed to him.
Every one had been hidden.
His daughter had written a letter every week.
Not one had reached him.
He opened the first.
Daddy... I miss you.
The second.
Daddy... I promise I'll be good.
The third.
Daddy... Please come home.
By the tenth letter, he couldn't read anymore.
His tears blurred every word.
The woman he had trusted had stolen months of his daughter's childhood.
She had convinced the world the girl was spoiled.
When in reality...
She had become a prisoner inside her own home.
The billionaire looked toward his wife.
"You didn't just betray me."
"You stole my daughter's life."
Within the hour, police officers entered the estate.
The stepmother was escorted away in handcuffs, screaming that she had done nothing wrong.
No one followed her.
No one defended her.
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The mansion had finally become quiet again.
But healing had only just begun.
