CHAPTER 2 — THE WOMAN WHO PAID FOR MY SILENCE
CHAPTER 2 — THE WOMAN WHO PAID FOR MY SILENCE
Damien slowly turned around.
His mother's face had gone completely pale.
Victoria Mercer marched across the mall, her designer heels striking the marble floor with sharp, frantic clicks.
The moment she saw the twins, she stopped breathing.
"No..."
The word escaped before she could hide it.
She wasn't looking at me.
She was staring directly into Ethan's eyes.
Then Noah's.
Her hands began to shake.
For the first time in my life...
Victoria Mercer looked afraid.
"Damien," she said quickly, grabbing his arm. "We're leaving."
He pulled away.
"Mother..."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Do you know something?"
She forced a smile.
"Of course not."
I laughed softly.
She looked at me.
Hatred flashed across her face.
"You should have stayed gone."
"I almost did."
Damien looked between us.
"What is happening?"
I reached into my handbag.
Inside was an old envelope.
The very same envelope Damien had handed me five years earlier.
I placed it in his hands.
His fingers trembled as he opened it.
The cash was gone.
The clinic information remained.
So did the lawyer's card.
But there was something else.
A letter.
One I had never shown him.
It wasn't written by Damien.
It was signed by Victoria Mercer.
The letter offered me two million dollars.
Disappear.
Never contact Damien again.
Never tell anyone about the babies.
In exchange...
She would make sure my children "never wanted for anything."
At the bottom was one final sentence.
If you refuse, Damien's future will be destroyed... and so will yours.
Damien read every word.
Then he looked at his mother.
"You wrote this?"
Victoria said nothing.
Silence became her confession.
"I thought..." Damien whispered.
"I thought Mara left because she hated me."
I met his eyes.
"I left because your mother promised to destroy us."
The twins looked up, confused.
"Mom?"
I smiled gently.
"It's okay."
But nothing was okay anymore.
Because for the first time...
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Damien realized he had never made the biggest decision of his life.
Someone else had made it for him.
