CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET THEY STOLE
Richard drove Emma home.
The address led to a crumbling apartment building on the edge of town.
Peeling paint covered the walls.
Broken windows lined the hallways.
It looked nothing like the life his family had once known.
Inside a tiny apartment, a baby boy lay sleeping beneath a thin blanket.
Emma immediately rushed to him.
Her entire face softened.
"He hasn't eaten since yesterday," she said quietly.
Richard felt his chest tighten.
Then he noticed a photograph sitting on the shelf.
A photograph of his sister, Sarah.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakably Sarah.
"Where is your mother?" he asked.
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
"She died six months ago."
The words hit Richard like a hammer.
His sister was dead.
Gone.
Without anyone in the family knowing.
Without anyone helping her.
Without anyone even saying goodbye.
Later that evening, Richard searched through Sarah's belongings.
What he found stunned him.
Letters.
Court documents.
Medical records.
And one shocking confession.
Ten years earlier, Sarah had not abandoned the family.
She had been framed.
Richard's business partner, Victor Hale, had forged evidence that made Sarah appear guilty of embezzlement.
The scandal destroyed her reputation.
Their father believed the lies and disowned her.
Alone and pregnant, Sarah disappeared.
Victor gained complete control over the company.
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And for ten years, nobody questioned the story.
Until now.
