PART 6 — The Truth We Never Knew
The room erupted into chaos.
Security moved toward the balcony.
Richard disappeared behind the doors before anyone could reach him.
Declan pulled me toward the nearest exit.
“Go!”
“But—”
“Now.”
I held James tightly against my chest.
We ran through the corridor as security officers searched the upper floor.
Outside, snow was falling harder.
Aurelia rushed toward us.
“What happened?”
“Richard Vale,” Declan said.
Her face went white.
“He found us.”
“No,” Declan replied.
“He wanted us to find him.”
Aurelia stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
Declan held up the ledger.
“He wants James because of the trust.”
Aurelia covered her mouth.
“I thought your father destroyed that document.”
“He didn't.”
“Then we're all in danger.”
Declan looked at her.
“Not anymore.”
His voice had changed.
He wasn't frightened.
He was focused.
“What are you going to do?”
“End this.”
We returned to my house under heavy security.
James eventually fell asleep.
I sat beside his crib, watching his tiny chest rise and fall.
Declan stood in the doorway.
“He looks peaceful.”
“He is.”
“For now.”
I looked at him.
“What happens next?”
“We find Richard.”
“And then?”
“We make him answer for everything.”
I was silent.
Then I asked:
“Why did you really divorce me?”
Declan looked down.
“I thought you wanted out.”
“What?”
“You stopped talking to me. You stopped sleeping beside me. You wouldn't tell me what was wrong.”
“Because I was pregnant.”
“I didn't know.”
“I tried to tell you.”
He frowned.
“When?”
“The night before you filed.”
His expression changed.
“What were you going to say?”
“I was going to tell you I was pregnant.”
He stared at me.
“But you never did.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because when I came downstairs, I heard you talking to Evelyn.”
His face froze.
“What did you hear?”
“You told her you wanted the divorce finalized before Christmas.”
“I was talking about the business.”
“I didn't know that.”
He closed his eyes.
“And then you said something about protecting the Rowan name.”
I remembered the pain.
“I thought you were talking about me.”
Declan looked devastated.
“I was talking about my father.”
“What?”
“He had left the company in danger. There were lawsuits. Threats. I was trying to protect you.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought I was protecting you by keeping you away.”
I laughed bitterly.
“We were both protecting each other.”
“And destroying our marriage.”
“Yes.”
Silence settled between us.
Then Declan stepped closer.
“I loved you.”
I looked at him.
“I still do.”
My heart hurt.
“Don't say that.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know if I can believe you.”
He nodded.
“Then don't believe my words.”
He looked toward James.
“Believe what I do.”
For the first time, I couldn't answer.
Later that night, Declan's security team discovered something.
The phone number that had contacted me during my pregnancy had been traced.
It belonged to a prepaid phone.
But the phone had been purchased using a credit card.
A credit card belonging to—
“Evelyn.”
Declan slammed the file onto the table.
She had lied.
We found her at a hotel before sunrise.
When Declan confronted her, she finally confessed.
“I didn't want you to know about the baby.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard was watching you.”
“And?”
“If you knew, you'd have become predictable.”
Declan stared at her.
“You manipulated my wife.”
“I protected her.”
“You threatened her.”
“I scared her away from you because I knew Richard was watching.”
I stepped forward.
“You could have told me the truth.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because there was a mole inside the company.”
Declan's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Evelyn hesitated.
Then gave us a name.
“Daniel Mercer.”
Declan froze.
His chief financial officer.
The man who had worked beside him for twelve years.
“The person who approved your car maintenance records.”
My stomach dropped.
“The person who had access to your medical files.”
Declan's expression became murderous.
“The person who knew about James.”
Evelyn nodded.
Daniel had been working for Richard.
But there was more.
Daniel had arranged the brake failure.
He had leaked my pregnancy records.
He had manipulated the divorce proceedings.
And he had convinced Declan that I was already seeing someone else.
Every piece of the nightmare suddenly fit.
The jealousy.
The divorce.
The silence.
The phone calls.
The fear.
Someone had built our separation carefully.
Not because they hated me.
But because they wanted Declan alone.
Vulnerable.
Without me.
And without his son.
Declan looked at me.
“I'm sorry.”
I shook my head.
“You didn't know.”
“I should have.”
“You trusted the wrong people.”
“So did you.”
We stood there silently.
Then James began crying upstairs.
Declan immediately turned.
“I'll get him.”
I watched him disappear.
A few seconds later, I heard his voice.
“It's okay, buddy.”
Something inside me softened.
He carried James downstairs.
Our son was wrapped against his chest.
Declan looked at me.
“He stopped crying.”
I smiled.
“Apparently, he likes you.”
Declan smiled for the first time.
“I hope so.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?”
His expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“Richard has been arrested.”
My breath caught.
“What?”
“They found him trying to leave the state.”
Relief flooded through me.
But Declan wasn't smiling.
“There's a problem.”
“What?”
“The police found something in his car.”
“What?”
“A file.”
“What file?”
Declan looked at James.
Then at me.
“The original divorce agreement.”
I frowned.
“What about it?”
“The version we signed wasn't the original.”
My heart stopped.
“What do you mean?”
He opened the file.
“There were two versions.”
He turned the first page.
My signature was there.
So was his.
But beneath the signatures was a clause neither of us had ever seen.
Declan read it aloud.
“Upon the birth of a legitimate male heir, control of the Rowan estate shall transfer immediately to the child's mother.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“The moment James was born…”
His voice dropped.
“You became the most powerful person in the Rowan family.”
And suddenly, I understood why everyone had been so desperate to keep James a secret.
They weren't only trying to hide my son from his father.
They were trying to hide me from my own inheritance.
