Chapter 9: The Truth About Their Mothers

The drive back from the warehouse felt like a dream to Sarah.

She sat in the back of the Rolls-Royce, holding her portfolio so tightly that her fingers hurt.

Jason’s words kept repeating in her mind.

“Adrian’s mother was the one who personally tore up the check.”

If Jason was telling the truth, Sarah’s marriage was no longer just a business deal.

She had married into the very family she believed had caused her mother’s death.

When the elevator doors opened at the penthouse, Sarah stepped out.

The room was filled with the warm light of the setting sun.

Adrian was sitting near the large windows.

His wheelchair was beside him.

On the glass table was a thick brown folder.

Adrian did not turn around when Sarah entered.

“The Starlight Brocade shipment was safe,” he said.

“My team watched the warehouse cameras after Jason left.”

Then he looked at her.

“You look pale, Sarah.”

Sarah said nothing.

She walked toward him slowly.

Her boots made sharp sounds against the floor.

Then she stopped in front of him.

“Did your family kill my mother?”

The question made the room completely silent.

Adrian slowly looked up at her.

His face did not change.

But his eyes became serious.

“Jason spoke to you,” he said.

“Answer me, Adrian!”

Sarah's voice broke.

She had been holding her anger inside all day.

“Nine years ago, did my father ask the Vance family for money to pay for my mother's medical treatment?”

She took a shaky breath.

“Did your mother refuse to give him the money that could have saved my mother's life?”

Adrian slowly reached down.

He did not use the controls on his wheelchair.

Instead, he grabbed the sides of the chair and stood up.

He was suddenly much taller than Sarah.

His powerful body stood directly in front of her.

Sarah usually felt safe when he was close.

But now, he felt like a storm about to hit.

Adrian picked up the brown folder from the table and handed it to her.

“This is the first report from my investigation team,” he said.

His voice was calm.

“Open it.”

Sarah's hands shook as she opened the folder.

Inside were copies of bank records, an old company record from Lin & Co., and an official letter from Vance Enterprises dated nine years ago.

At the bottom of the letter was a signature.

Madelyn Vance.

Adrian's biological mother.

Sarah stared at the signature.

“It's true,” she whispered.

A tear rolled down her cheek and fell onto the paper.

She looked at Adrian.

“You knew.”

Her voice was filled with pain.

“You knew all this time, and you still made me marry you.”

“I didn't know until this afternoon,” Adrian said.

He stepped closer.

“Look at the date on the company record.”

Then he pointed at the papers.

“Look at who actually requested the money from your father's company.”

Sarah looked down again.

Her eyes widened.

The request had not been made by her father.

It had been made by Eleanor.

Her stepmother.

Sarah's breathing became faster.

But that was not the worst part.

The bank details on the request did not belong to St. Jude’s Hospital.

They belonged to a private bank account registered under Eleanor's maiden name.

“My mother…”

Sarah's voice became very small.

“She wasn't going to receive any of that money.”

Adrian nodded.

“Eleanor used your mother's illness as an excuse to ask my mother for forty million dollars.”

Sarah stared at him.

“At that time, my mother was in charge of a charity foundation,” Adrian explained.

“She discovered what Eleanor was doing.”

“So she refused to approve the payment because she believed Eleanor wanted to steal the money.”

Sarah covered her mouth.

Adrian continued.

“But Eleanor didn't care.”

“She allowed your mother's insurance to expire.”

Sarah's eyes filled with tears.

“Then she used my mother's death to make your family look guilty.”

Sarah slowly stepped backward.

The truth was much worse than she had imagined.

Eleanor had not simply made a mistake.

She had planned everything.

She had used Sarah's mother's illness to get money.

Then she had allowed Sarah's mother to die and blamed the Vance family.

“But there is something else,” Adrian said.

Sarah looked at him.

Adrian walked toward her.

“My mother died three months after she signed that letter.”

Sarah froze.

“It was a car accident,” Adrian continued.

“But it was not a normal accident.”

His eyes became cold.

“The driver who hit her worked as a logistics manager under your stepmother's brother.”

Sarah's eyes widened.

“You mean…”

“A blood feud,” Adrian said.

He looked directly into her eyes.

“Your stepfamily didn't only destroy your life, Sarah.”

“They killed my mother.”

Sarah felt like the whole world had changed.

Adrian stepped closer.

“Our contract marriage is no longer just about my grandfather's will.”

His voice was cold.

“We now have the same enemy.”

Adrian reached out and held Sarah's waist.

He pulled her gently against him.

Sarah looked up at him.

He wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb.

His touch was surprisingly gentle.

“Jason and Victoria think they won today,” Adrian said.

“They have no idea what is coming.”

He looked into her eyes.

“Tomorrow, we will announce the worldwide launch of your fashion line.”

Sarah listened silently.

“And we will begin the criminal investigation that could put Eleanor and Victoria in prison.”

Adrian's eyes were filled with determination.

“Are you still with me, Aunt Sarah?”

Sarah stared into the eyes of the dangerous billionaire standing before her.

Something inside her had changed.

The innocent girl who had once trusted her stepfamily was gone.

She grabbed Adrian's suit jacket.

Her eyes became cold and determined.

“I'm with you,” she whispered.

She held his jacket tighter.

“Let's destroy them all.”