Love in the Shadows of Legacy のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 61 - チャプター 70

Lily's POVThursday morning Alexander seemed different in ways I couldn't quite identify during our meeting with Bruno Sterling about debt restructuring options.He was distracted and kept zoning out while Bruno walked through lender proposals which wasn't like him because Alexander was normally hypervigilant during financial discussions."Are you okay?" I asked after Bruno left and we were alone in the conference room."Fine. Just didn't sleep well." He gathered documents without meeting my eyes. "Let's review the recovery timeline before the afternoon investor calls."But he wasn't fine, and I could see tension in his shoulders that hadn't been there the day before.We worked through lunch, reviewing strategies for approaching different lenders, and Alexander kept making uncharacteristic mistakes with the numbers."You miscalculated the April payment by three million," I pointed out gently. "Alexander, seriously, what's wrong?""Nothing. I'm just tired." He corrected the spreadsheet

Lily's POVI was heading to Alexander's office on Friday at six to confirm dinner plans when I saw Sophia walking out of his door looking satisfied in a way that made my stomach twist."Soph? What are you doing here?" I tried to keep my voice neutral."Lily! I was hoping to run into you." She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "I had a meeting nearby and thought I'd stop by to see how you're doing with all this corporate drama.""You had a meeting with Alexander?" The question came out sharper than intended."Not exactly a meeting. More like I wanted to check on you through him since you've been too busy to return my calls." Sophia touched my arm. "You look exhausted. This job is destroying you.""I'm fine. Just busy with the debt crisis and recovery strategy." I glanced at Alexander's office. "What did you talk to him about?""Just expressed my concerns about how he's been monopolizing your time and energy." Sophia's voice was sweet but something underneath felt poisonous. "Someon

Lily's POVSaturday morning, I went to the office to catch up on work and found myself drawn to Richard's private office, where we'd had so many late-night strategy sessions.The locked drawer in his desk had bothered me for weeks because I'd tried every key on the ring Janet gave me and none of them fit.But today I noticed the drawer had a simple combination lock underneath and something made me try numbers that might have been significant to Richard.First, I tried the year Thompson Enterprises was founded, but nothing happened.Then I tried what I knew of his birthday from company records and still nothing.On impulse, I tried my own birthday in reverse order and heard a soft click.The drawer slid open revealing stacks of letters tied with string and arranged by date.My hands shook as I pulled out the first bundle and saw the name written on every envelope in Richard's handwriting.Elena.My mother's name.I untied the string carefully and opened the oldest letter dated January

Lily's POVSaturday night, I couldn't sleep, so I pulled out my laptop and started searching for any connection between Richard Thompson and Elena Rose in old news archives.The first hit was a society page from 1997 showing a gallery opening with Richard standing next to a beautiful woman identified as "emerging artist Elena Rose."My mother.They stood close with his hand on her back and she was looking at him with obvious affection while he smiled in a way I'd never seen in any photos.I found more photos from various art events in 1997 and 1998, showing them together, until suddenly, in October 1998, my mother disappeared from all Miami society coverage.I did the math calculating backward from my birthday in March 1995.My mother would have been pregnant with me in 1994, which was before she met Richard, based on the photo dates.But Richard's letters mentioned trying to adopt me after she died which meant he'd believed I was his daughter even if the timeline was unclear.I searc

Lily's POVI locked myself in my apartment Sunday and turned off my phone because I couldn't handle calls from Alexander trying to explain or Janet asking if I was okay.Everything I thought I knew about my life was a lie.Richard Thompson hadn't been a generous stranger who saw potential in me, he'd been my biological father making amends for eighteen years of cowardice.The inheritance wasn't a vote of confidence in my abilities, it was guilt money from a man who'd watched me suffer rather than claim me as his daughter.Every struggle in foster care while he lived in luxury knowing I existed.Every scholarship I'd worked desperately to earn that he'd funded anonymously.Every achievement I'd been proud of that had only happened because my father paid for opportunities from the shadows.Nothing about my success was actually mine.I pulled out my portfolio of paintings and looked at them with new eyes wondering if my artistic talent came from my mother or if Richard had secretly funded