《The Secret Heir’s Return 》全部章節：第 61 章 - 第 65 章

The letter arrived on a Tuesday, three weeks after Damien had moved to Portland.Isabella found it in her mailbox, tucked between a grocery store flyer and a bill she couldn't afford to pay. The envelope was plain white, her name typed on the front in a font she didn't recognize. No return address. No postmark.She opened it in the kitchen, Lucas playing at her feet, the morning sun streaming through the window.Inside was a single photograph.Isabella's blood ran cold.The image showed her mother not Catherine, but Eleanor Vance. The woman who had given birth to her. The seventeen-year-old girl who had died of cancer, holding a stranger's hand, hoping her daughter would be loved.Except Eleanor wasn't dying in the photograph. She was standing on a beach, laughing, her arm around a man Isabella didn't recognize. The timestamp in the corner read three months ago.Her birth mother was alive.Damien found her sitting on the floor, the photograph clutched in her hands, Lucas pressed again

Autumn in Portland is like a promise.Isabella stood at the window of her small apartment, watching the leaves drift down from the trees, their colors blazing against the gray sky. Lucas was at preschool, learning his letters and making friends, and growing up too fast. She had the morning to herself a rare luxury.She should have been cleaning. Or working and or doing any of the hundred things on her to-do list.Instead, she was thinking about Damien.It had been four months since he had arrived in Portland. Four months of coffee dates and park visits and quiet evenings on her couch. Four months of watching him with Lucas, of seeing the father she had always hoped he could be.Four months of falling in love with him all over again.But she hadn't told him. Couldn't tell him. Was too afraid of what would happen if she did."Isabella." Damien's voice came from the doorway. "You're up early."She turned. He was leaning against the doorframe, his dark hair loose, his green eyes soft. He

A year passed like a whisper.Isabella stood in the nursery, the morning sun streaming through the curtains, a baby girl sleeping in her arms. Lily was two months old now a tiny thing with dark hair and green eyes and a temper that reminded her of Damien."Is she sleeping?" Damien appeared in the doorway, his voice soft."Finally." Isabella smiled, swaying gently. "She takes after you. Stubborn.""Stubborn?" He crossed the room, wrapping his arms around both of them. "I prefer to be persistent.""Persistent." She laughed. "Is that what we're calling it?"He kissed her forehead. "It's what we're calling love."Lily stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She looked up at her parents with an expression that seemed far too wise for her age."See?" Isabella said. "She's already judging us.""She gets that from you.""You think I'm judgy?""I think you're discerning." He took the baby from her arms, cradling her against his chest. "And I love you for it."The house was quiet that evening.Lucas