Chapter 6 - The Letters Damian Never Received)
They returned to the venue after midnight.
The ballroom looked nothing like a wedding anymore.
Flowers were being dismantled.
Tables stood half cleared.
The giant rose wall remained, but several flowers had fallen, leaving dark holes in the white surface.
Victoria was still there.
Her attorney had arrived.
So had Claire Bennett's missing person investigators.
Damian took Emily to a quiet suite where Sophie was sleeping beside Nora.
The moment Sophie saw Emily, she climbed into her arms.
Then Emily surprised Damian.
She reached for him too.
Not a hug.
Only his hand.
But she held it tightly.
"Are you leaving?"
"No."
"Promise?"
Damian looked down.
He had made promises too casually in his life.
Business promises.
Social promises.
Promises made because contracts could enforce them.
This one felt different.
"I promise I'm not walking away."
Emily nodded.
That seemed enough.
For now.
A private pediatrician examined both children.
Dehydrated.
Exhausted.
No serious injuries.
Damian arranged a guarded apartment inside the Vance residence.
Nora agreed to stay.
Then Damian went downstairs.
Victoria waited in the bridal suite.
Her wedding dress was gone.
She wore black trousers and a sweater borrowed from an assistant.
For seven years Damian had known every expression she used.
Anger.
Charm.
Seduction.
Calculation.
Tonight he saw one he had never noticed before.
Fear.
"Where did you go?" she asked.
"Queens."
Victoria looked away.
"Storage unit 317."
Her jaw tightened.
"So you knew."
"I knew Claire kept things."
"You lied."
"Damian."
"For eight years."
"I was trying to protect you."
"From my daughter?"
"We don't know she's yours."
"I've already ordered a test."
Victoria stared at him.
He continued.
"Claire saved letters."
"What letters?"
"The ones she wrote to me."
"I've never seen them."
"Photographs too."
Victoria said nothing.
"One shows you entering Claire's apartment building."
"No crime in visiting someone."
"So you did know her."
Victoria closed her eyes.
"Yes."
The first truth.
Damian felt no relief.
"How well?"
"Not well."
"Try again."
"We spoke several times."
"Why?"
"Your father asked me to."
Damian's anger sharpened.
"My father?"
"He thought Claire was using you."
"She was pregnant."
"We didn't know."
"She wrote it in a letter."
"I never saw that letter."
"Someone did."
Victoria paced.
"Your father believed you were about to destroy your future. Vance International was unstable. Investors were panicking. You were twenty four and talking about leaving the company for a woman you'd dated less than a year."
"I loved her."
"You thought you did."
Damian stepped closer.
"Don't tell me what I thought."
Victoria's eyes flashed.
"I was there when your father was dying under the pressure of keeping the company alive. Claire wanted you to disappear with her."
"She wanted me."
"Exactly."
Damian stared.
Victoria had finally said what she believed.
Possession disguised as love.
"What did you do?"
"I spoke to her."
"What did you say?"
"That you had chosen the company."
"That was a lie."
"I believed it would become true."
Damian laughed once.
No humor.
"Did you intercept her letters?"
"No."
"Did you tell my staff not to let her in?"
"Sometimes."
"Did you tell her I signed a settlement?"
"Your father handled the settlement."
"Did she take money?"
Victoria hesitated.
Damian saw it.
"Did she?"
"No."
Eight years of poison collapsed into one word.
Damian turned away.
His father had told him Claire accepted five million dollars.
Victoria had confirmed it.
Damian had spent years hating Claire because hating her hurt less than missing her.
"Why?"
Victoria's voice broke.
"Because she would have taken you."
"No."
He faced her.
"You took eight years from me."
"Damian."
"You took eight years from Emily."
"I didn't know she had the baby."
"Claire wrote that she was pregnant."
"I said I never saw the letter."
"Then how did you know where to find her at the clinic?"
Victoria froze.
Damian removed the photograph.
Claire outside the clinic.
Victoria behind her.
"You were there."
Victoria stared.
"I can explain."
"Do it."
She sat down slowly.
"Your father sent me."
"For what?"
"To make sure Claire left New York."
"Why a clinic?"
"I didn't know it was a clinic."
"Stop lying."
Victoria's face hardened.
"Fine. I knew she was pregnant."
Damian said nothing.
"I was twenty three. Your father told me Claire was trapping you."
"And you believed him?"
"I wanted to."
"Did you threaten her?"
"No."
"Claire's recording says there was a threat."
"Not from me."
"Who?"
Victoria looked toward the door.
"Ask Marcus."
Damian's heartbeat changed.
"What?"
"Ask your loyal security chief where he was eight years ago."
"Marcus wasn't my security chief then."
"No."
Victoria smiled bitterly.
"He worked for your father."
Damian remembered.
Marcus had joined his personal team after his father's death.
Before that he had handled sensitive corporate security assignments.
"What did he do?"
Victoria stood.
"I won't say another word without my attorney."
"You brought his name up."
"And now I'm done."
"Victoria."
She moved close enough to whisper.
"You think I am the villain because that's easier."
Damian stared at her.
"A frightened little girl walked into our wedding and you tried to throw her out."
"I panicked."
"You grabbed her."
"I panicked."
"You lied about knowing Claire."
"I was afraid."
"Of what?"
Victoria's eyes filled with something that almost looked like pity.
"Of you discovering that your father wasn't the worst person involved."
Damian heard the door open behind him.
Marcus stood there.
"Police need you downstairs."
Victoria smiled at him.
Marcus did not smile back.
May you like
Damian looked from one to the other.
For the first time he wondered whether the most dangerous person at his wedding had ever been wearing white.
