Chapter 3 - The Ghost From The Past Arrives
My father stopped near the edge of the dance floor, his weary eyes scanning the glittering crowd before landing directly on me.
“Natalie,” he breathed out, his voice cracking with a mixture of profound shame and desperate, lingering paternal hope.
“Don’t you dare say my name,” I answered, taking a slow step toward him while the weight of the past crashed down.
For nine years, I had believed my father had simply walked away from our family when my mother needed him the most.
Now, looking at the pristine legal folders tucked beneath his arm, I realized his absence was part of a much larger conspiracy.
“You helped him, didn’t you?” I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper as I looked into my father’s eyes.
My father lowered his gaze to the polished marble floor, unable to meet my eyes under the harsh glare of the chandeliers.
“Ethan promised he would take care of you and invest the capital wisely in a high-yield corporate trust,” my father murmured.
“And you believed him? Or did he pay you off to sign away my rights while I was mourning my mother’s passing?” I snapped.
Vanessa stepped forward from the shadows of Table Six, her face twisted in panic as she realized her own involvement was exposed.
“Natalie, we were just trying to secure financial stability for the family! You wouldn't understand how business works!” Vanessa yelled.
“Business? You stole my money, slept with my husband while I was pregnant, and threw me out like unwanted trash!” I retorted.
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Adrian Cole stepped slightly in front of me, his tall frame blocking Vanessa from advancing any further toward where I stood.
“I suggest you keep your distance, Mrs. Harper,” Adrian advised in a tone so cold it froze the air around them.
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