Chapter 4 - Claire Never Received The Letter
Evelyn had written Claire three months after leaving.
She regretted the agreement almost immediately.
She mailed the letter to the apartment Claire shared with Richard.
Richard admitted he received it.
He opened it.
Claire felt physically sick.
“You opened my mail?”
“I thought she was trying to manipulate you.”
Evelyn laughed without humor.
“You were protecting your father.”
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“I was protecting Claire from a lawsuit.”
“No,” Claire said.
He looked at her.
“You decided what I was allowed to know.”
Richard stepped closer.
“Your father’s estate was a mess.”
“Then you should have told me.”
“You were barely functioning after he died.”
“So you lied?”
“I didn’t lie.”
Claire stared.
“You let me believe my mother abandoned me.”
Richard’s face changed.
That was the lie.
Not a sentence spoken.
A truth withheld until the false version became permanent.
Victoria finally found her voice.
“Richard, tell me this woman is exaggerating.”
He did not.
Victoria looked shaken.
For years she had treated Claire like an outsider who arrived without
family, without money, without pedigree.
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Now she learned the Vales had helped create that isolation.
The irony was almost unbearable.
