Chapter 2

2

Maya watched as my butler left, her hands clenched into fists. She couldn't stop him.

A few minutes later, the butler returned with a heavy metal lockbox. My hands shook as I forced it open.

Inside were thick photo albums. I flipped through the pages, and my breath hitched.

Every single photo was of Rosaline and Silas. They were hugging, kissing, and laughing at different vacation spots.

I stared at the images, feeling like a lightning bolt had struck my brain. These weren't recent; they spanned decades.

I had lived in total darkness for thirty years. I had no idea my wife was living a double life.

A wave of nausea and humiliation washed over me. I felt like a fool.

Rosaline always hated taking pictures with me. We only had one formal photo together.

She had insisted on it during Silas's wedding day. That was the day I found out they used to date.

But everyone was married by then. Rosaline acted like she had moved on and was happy with me.

I thought their romance was ancient history. I never imagined they had reignited the fire right under my nose.

I kept digging through the box, ignoring the bile rising in my throat. At the bottom, I found a USB drive.

Maya tried to snatch it, but my guards held her back. She was screaming, but I didn't hear a word.

I had the staff bring a laptop. I plugged in the drive and hit play.

An old video began to flicker on the screen. It was a wedding ceremony between Rosaline and Silas.

The timestamp was from the week my mother died. I was out of the country closing a massive business deal.

I had sent Silas fifty thousand dollars to give my mother a grand funeral. I told him to make sure she was honored.

Instead, they used that money to throw themselves a secret "Golden Wedding" celebration.

"Rosaline, I finally made you mine!" Silas shouted in the video.

"Silas, we have to promise to be buried together," she replied, her voice full of love.

I finally understood why my relatives looked at me strangely when I returned from that trip. They wouldn't even look me in the eye.

I thought they were judging me for missing the funeral. I took the guilt and stayed silent.

The truth was, they hadn't even given my mother a funeral at all. They had spent the money on a party.

I roared in anger and smashed the laptop against the casket. The screen shattered into a thousand pieces.

I turned to my butler, my voice trembling with fury. "Burn it. Burn everything in this box."

Then I pointed at the bones in the grave. "Grind those bones into dust and throw them in the sewer!"

Maya and Morgan both lunged at me. "No!" they screamed in unison.

Maya shielded the box with her body. "You weren't even there when she died! You have no right!"

"You want to destroy the only memories we have left of her? You're a monster!"

I gasped for air, her words hitting me like a physical blow to the chest.

When Rosaline died in that hiking accident, I was stuck in a board meeting. I raced home as soon as I got the call.

But I got into a car crash on the way. I was in a coma for three days.

By the time I woke up, Maya had already buried her. I had lived with that guilt for fifteen years.

Now, she was using that guilt to twist the knife. She looked at me with pure, unadulterated hatred.

"Arthur Sterling, you don't have the authority to do this!" she yelled.

"If you touch my mother, I will never call you father again!"

My heart felt like it was turning into a block of ice. The room started to spin.

I felt a warm liquid rise in my throat. I spat out a mouthful of dark blood and collapsed into darkness.