Chapter 8: The Woman Who Owned The Lie
Victoria Whitmore had always been good at entrances.
The first time I saw her, she walked into Bellamy House like she owned the building.
The second time, she tried to have me removed.
And now, standing in an abandoned train station, she appeared like the villain in a story she had already written.
She wore a long coat.
Her expression was calm.
Almost peaceful.
That was the most terrifying part.
People who know they are losing panic.
Victoria didn’t.
She believed she was still in control.
“Victoria.””
My voice was low.
She smiled.
“Simone.””
The way she said my name made my skin crawl.
“You finally found your daughter.””
I looked at Lily.
She was watching both of us.
Confused.
Afraid.
“She knows everything?””
Victoria tilted her head.
“Not everything.””
My hands curled into fists.
“What did you tell her?””
“The truth.””
I almost laughed.
“The truth?””
“Yes.””
She walked closer.
“The truth that you were too busy building an empire to be a mother.””
Lily looked at me.
Pain crossed her face.
I understood then.
Victoria had spent years creating a version of me.
A monster.
A woman who chose money over her child.
A woman who abandoned her.
I stepped forward.
“You stole my daughter.””
Victoria sighed.
“Such an emotional word.””
“It’s the correct one.””
“No.””
She smiled slightly.
“I saved her.””
Michael moved beside me.
“You manipulated a child.””
Victoria looked at him.
“You should be careful.””
His expression hardened.
“You ruined enough lives.””
She ignored him.
Her eyes stayed on me.
“You want to know why?””
“Why what?””
“Why I did it.””
I didn’t answer.
She continued anyway.
“Because I saw what you were becoming.””
I stared at her.
“You mean successful?””
“I mean powerful.””
Her voice sharpened.
“And powerful people become dangerous when they forget who helped them rise.””
I shook my head.
“You wanted Bellamy.””
“I wanted what Bellamy represented.””
“Money?””
“No.””
She looked at Lily.
“Legacy.””
The word made my stomach turn.
Victoria stepped closer.
“Your family had something mine never had.””
“What?””
“Respect.””
I almost smiled.
“You kidnapped a child because you wanted respect?””
“You don’t understand.””
“No.””
I looked directly at her.
“I understand perfectly.””
She hated that.
I saw it.
For the first time, the mask cracked.
“You think you’re better than everyone.””
There it was.
The accusation.
The same one Daniel repeated.
The same one the anonymous article used.
I realized then.
It wasn’t random.
They had been building a story about me for years.
A story where I was arrogant.
Cold.
Unworthy.
Because if they could make people believe I was the villain…
Nobody would question what they did.
Victoria looked at Lily.
“Tell her.””
Lily hesitated.
“Tell me what?””
Victoria’s expression softened.
“You deserve to know what your mother did.””
My heart stopped.
“What are you talking about?””
Lily looked between us.
“When I was younger, Victoria told me you left because you didn’t want me.””
I closed my eyes.
The pain was almost physical.
“That’s a lie.””
Lily’s voice trembled.
“Then why didn’t you come?””
I had no answer.
Not one that could heal her.
Because from her perspective, she had lived my nightmare.
She had grown up believing she was unwanted.
“I looked for you.””
Her eyes filled.
“When?””
“Every day.””
Victoria laughed quietly.
“Careful, Simone.””
I looked at her.
“You’re not the only one who can manipulate emotions.””
That sentence told me everything.
She wasn’t sorry.
She wasn’t ashamed.
She still saw Lily as a tool.
And I knew then what I had to do.
Not attack.
Not scream.
Expose.
“You recorded everything, didn’t you?””
Victoria’s smile disappeared slightly.
“What?””
“The meeting.””
Silence.
I looked at Michael.
He understood immediately.
Victoria always needed control.
Control required evidence.
Evidence required records.
“You have cameras.””
Her face changed.
Just slightly.
But enough.
“You’ve been recording Lily’s entire life.””
Lily looked at her.
“What?””
Victoria’s expression hardened.
“Don’t listen to her.””
I stepped closer.
“She never wanted a daughter.””
I looked at Lily.
“She wanted an asset.””
“Stop.””
Victoria’s voice became sharp.
For the first time, she sounded afraid.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.””
“Yes, I do.””
I held up my phone.
Jasmine had sent me something while we were walking.
A file.
Security footage.
Financial records.
Everything she could find.
Victoria saw the screen.
Her face changed.
“You wouldn’t.””
“I will.””
“You’ll destroy your family name.””
I looked at Lily.
Then back at Victoria.
“My family name survived without you.””
The station filled with silence.
Then Lily whispered:
“Why?””
We all looked at her.
She was crying.
Not loudly.
Just quietly.
Like someone who had been carrying questions for too long.
“Why did everyone lie to me?””
Nobody answered.
Because there was no answer good enough.
Then Victoria’s phone rang.
She checked it.
Her expression changed.
A single moment.
Fear.
She walked away to answer.
I watched her.
And then I heard her say:
“What do you mean the files are gone?””
My blood ran cold.
Files.
Plural.
Victoria turned away from us.
But we heard the next sentence.
“The girl knows?””
A pause.
Then:
“No. Keep him quiet.””
Michael looked at me.
“Who is him?””
Victoria turned back.
And for the first time, she looked desperate.
Then another voice came from the station entrance.
“Looking for me?””
We all turned.
Daniel stood there.
But he wasn’t alone.
The man beside him made my heart stop.
Because I knew him.
Everyone did.
The former CEO of Bellamy Holdings.
The man who disappeared after my company’s first major expansion.
My father.
May you like
Except…
My father had been dead for twelve years.
