"Our children."
Clara realized what she had said.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Then she repeated it.
"Our children."
Something shifted between them.
Not romance.
Not yet.
Something more important.
Trust.
The legal case unfolded slowly.
Victoria denied stealing anything.
Through her attorney, she claimed every financial transfer had been authorized by Adrian's mother.
She denied hiring anyone to intimidate Clara.
She denied knowing the trust documents were forged.
She denied intercepting letters.
She denied almost everything.
But there were too many records.
Old emails recovered from archived servers.
Payments.
Calendar entries.
Handwritten notes.
One email from Victoria to her father contained only three sentences.
She is refusing the program.
We need another solution before Adrian finds out.
Mother is becoming suspicious.
Adrian read that email alone.
He read it once.
Then again.
Then a third time.
There was no misunderstanding left.
Victoria hadn't acted impulsively.
She had planned.
For years.
And her father had helped.
Adrian's relationship with his own father also began to fracture.
Richard Harrington had always insisted he knew nothing about the financial manipulation.
Adrian wanted to believe him.
Then Martin discovered an email sent to Richard after Noah's birth.
The email was from Adrian's mother.
Richard,
The child has been born. His name is Noah. He is Adrian's son. I have seen the photographs and I have no doubt. We cannot continue pretending Clara disappeared by choice. Adrian deserves the truth.
Richard had replied.
Not yet.
Adrian stared at those two words.
Not yet.
That evening, he drove to his father's house.
Richard was waiting in the library.
He had clearly been warned that Adrian was coming.
"You knew."
Richard stood behind the desk.
"Adrian."
"You knew Noah existed."
Richard exhaled.
"Sit down."
"No."
"Please."
"I spent years thinking Clara chose to disappear."
Richard looked older than Adrian remembered.
"I believed I was protecting you."
Adrian laughed bitterly.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"You were building your career."
"So?"
"You were unstable after Clara left."
"Because I thought she abandoned me."
Richard said nothing.
Adrian stepped closer.
"You knew she hadn't."
"I knew there were questions."
"No. You knew there was a child."