Chapter 2: The Truth in Blood

Richard Hawthorne skidded to a stop in the middle of the street, his chest heaving.

The triplets clung desperately to Emily.

Tiny hands.

Tear-streaked faces.

Blood on their arms.

"Miss Emily!" Ethan sobbed.

"Don't leave us!" Noah cried.

Liam buried his face against her uniform.

Emily dropped her suitcase and immediately knelt beside them.

"What happened?" she asked, panic rising in her voice.

Then Ethan said the words that made the entire neighborhood seem to disappear.

"Victoria hurt us."

Richard froze.

"What?"

The boy pointed toward the mansion.

"We were looking for you."

Noah nodded through tears.

"Victoria got mad."

Liam lifted his sleeve.

Long red scratches covered his arm.

"She grabbed us."

Emily's stomach turned.

Richard stared at the marks.

His face lost all color.

"That's impossible."

But even as he spoke, he knew it wasn't.

Because he had seen fear before.

Business rivals.

Courtrooms.

Financial disasters.

What he saw in his sons' eyes now was different.

This was terror.

The kind children only feel when someone they trust becomes dangerous.

Then Emily noticed something else.

A tiny hidden camera attached to Liam's shirt collar.

Her eyes widened.

"The nanny cam."

Richard blinked.

"What nanny cam?"

Emily swallowed.

"I put them on the boys after I overheard Victoria talking about sending them away."

Richard's heart stopped.

"You recorded her?"

Emily nodded.

The billionaire grabbed the device with trembling hands.

And what he watched next destroyed his entire world.

The video showed Victoria screaming at the boys after they asked where Emily was.

Then came the pushing.

The threats.

The cruelty.

And finally her chilling words.

"Once I marry your father, all three of you will be gone."

Richard felt sick.

The woman he planned to marry wasn't simply selfish.

She was dangerous.

And she had been hiding behind a perfect smile the entire time.

For the first time in years, Richard looked at Emily.

Really looked at her.

And realized he had thrown away the only person who truly cared about his children.