Chapter 2: The Secret Inside the Envelope
Richard Harrington stood completely still.
For a man who had built an empire from nothing, a man who could silence a room with a single glance, he looked powerless in that moment.
The phone trembled slightly in his hand.
The video continued playing silently, but nobody needed to watch it anymore.
The truth was already standing in front of us.
Victoria.
His wife.
The woman who had spent years presenting herself as a devoted mother and elegant socialite.
The woman who had just tried to destroy my life.
Noah was still in Richard’s arms, but the little boy had buried his face against his father’s shoulder. He was too young to understand every detail, but he understood enough.
He knew someone had hurt him.
And now everyone knew who.
Richard looked at the screen again.
His voice came out low.
“Why?””
Victoria swallowed.
“Richard, you’re misunderstanding what you saw.””
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because I could not believe she was still trying to lie.
The video was right there.
Clear.
Unforgiving.
But Victoria Harrington had always been good at making people doubt their own eyes.
She stepped closer to Richard.
“Listen to me. I didn’t push him. I was trying to grab him before he fell.””
Richard looked at her.
The disappointment in his eyes was worse than anger.
“No.””
One word.
But it carried years of trust breaking apart.
“Richard…”
“No, Victoria.”” His voice became stronger.
“I watched you.””
She went quiet.
“I watched you look around before you touched him.””
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
I saw it.
Richard saw it too.
“You knew nobody was there,” he continued.
“You knew the cameras were supposed to be under maintenance.””
Victoria’s expression hardened.
For the first time, she stopped pretending.
“You don’t understand.””
Richard stared at her.
“Then explain.””
The entire garden waited.
Even the wind seemed to disappear.
Victoria looked toward Noah.
Then toward me.
And when she spoke again, her voice was colder.
“It was because of her.””
My stomach tightened.
“Me?””
Victoria pointed at me.
“Yes, Elena.””
Richard frowned.
“What does Elena have to do with this?””
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“You really don’t know?””
“No.””
She looked almost offended.
“You hired her without knowing anything about her.””
I felt my fingers go cold.
“What are you talking about?””
Victoria ignored me.
“She came into this house pretending to be a simple maid. But she has been getting closer and closer to this family.””
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s ridiculous.””
“Is it?””
Victoria stepped forward.
“She knows everything about Noah. She knows everything about our routines. She knows everything about this house.””
I stared at her.
“Because that is my job.””
“No,” Victoria snapped.
“Because you wanted something else.””
The accusation hung in the air.
Richard looked confused.
“What exactly are you saying?””
Victoria’s lips curved slightly.
“She wanted access to this family.””
I felt my heart drop.
After everything I had done for Noah, after everything I had sacrificed, she was turning my kindness into something ugly.
“Sir,” I said quietly, “please don’t listen to her.””
Richard looked at me.
For a second, I could not read his expression.
Then Noah suddenly lifted his head.
“Daddy…”
Richard looked down.
The boy’s eyes were wet.
“Miss Elena saved me.””
Everyone went silent.
Victoria’s face changed.
“Noah, sweetheart, you’re confused.””
“No,” Noah whispered.
His small hand grabbed Richard’s shirt.
“Mommy pushed me.””
Victoria froze.
The little boy who had been too scared to speak had finally told the truth.
Richard closed his eyes.
A painful breath escaped him.
“Take Noah inside,” he said.
Victoria blinked.
“What?””
“Take him inside?””
He looked at me.
“No.””
Then he looked toward his wife.
“Not her.””
Victoria’s face turned pale.
Richard continued.
“Mrs. Harrington, you will go inside with Noah. Elena, stay here.””
Victoria stared at him.
“You’re choosing her?””
“No.””
His voice was sharp.
“I’m choosing the truth.””
For the first time that day, Victoria looked afraid.
Not angry.
Not offended.
Afraid.
A few minutes later, after Noah was taken inside with the nanny, Richard returned to the garden alone.
He still had his phone in his hand.
I stood near the pool, unable to move.
The wet uniform I wore was beginning to feel heavy.
“Sir…”
He interrupted me.
“Who is Victoria talking about?””
I frowned.
“What?””
“The envelope.””
My breath caught.
The envelope.
The one I had almost forgotten.
The camera had shown Victoria holding it.
The envelope with my name.
“I don’t know.””
Richard looked at me carefully.
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I have never seen it before.””
He walked closer.
“Then why did she have it?””
“I don’t know.””
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Richard looked back at the house.
“Victoria has been acting strange for months.””
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
He ran a hand through his hair.
“She started hiding things. Taking phone calls outside. Changing passwords.””
I was surprised.
“Why didn’t you ask her?””
His expression changed.
“Because I trusted my wife.””
Those words sounded painful.
Not angry.
Painful.
I understood that feeling.
Trust was a fragile thing.
And when it broke, the pieces cut everyone.
Richard opened his phone again.
“I want to see the rest of the recording.””
“The rest?””
He nodded.
“There might be more.””
We watched the footage again.
This time, slower.
Richard zoomed in.
The moment before Victoria pushed Noah.
The moment after.
And then…
Something appeared.
A person standing near the garden entrance.
Someone who had been watching.
I leaned closer.
“Who is that?””
Richard’s face changed.
He recognized them.
“No…”
“What?””
He didn’t answer.
He paused the video.
The figure was blurry, but clear enough to identify.
A man.
A man wearing a dark suit.
A man who had no reason to be inside the Harrington estate.
Richard whispered a name.
“Thomas.””
I looked at him.
“Who is Thomas?””
Richard didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
“Someone who disappeared ten years ago.””
The way he said it made my skin crawl.
“What does he have to do with Victoria?””
Richard turned toward me.
And before he could speak, his phone rang.
The name on the screen appeared.
Victoria.
He hesitated.
Then answered.
“What do you want?””
For a few seconds, there was only silence.
Then Richard’s face changed.
“What?””
He looked at me.
Then toward the house.
“Stay where you are.””
I could hear Victoria’s voice faintly through the phone.
She sounded panicked.
Richard’s grip tightened.
“Tell me exactly what happened.””
A pause.
Then his expression turned serious.
“Noah is missing.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
Richard lowered the phone.
“The nanny said Noah was in his room.””
I felt my heart pounding.
“But he isn’t.””
The garden suddenly felt darker.
The same place where Noah had fallen minutes earlier now felt like a warning.
Richard looked around.
Then his eyes landed on something near the pool.
A small piece of white paper.
He picked it up.
I watched his face as he read it.
The color disappeared from his skin.
“Sir?””
He handed me the paper.
My hands shook as I unfolded it.
Only one sentence was written.
May you like
A sentence that made me realize the accident at the pool was never the real plan.
*If you want your son back, ask Elena who she really is.*
