Rebecca grabbed the printed email before Veronica could stop her.
Her hands trembled violently.
The message was old.
Very old.
Sent thirteen years ago.
From Rose Herrera.
To an address that no longer existed.
Rebecca’s breathing became shallow while reading.
I know they’re watching my calls now.
I know they intercept the letters.
But if this reaches you somehow, please believe me:I never abandoned you.
I searched for you every single year.
I tried to bring you home.
— Mom
Rebecca broke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
But something inside her collapsed silently.
Veronica gently touched her arm.
“Rebecca…”
“She knew,” Rebecca whispered.
Tears rolled down her face.
“She knew Charlotte was alive.”
Daniel looked uncomfortable standing there now.
“There’s more,” he admitted quietly.
Rebecca looked up slowly.
“What?”
Daniel swallowed hard.
“The email was never sent.”
Silence.
Rebecca frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“It stayed trapped in the company’s private archive system,” Daniel explained. “Someone intercepted it before delivery.”
Veronica’s eyes narrowed instantly.
“So Rose used company servers.”
Daniel nodded.
“Which means whoever blocked the message had internal access.”
Rebecca slowly lowered the paper.
“My mother tried reaching her…”
Veronica’s expression hardened.
“And somebody made sure Charlotte never saw it.”
The room fell silent again.
Rebecca suddenly looked exhausted beyond words.
Years.
Her mother spent years searching for Charlotte while someone quietly erased every trail behind her.
Not random sabotage.
Organized sabotage.
Daniel shifted nervously.
“There’s another thing bothering me.”
Rebecca almost laughed bitterly.
“Of course there is.”
Daniel hesitated.
“The deleted archives weren’t accessed recently.”
Veronica frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel looked pale now.
“Someone is still actively deleting files.”
That changed everything.
Rebecca stared at him.
“Still?”
He nodded slowly.
“As recently as last week.”
A chill spread through the room.
Rebecca whispered:
“Someone inside my company is still protecting this secret.”
Nobody answered.
Because nobody could deny it anymore.
Then suddenly—
Rebecca’s office door opened.
Hard.
All three turned instantly.
Jamie stood there breathing heavily.
Mascara smeared.
Phone in hand.
Face white with panic.
Rebecca frowned immediately.
“What are you doing here?”
Jamie looked terrified.
Not angry.
Terrified.
“You need to turn on the television,” she whispered.
“Public Exposure”
The television screen lit the conference room in cold blue light.
Every major news channel carried the same headline.
MISSING HEIRESS MYSTERY CONNECTED TO MILLER FAMILY EMPIRE
Rebecca felt the blood drain from her face.
“No…”
The anchor continued speaking while old photographs flashed across the screen.
Rose Herrera.
Mauro.
Rebecca entering the courthouse.
Patricia leaving the estate earlier that week.
Then—
Charlotte’s burned photograph appeared.
Rebecca stopped breathing.
“How did they get that picture?”
Nobody answered.
Because they were all thinking the same thing.
Someone leaked it.
The reporter continued:
Sources claim a second daughter connected to the Herrera family may have disappeared under suspicious circumstances years ago.
Jamie looked near tears now.
“Mom’s losing her mind downstairs.”
Rebecca turned sharply.
“What?”
“She’s screaming at Mauro,” Jamie whispered. “She thinks he talked.”
Veronica muted the television instantly.
“Who leaked this?”
Daniel looked sick.
“The timing is too precise.”
Rebecca nodded faintly.
“This was planned.”
Then another headline appeared beneath the first one:
FORMER EXECUTIVE COUNSEL MARTIN KELLER REPORTED MISSING
The room froze.
Rebecca stared at the screen.
Martin Keller.
Her grandfather’s old attorney.
The man connected to the deleted archives.
Veronica grabbed the remote.
“Turn the volume back up.”
The anchor continued:
Keller disappeared forty-eight hours ago after allegedly withdrawing several sealed legal records from a private archive facility.
Rebecca’s heart pounded violently now.
“He took the files.”
Veronica nodded slowly.
“And now he’s gone.”
Jamie suddenly looked terrified again.
“There’s more.”
Everyone turned toward her.
She swallowed hard.
“Someone’s outside.”
Rebecca frowned.
“What?”
Jamie pointed shakily toward the lobby windows.
Dark SUVs lined the street below.
Reporters.
Cameras.
Photographers.
Dozens.
The scandal had exploded publicly now.
And it was no longer just about divorce or fraud.
This had become something much darker.
Much bigger.
Rebecca stared silently at the flashing cameras below.
Then her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Again.
She answered carefully.
“Hello?”
Static.
Then a man’s voice whispered:
“If you want Charlotte alive… stop trusting Veronica.”
The line disconnected.
Rebecca slowly lowered the phone.
Veronica frowned immediately.
“What did they say?”
Rebecca looked at her.
But for the first time since this nightmare began…
hesitation appeared in her eyes….
