He Chose the Daughter Her Father Tried to Hide

Chapter 2: A Letter With Her Name

Adrian took an envelope from his jacket and laid it on the table instead of putting it into her occupied hands.

Victor reached for it.

Adrian covered the envelope with two fingers. “It's addressed to Claire.”

“That is a private family matter.”

“Then let your daughter read her own letter.”

Claire set the tray down. Her eldest sister, Helena, caught a sliding saucer and steadied it. Neither of them spoke.

Inside the envelope was a letter from a woman named Eleanor Vale, written six weeks earlier.

My dearest Claire,

I have been told for years that you wanted no contact. I accepted that because I thought respecting your choice was the last kindness I could offer. But the letters returned to me this spring bore a signature that was not yours.

Claire stopped reading.

“My mother died when I was little.”

Victor loosened his tie. “Your mother was unwell.”

“That isn't what I said.”

The room changed around her. Her sisters were no longer watching Adrian. They were watching their father.

Adrian explained that Eleanor had hired his family's firm to trace missing correspondence and review a trust created for Claire. He had come to the house expecting a business meeting. Victor had turned it into a conversation about marriage before Adrian could finish introducing the matter.

“And you played along?” Claire asked.

“For too long,” Adrian admitted. “I thought it would make him bring you into the room. Then I saw you carrying the tea.”

She looked down at the letter again. Eleanor had included a telephone number, a photograph, and a request that was almost painfully modest.

If you are willing, I would like to hear your voice.