Chapter 8: The Truth About Cassidy Hart
The room felt unreal.
I looked at my mother.
“Is it true?”
She didn't answer.
“Mom.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I was there when you were born.”
“That isn't what she said.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
My mother covered her face.
Evelyn watched us silently.
Finally, my mother whispered:
“You weren't born to the Hart family.”
My heart broke in a way I couldn't explain.
“Who are my parents?”
My mother looked at me.
“Your biological mother was my sister.”
I stared.
“You're my aunt?”
She nodded.
“Then why did you raise me?”
“Because she died.”
“How?”
“During childbirth.”
I closed my eyes.
“And my biological father?”
She hesitated.
“Victor Hale.”
Silence.
I looked toward Arthur.
He looked as shocked as I was.
“Victor is my father?”
My mother nodded.
Evelyn smiled.
“Now you understand why this company was always meant to be yours.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“You are the heir of both families.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“The Hart fortune and the Hale trust.”
She smiled.
“Your marriage to Brendan wasn't random.”
I looked at Brendan.
He couldn't meet my eyes.
“You knew.”
He whispered.
“I knew your family had a secret.”
“Not the truth.”
“No.”
I turned toward Evelyn.
“Why did you let me believe my mother was my mother?”
“She wasn't the one who chose it.”
I stared at my mother.
She was crying.
“She saved me,” she whispered.
“From what?”
“From them.”
She pointed toward Evelyn.
“They wanted to control the trust.”
“So you took me.”
“I protected you.”
I didn't know whether to hug her or scream.
Everything I remembered about my childhood was suddenly uncertain.
My name.
My parents.
My family.
My marriage.
My company.
Even my identity.
Then Arthur interrupted.
“There's one problem.”
Everyone looked at him.
He held the original trust agreement.
“The heir isn't Cassidy.”
I frowned.
“What?”
He turned the document toward us.
“The trust was amended seventeen years ago.”
Evelyn's face changed.
“What?”
Arthur looked at me.
“The trust doesn't pass to you.”
My heart stopped.
“Then who?”
Arthur looked at my stomach.
“The heir is your daughter.”
Evelyn's expression went cold.
She had been expecting that.
“Exactly.”
I understood.
“This was never about me.”
“No,” Evelyn said.
“It was about my child.”
My mother stepped forward.
“You will never get near her.”
Evelyn laughed.
“You don't understand what the trust requires.”
Arthur checked the agreement.
“What?”
“The child has to be born alive.”
Silence.
My blood turned cold.
Evelyn looked at me.
“Which means the simplest solution is…”
She let the sentence hang.
I instinctively stepped backward.
Arthur moved in front of me.
“You're not touching her.”
Evelyn turned.
“I don't have to.”
She looked toward Brendan.
“And he will.”
Brendan's face went white.
“No.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You already know what to do.”
Brendan shook his head.
“I won't.”
“Then your mother dies.”
He froze.
Evelyn continued.
“Your father is already dead.”
My breath stopped.
“Victor?”
She nodded.
Brendan looked at her in horror.
“You said he was safe.”
“He was useful.”
Brendan's eyes filled with rage.
“You killed him?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“He's dying.”
I stared at Evelyn.
Then Arthur's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“Cassidy…”
“What?”
“We just received confirmation.”
“About what?”
He swallowed.
“The man found in the private prison facility…”
I couldn't breathe.
“Victor Hale.”
Arthur nodded.
“He's alive.”
Evelyn's smile vanished.
Arthur continued.
“But there's more.”
“What?”
“He's been transferred.”
“To where?”
Arthur looked at me.
“The transfer order was signed by…”
He stopped.
“By whom?”
Arthur turned the phone toward me.
A familiar signature appeared.
Diane Hale.
My former mother-in-law.
The woman who had poured water over my head.
The woman who had laughed while humiliating me.
The woman who supposedly knew nothing.
I whispered:
“She was never a pawn.”
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what was she?”
He looked at the file.
“Your mother's handler.”
The door burst open.
A security officer rushed inside.
“Cassidy!”
Everyone turned.
He was out of breath.
“We just lost contact with the prison transport.”
Arthur frowned.
“How?”
The officer looked at me.
“Because someone intercepted it.”
“Who?”
He handed Arthur a photograph.
Arthur stared.
Then slowly turned it toward me.
I recognized the woman standing beside Victor Hale.
May you like
It was Diane.
And she was holding a gun to his head.
