Chapter 6 - SHATTERED ILLUSIONS
The gala ended abruptly. Cole had his security clear the mansion, throwing out senators and socialites alike. Within twenty minutes, the cavernous house was empty, save for Cole, Eleanor, me, and the boys.
I sat on a velvet sofa, holding my sons close. Cole paced the length of the library like a caged panther.
“Explain,” Cole roared, slamming his hands onto the mahogany desk, glaring at his mother.
Eleanor was sobbing, her composure entirely broken. “I did it for you, Cole! She was nothing! I forged the letters, I intercepted her at the hospital, I told her you didn't want the babies. I paid the hospital staff to keep you off the birth certificates. She was going to ruin your future!”
Cole looked like he was physically dying. He stumbled backward, clutching his chest, staring at the woman who had birthed him. “You stole my children. You made me believe the woman I loved took a payoff and abandoned me. You let me spend seven years in agony.”
He turned to me, tears streaming down his face, falling to his knees before the sofa. “Norah. God, Norah. I never knew. I swear on my life, I never knew.”
“I know,” I said softly. The red-inked note on the invitation finally made sense. Someone in Eleanor’s inner circle, someone with a guilty conscience, had tipped me off. It wasn't a threat; it was a plea for me to expose her.
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“I am so sorry,” Cole wept, burying his face in his hands.
Theo gently reached out and patted his father’s dark hair. “It’s okay. Mom says bad guys always get caught eventually.”
