Chapter 5: The Woman Who Returned
Nobody moved.
Not even the police officer.
The photograph remained in my hand.
A single image.
A woman standing across the street from the courthouse.
Dark coat.
Hair pulled back.
Watching.
Waiting.
Like she had been there long before anyone noticed.
I looked at Daniel.
“You know her.”
It wasn't a question.
His face had already answered.
He looked older suddenly.
More tired.
Like a memory he buried had just crawled back into the light.
“Yes.”
His voice was quiet.
“I know her.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Who is she?”
Daniel didn't answer.
He looked at me instead.
And that frightened me more.
Because Daniel had seen everything.
The evidence.
The lies.
The betrayal.
But this woman...
This name...
Made him hesitate.
“Daniel.”
He finally exhaled.
“Her name is Victoria Cross.”
The room went still.
Mrs. Sterling frowned.
“Cross?”
Daniel nodded.
“Victoria was one of the attorneys working on the original Sterling investigation.”
My father's name.
My case.
The case that started everything.
I stared at the photo.
“But she disappeared.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Exactly.”
The police officer cleared his throat.
“We found her after tracing the false adoption request.”
He opened his notebook.
“The filing came from a computer registered to an old legal office.”
“Victoria's old office.”
Ethan looked lost.
“I don't understand.”
Nobody answered.
Because I did.
At least part of it.
Victoria Cross wasn't trying to hurt me because of my marriage.
She wasn't targeting me because of Ethan.
She was connected to the beginning.
To the investigation.
To the secrets.
“Why would she do this?”
My voice was low.
Daniel looked at me.
“Because you took everything from her.”
I frowned.
“I never met her.”
He shook his head.
“That doesn't matter.”
The truth came slowly.
And every piece hurt.
“Years ago, Victoria was a rising attorney.”
“She was brilliant.”
“She was respected.”
“She was supposed to lead the case against the financial crimes connected to Sterling Holdings.”
I looked at my father-in-law's company.
The name that had followed Ethan his entire life.
“But the investigation collapsed.”
Daniel continued.
“Evidence disappeared.”
“Witnesses changed statements.”
“The entire case fell apart.”
“And she blamed me.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
I looked at Ethan.
“Why?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Daniel answered.
“Because she believed you were the reason.”
My heart tightened.
“Me?”
“You became the judge assigned to review the final evidence.”
I remembered.
The case.
The pressure.
The threats.
The night someone broke into my office.
The warning letter.
Stop digging.
Daniel continued.
“Victoria believed you protected the Sterling family.”
“That you buried the truth.”
I laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
“I spent three years trying to expose them.”
“And she thought I was protecting them?”
Daniel looked down.
“She didn't know.”
The room was silent.
Because suddenly the enemy wasn't just a person.
It was a misunderstanding built over years.
Then Ethan spoke.
“What does she want now?”
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was obvious.
My babies.
My career.
My name.
My life.
The police officer looked at me.
“There is something else.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“We searched the location connected to Victoria.”
“And?”
He hesitated.
“She has been tracking your family.”
The air disappeared.
“For how long?”
He looked at his notes.
“Since before your marriage.”
Ethan's face changed.
Before our marriage?
Before he knew me?
Before the twins?
Daniel picked up the photo again.
“She wasn't trying to destroy your family.”
Everyone looked at him.
“She was trying to recreate her own revenge.”
I didn't understand.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“She lost her child.”
Silence.
Nobody moved.
“She had a daughter.”
Daniel continued.
“A baby girl.”
My hands tightened around the blanket.
“What happened?”
“She died.”
A pause.
“During a custody battle.”
The room went quiet.
Because suddenly...
The adoption papers.
The babies.
The obsession.
It all connected.
“She believes powerful families take children away from people like her.”
Daniel said.
“And she believes the only way to make things fair…”
He looked at Leo and Luna.
“...is to take from you what was taken from her.”
I felt sick.
Because she wasn't thinking clearly.
She wasn't seeing my children.
She was seeing her own pain.
Then Ethan stood.
“I need to find her.”
The police officer immediately stopped him.
“No.”
“She has my children.”
“She hasn't taken them.”
The officer's voice hardened.
“Not yet.”
Those words terrified me.
Not yet.
My phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone froze.
Daniel looked at me.
“Don't answer.”
But I already knew.
It was her.
I pressed the speaker.
A woman's voice filled the room.
Calm.
Controlled.
Almost gentle.
“Judge Sterling.”
My blood ran cold.
“Victoria.”
A soft laugh.
“So you remember me.”
“I've never met you.”
“No.”
She sounded sad.
“That was the problem.”
Everyone listened.
Nobody breathed.
“What do you want?”
A pause.
Then:
“I want you to understand.”
My fingers tightened.
“You tried to steal my children.”
“No.”
Her voice became emotional.
“I tried to save them.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Victoria, listen to me.”
She laughed.
“Oh, Ethan.”
Everyone froze.
“How long have you been watching us?”
She ignored him.
“Do you know what your wife did?”
I felt a chill.
“What are you talking about?”
“You were right, Elena.”
Her voice lowered.
“You are powerful.”
The line crackled.
“And that's why you were never safe.”
Daniel whispered:
“She knows.”
I looked at him.
“Knows what?”
His face turned pale.
Then Victoria answered.
“The truth about your children.”
My heart stopped.
“What truth?”
Silence.
Then her final words:
“You should ask your husband why the twins were never supposed to be born.”
The call ended.
And everyone looked at Ethan.
Including me.
May you like
Because for the second time that night...
My husband looked like a stranger.
