Chapter 2: The Daughter Who Never Knew

The ballroom doors opened.

A woman in her early thirties stepped inside, escorted by two investigators.

She wore no diamonds.

No expensive gown.

Only a simple cream-colored dress.

The housemaid smiled through her tears.

"I found her."

Every eye turned toward the stranger.

The Patriarch stared at the birthmark on her wrist.

A tiny silver star.

The same mark his missing daughter had been born with.

His cane slipped onto the marble floor.

"Elena..."

The young woman froze.

"My adoptive parents always told me I was abandoned."

The housemaid slowly shook her head.

"No."

"You were sold."

The investigators placed a worn leather journal on the table.

It had belonged to the Patriarch's late wife.

Inside were payment records.

Bank transfers.

Letters.

Every page revealed the same horrifying truth.

His wife had secretly sold their daughter to another wealthy family after learning the child would inherit the entire estate under her father's original will.

The jewels had been used as payment.

The false theft...

The missing servant...

Everything had been carefully staged.

The female heir collapsed into a chair.

"My mother destroyed this family..."

"...for money."