Chapter 6

The drive back was quiet, with his mother wiping tears from her eyes in the backseat. Lucas felt helpless, unsure of how to comfort her. But as he thought back to her determined demeanor earlier, his curiosity grew about what she wanted to show him. The car rolled on in silence.

Eventually, they arrived at the family's old home. A cake with extinguished candles sat on the living room table, and Lucas immediately recognized that it was Aria's birthday. The sight only strengthened his suspicions, his mother's sudden appearance at the proposal had to be related to Aria's involvement.

He was about to sit down for a drink when his mother pointed toward his father's study, her voice serious. "Lucas, come in with me."

His hand froze, glass still hovering in mid-air. After a beat, Lucas set the glass down, straightened his clothes, and followed his mother into the study.

The study had always been off-limits, even when his father was alive. So, entering it now felt like a solemn event, especially with his father gone. His mother moved straight to the bookshelf, where his father kept his cherished history books. Carefully, she pulled out an envelope wedged between the yellowed pages and handed it to Lucas.

Looking up at him, her eyes filled with tears, she said softly, "Read it, Lucas. This is the last thing your father left behind."

A weight settled on Lucas's chest as he took the envelope. It had clearly been hidden away for years. He opened it gently, revealing a few thin sheets of paper. His father's handwriting, strong and familiar, filled the pages.

[Lucas, your father spent his life fighting in the business world but ended up a deserter in the end. I don't want you to follow the same path. The business world is treacherous, a battlefield. Be careful, especially with the Sanders family. It was they who pushed our Evans family off the cliff…]

His father's words went on for five pages, detailing the business war from eight years ago. The Sanders family had set the trap, making his father gamble everything, only to pull the rug out from under him and destroy Evans Corp.

Lucas's hands shook as he read, his knees buckling as the weight of the past hit him. He slumped against the wall, staring at his mother, his voice barely a whisper. "So, eight years ago...?"

His mother's voice trembled as she replied, "Eight years ago, I went to the Newman house, standing outside Aria's room for three days and nights before her father agreed to your marriage. After your father died, all our friends abandoned us, except the Newman family."

She paused, her face stricken with regret. "I knelt in front of Aria, begging her not to tell you about what happened eight years ago. I didn't want you to know. I wanted to protect you. An eye for an eye, when would it ever end? I'd already lost your father. I couldn't lose you too..."

Lucas's world began to blur as his mother's words sank in. His mind raced, memories flashing through him, of Tessa, of Aria, and of everything he had done to her over the past eight years. He realized then how much pain and humiliation Aria had endured, and for what? All these years, she had silently borne the brunt of his cruelty.

His mother's voice broke through his fog of thoughts: "Lucas, go find Aria. Bring her back quickly. She... she had a miscarriage a few days ago. She hasn't eaten anything today. I'm worried something might happen to her."

Lucas froze, his heart pounding in his chest. "What did you say? Miscarriage?"

His mother stared at him, shocked. "You didn't know? The baby... it was gone the day of the launch event."

The realization hit Lucas like a ton of bricks. No wonder Aria had looked so pale recently, why she seemed so much thinner. No wonder she had kept bleeding.

His hands trembling, Lucas handed the letter back to his mother without a word. Without another thought, he turned and ran out of the house, his steps frantic and desperate as he headed straight for Aria.