Chapter 2: You've Been Served
**— PART 2 —**
I didn't answer him right away.
I let him stand there.
Let him look at those three little faces.
Let the truth settle into his bones the way four years of silence had settled into mine.
"Clara." His voice cracked on my name.
"Tell me right now."
"Their names are Lily, Rose, and June," I said quietly.
"They are four years old.
And yes, Julian.
You already know."
He staggered back half a step like I had physically pushed him.
"You were pregnant when I—" He couldn't finish the sentence.
"When you threw me out.
Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Something cold and sharp moved through my chest.
"I tried.
Three times.
Your lawyers sent back a cease-and-desist letter every single time."
His face went gray.
The girls had no idea what was happening.
Lily was tugging at my sleeve, asking about the hotel pool.
Rose was watching Julian with the calm, curious eyes of a child who doesn't yet know to be afraid of someone.
Then a door on the limousine opened again.
A man in a dark suit stepped out holding a sealed envelope.
He walked directly toward Julian, not me.
"Mr.
Sterling." He held it out.
"You've been served."
Julian looked down at the envelope.
Then back up at me.
"What is this?"
I picked up June and settled her on my hip.
"That," I said, "is only the beginning."
---
What's inside that envelope — and who sent it?
May you like
The full truth is darker than Julian ever imagined.
Read the complete story here: **[link]**
