Chapter 13 - Elena’s Christmas Letter
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The letter was handwritten.
Victor recognized every curve.
Every impatient underline.
Victor,
If you are reading this, then something happened to me.
He stopped.
Then continued.
I know you.
You are going to blame yourself.
Don’t.
Victor laughed softly through tears.
Even dead, Elena knew him too well.
She wrote that she had sensed someone asking too many questions about the pregnancy.
She didn’t know who.
She didn’t want Victor starting a war based on suspicion.
So she created legal protection quietly.
Then she wrote about the twins.
If they are both here, please don’t let anyone turn them into rivals.
They are not “the heir” and “the other child.”
They are Rose and Gabriel.
Victor stared at that sentence.
Marina’s Christmas insult returned.
Real heirs get real food.
Elena had anticipated the poison underneath that thinking before the babies were even born.
The letter continued.
If only one of them is here, love that child enough for all four of us.
If both are here, good luck sleeping.
Victor laughed again.
Then came the part that broke him.
And Victor?
Don’t let your world teach them fear before you teach them kindness.
Power will find them whether you want it to or not.
Make sure love gets there first.
Victor lowered the letter.
For years, he had built his life around strength.
Reputation.
Control.
But Elena’s final request contained none of those words.
Kindness.
Love.
Safety.
He folded the letter carefully.
Christmas lights still glowed downstairs.
It was technically December 27 now.
The banquet felt a lifetime away.
Victor walked into the nursery.
Rebecca sat in the chair beside Gabriel.
Rose’s nanny was nearby.
Victor looked at both women.
“I want something changed.”
They waited.
“No more separate nurseries.”
Rebecca smiled.
Victor had already ordered a larger shared suite prepared.
Two cribs.
Two rocking chairs.
Enough space for Rose and Gabriel to grow together.
He would not recreate Marina’s hierarchy inside his own home.
Then Jonathan called.
Marina had been formally charged.
Forgery-related offenses.
Fraud.
Conspiracy.
Interference with custody.
Financial crimes.
Additional charges remained under review.
Victor expected satisfaction.
Instead, he felt tired.
Justice mattered.
But his children mattered more.
Then Rebecca cleared her throat.
“There’s something Gabriel does every night.”
“What?”
“He falls asleep to music.”
Victor smiled faintly.
“What kind?”
Rebecca pulled out her phone.
A recording began.
A woman singing softly.
Victor froze.
Elena.
Rebecca’s eyes filled.
“It came with him.”
Victor sat down.
For nine months, Gabriel had been falling asleep to his mother’s voice.
Marina had hidden the child.
But she had failed to erase Elena.
May you like
👉 Victor thought he had recovered Elena’s final letter—but Gabriel had been carrying something even more intimate from his mother every single night.
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