The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

“One week?” Valerie gasped. “That’s impossible!”

“It’s more than generous considering you’ve had more than one decade of free housing,” I replied.

Robert stepped closer, his bulk intimidating. “You can’t prove this house is yours. You want this house? First prove you’re Samuel and Natalie Linch’s daughter!”

I met his gaze without flinching. “You really want to go there? Fine. I can prove it three ways. First, the Wells family can confirm my identity-they’ve known me since I was a child. Second, a simple DNA test would suffice. And third, the Boston Police Department has records of me as the surviving child in my parents’ case.”

His confidence wavered slightly, but he pressed on. “You have no documentation. No birth certificate, no-

“Actually, I interrupted, ‘I have everything I need. And let’s be clear-my parents left more than just this house. There were

accounts with at least a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Money I never saw.”

Valerie paled. “Eleanor, please… Robert made some investments. They didn’t work out-

“You took my inheritance and gambled it away?” I asked, though I wasn’t really surprised.

“High-risk investments, Robert corrected defensively. “The market was volatile-

“Stop, Valerie said, her voice suddenly firm. She turned to me. “We’ll move out. Give us a little more time, but we’ll go.”

“Valerie! Robert looked betrayed.

“We can’t fight this, Robert,” she said quietly. “She could sue us for the money too.”

Robert’s face contorted with fury, but he fell silent.

“One week, I repeated, turning to leave.

As I walked down the pathway toward my car, I heard Robert’s voice behind me.

Running back to your fancy apartment? I bet you’re in such a rush for this house because that elite family finally kicked you out!

They’ve realized what we knew all along-you’re nothing but bad luck!”

I kept walking, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a response. His words stung more than I wanted to admit, especially given

the state of my marriage with Derek. But this wasn’t about Derek or the Wells family. This was about reclaiming what was rightfully

mine.

In the car, memories washed over me unbidden. I remembered the day my parents died-the police officers at our door, the hushed

conversations, being told I would stay with Aunt Valerie and Uncle Robert. At first, Aunt Valerie had been kind, if distant. But as

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Chapter 71

financial troubles mounted, attitudes changed.

I remembered the day Uncle Robert had driven me across town, telling me we were “going for ice cream. Instead, he had dropped me off at a stranger’s house-my first foster home. “Your aunt isn’t feeling well,” he had explained to the social worker. “This is just

temporary.”

As I sat in the car alone, terrified, he had leaned in close to the window. “I know you remember our address, but if you try to come

back, you’ll regret it. The memory still made my hands shake on the steering wheel.

I had moved between several foster homes after that, never staying anywhere long enough to feel settled. It wasn’t until a particularly attentive social worker noticed discrepancies in my case that the connection to the Wells family was made. They hall

taken me in-not out of love, but out of obligation to my parents’ memory.

And now, as my marriage to Derek approached its end, I was finally taking back the one thing that was truly mine.

My phone buzzed with a text message. It was from Aunt Valerie.

[I’ve convinced Robert. We’ll be out in a week.]

I texted back: [Don’t contact me again. Mail the keys to my flower shop.]

I didn’t wait for a response. Instead, I called my lawyer and asked her to begin the formal process of claiming my inheritance. The house would need work, but it would be mine again. A place where Derek Wells had never set foot, where I could begin again.

As I drove back toward Boston, I felt something shift inside me. For the first time in years, I wasn’t just losing something. I was

reclaiming a piece of myself.

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love