A Love Buried by Secrets novel Chapter 11

When the screen turned on, what started booming through the speakers was Serena's shameful voice, but a man's voice instead.

"I signed a contract with Eli's mom for a ten-year sham marriage, with plans for a divorce afterward. After the wedding, however, she tore the contract up and tried to go back on her word. She even drugged me—that's how Eli came to be.

"When the ten years were up, I still chose to divorce Adeline. She used Eli as an excuse to refuse, so we never publicly announced the separation. It wasn't until two years later that I reunited with your mother and found out she'd been widowed for years.

"Your mother was never the mistress. I'd only kept quiet because I didn't want this to affect Eli, especially after Adeline's death."

The man's weary voice was crystal clear as it resonated across the hall. Just like Elliot had intended, everyone in the room heard it.

It turned out that Karen wasn't a mistress. In actuality, it was Elliot's mother who had clung on. She was the scheming one who went as far as drugging Vincent for a child.

The crowd burst into hushed, shocked murmurs. All eyes were now fixed incredulously on the man standing onstage.

The birthday boy's face was as pale as a ghost, utterly stunned by this unexpected turn of events. His mother had loved Vincent so dearly. All his life, he was told that Karen had stolen him from Adeline. This wasn't supposed to be the truth!

Elliot thought that it all had to be a lie. He was convinced that the recording must have been fabricated!

"Who swapped my video out? Who is it? This isn't real!" he roared. Immediately, his thoughts turned to his buddies who had called out to him from below. They were the only ones with access to the screen. He figured that it must have been them. Serena must have bribed them!

His features were contorted with fury as he glared down at them.

Under the pressure of his gaze, one of them hesitantly spoke up. "Eli, calm down... That's what we were trying to tell you. The gift box you tossed aside—the one from Serena—had this recording inside. Along with the original contract from back then. We messed up."

Most notable was another guy who looked visibly torn. He had been looking forward to this day the most. Despite this, he was also the one who switched the videos in the end. He had consciously chosen not to humiliate Serena with the explicit footage.

However, Elliot wasn't convinced. He didn't think that it was possible that this was true. How could Adeline have been the one at fault?

His eyes burned red as he seized the document, scrutinizing it for signs of falsification. Yet, the contents unmistakably detailed the original contract between Vincent and Adeline from years prior.

Panic consumed him. Could it be that all the hatred he'd carried for years had been but a complete mistake?