Server spots her mom’s picture in a billionaire’s wallet — the Reality hits her hard with tears…

Zoe stared at it. Then, slowly, her gaze lifted to his. You knew her, she whispered.

Richard met her eyes, his expression unreadable. I didn’t just know her, he said finally. I loved her.

Zoe’s world tilted beneath her feet. She had come for answers. But she wasn’t prepared for this.

Richard leaned against his desk, exhaling sharply. I loved her, he repeated, his voice carrying the weight of years of regret. But I walked away.

Zoe’s chest tightened. Why? His jaw clenched. Because I was a coward.

My family made it clear, if I stayed with Evelyn, I’d lose everything. The inheritance, the business, my place in their world. Zoe’s stomach churned.

So you left her for money? Richard’s gaze darkened. I thought I could come back for her later when I had secured my future. But by the time I did, she was gone.

Zoe’s hands curled into fists. Her mother had suffered while this man had lived in luxury. She never told me about you, she whispered.

Not once. Pain flickered in Richard’s eyes. Because she wanted to protect you, from me.

Zoe’s breath came in shallow gasps as she tried to process Richard’s words. She straightened, staring at him. So you left her for money? His gaze darkened.

I thought I could come back for her later when I had secured my future. But by the time I did, she was gone. Zoe’s hands curled into fists.

Her mother had suffered while this man had lived in luxury. She never told me about you, she whispered. Not once.

Pain flickered in Richard’s eyes. Because she wanted to protect you, from me. The weight of his confession settled in the room, suffocating in its intensity.

Zoe took a shaky breath, trying to sort through the tangle of emotions. She needed space to think, to process. Without another word, she turned and walked out of his office.

That night, she searched through her mother’s belongings, hoping for answers Evelyn had never given her. As she sifted through old letters and keepsakes, her fingers brushed against something small, a velvet pouch tucked at the bottom of a wooden box. Zoe’s breath hitched as she pulled it out and carefully opened it.

Inside lay a delicate silver necklace with an engraved pendant. The three words, forgive, love, begin, were carefully etched into the metal. And on the back of the pendant was a small faded photograph, one of her father.

A note accompanied it, written in her mother’s handwriting. This belonged to your father. I kept it for you.

One day, you will understand. Her hands trembled as she realized the full weight of the truth. Richard Lawson wasn’t just a man from her mother’s past.

He was her father. The next morning, Zoe stood outside the towering glass structure of Lawson Global Enterprises once again, gripping the pendant tightly in her hand. The city buzzed around her, but her mind was locked on one thought…