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*Elizabeth Blackwood's POV*
I hummed softly as I cleaned James's study, running the dust cloth over the mahogany shelves and polished desk. The afternoon sun streamed through the windows, and I smiled, thinking about my husband coming home in a few hours.
Life was good. We'd been married just over a year, and our baby girl Helen was sleeping peacefully in her nursery down the hall. Six months old, with James's dark hair and my eyes-she was perfect.
As I wiped down the desk, my cloth caught on something. The locked drawer on the right side-the one James always kept secured-was slightly ajar.
I hesitated, my hand hovering over it. James kept business documents in there. But if the lock had come loose, I should close it properly.
I pulled the drawer open just enough to push it shut, and that's when I saw it.
A hidden envelope. Manila, thick with contents, tucked beneath a stack of folders.
Curiosity flickered through me. Maybe old family photos? James rarely talked about his past.
I glanced toward the door, then pulled out the envelope.
Inside were photographs.
The first one showed James holding a baby boy-maybe six or seven months old, with dark hair and bright eyes. James's face radiated pure joy, a smile I recognized well.
I smiled, confused. "A nephew he never mentioned?"
Then I saw the second photograph, and my smile died.
James stood beside a beautiful young woman with long dark hair, maybe in her mid-twenties. They stood close together, the baby boy held between them. She had her hand on his arm. His arm was around her waist.
They looked like a family.
My hands began to tremble.
I flipped through more photos, my heart pounding. James feeding the baby. The woman laughing beside him. The three of them at a park, sitting together on a blanket.
In every photo, they looked happy. Together. Intimate.
"No," I whispered, my chest tightening. "No, please..."
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