Chapter 2 - The Weight of the Crest
The silver wax seal caught the fluorescent glare overhead, glittering like a tiny, frozen threat against the crisp white paper of the envelope. Elena’s hand hovered above the tray table for a fraction of a second before she pulled it back, curling her fingers into a tight fist inside the pocket of her burgundy blazer.
"Where did you get that?" Elena demanded, her voice dropping an octave into a dangerous, controlled whisper that commanded absolute obedience in boardrooms across the city, though it failed entirely to shake the young mother across from her.
Nurse Miller shifted her weight, refusing to lower her arm. "You need to leave, Mrs. Vance. This room is private, and your presence is causing acute distress to my patient."
Chloe kept her eyes glued to the baby's face, her chest heaving underneath the thin cotton of her gown. "It was delivered by courier thirty minutes before you walked through that door," Chloe said, her voice stronger now, forged in the fires of a terrible realization. "Sent directly from the independent genetics laboratory downtown, requested under court seal by my legal counsel. Not yours."
Elena’s jaw tightened. The immaculate veneer of a billionaire matriarch cracked just enough to reveal the panic underneath. "Arthur’s private lab was liquidated months ago. Nothing of his remains outside of my direct supervision. You are playing a very dangerous game, girl. You have no idea whose name is on that birth certificate, and you certainly have no right to appropriate my family's legacy."
"Your family's legacy," Chloe repeated bitterly, finally raising her tear-stained eyes to meet Elena's cold stare. "Is that what you call kidnapping my medical history, covering up the miscarriage, and switching babies in the private wing of St. Jude's hospital thirty years ago?"
The room went dead silent. Nurse Miller gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth. Elena didn't blink, but the color drained entirely from her face, leaving her skin the color of old parchment.
"You're lying," Elena hissed, stepping forward until she was inches away from the bed.
May you like
"Am I?" Chloe tilted her chin toward the envelope. "Break the seal, Mrs. Vance. Read what your dead husband left behind."
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