Chapter 3 - Bloodline Behind Closed Doors
The mahogany-paneled library on the third floor was insulated against the roar of the party below. Elena sat stiffly on a velvet armchair, a clean wool blanket draped over her shoulders. Marian sat opposite her, holding a porcelain cup of chamomile tea, her gaze never wandering from Elena’s face.
Julian leaned against the massive oak desk, holding a leather-bound journal bearing a gold-embossed crest.
""Your name is Elena,"" Julian stated, reading the temporary event badge pinned to her coat. ""What is your mother's name?""
""I don't see how that's any of your business, Mr. Sterling,"" Elena replied, setting the silk handkerchief on the side table. ""I took this shift through an agency. I stood up for an older woman getting bullied. That’s all this was.""
""My sister vanished twenty-three years ago,"" Julian answered, unyielding. ""Her name was Camille. She was disowned by our grandfather after marrying a man the family deemed unworthy. Six months later, she cut all ties. We tracked her to Chicago, then Philadelphia, then the trail died.""
Elena felt an icy prickle at the back of her neck. ""My mother died five years ago in a public hospital. Her name was Clara. She was a seamstress.""
Marian leaned forward, reaching out with a trembling hand to touch Elena’s sleeve. ""Clara was her middle name, child. Look at this.""
Marian opened her evening clutch and pulled out a small, tarnished silver locket that Beatrice had tried to snatch earlier. She pressed the spring. Inside was a black-and-white photograph of a young woman with Elena’s exact curls, holding a newborn whose left wrist bore a tiny, crescent-shaped shadow.
Elena’s vision blurred. The world seemed to tilt. ""That... she kept that same photo in her Bible.""
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Julian set the ledger down and stood before her. ""Which means you aren't a server, Elena. You're the rightful heir to forty percent of the Sterling-Vance trust. And Beatrice has been spending your inheritance for twenty years.""
Before Elena could speak, the library lights flickered and died, plunging the room into total darkness. A heavy thud sounded right outside the double doors.
