Chapter 3 - The Broken Trust
Richard’s hands tightened until his knuckles turned bone-white. “What did you just say?”
“Look at the dates on Liam’s clinical birth registry,” Julian said, tossing the silver envelope onto the console table. It slid across the marble, coming to rest against a crystal vase. “You were in Singapore for three months managing the semiconductor merger. Evelyn claimed Liam was born two weeks premature upon your return.”
Evelyn descended two steps rapidly, her high heels clicking sharply. “He’s poisoning your mind, Richard! He lost his mind in whatever hole he was hiding in! Call the police! Why haven't you called the police?”
“Because if the police arrive,” Julian replied calmly, “the fraud investigation begins tonight. And when Interpol verifies that the dental records submitted from the wreckage belonged to a destitute dockworker from Marseille, your family’s offshore accounts will be frozen before breakfast.”
Inside the study, Claire sat against the heavy oak desk, rocking Liam in rhythmic motions. The toddler had stopped crying, his heavy eyelids drooping against his red-rimmed cheeks. Claire had found a medical folder left open on the corner of Richard’s desk during yesterday's filing. She had glanced at it briefly then, dismissing it as routine pediatrics, but the cold weight of Julian's words carried through the door vents.
Her fingers trembled as she reached out to the folder sitting beneath a brass paperweight. She pulled the top page forward, scanning the blood panel and metabolic screenings Richard had requested last month. Liam was Type O negative.
Claire swallowed hard. Richard had once mentioned during a charity blood drive that his family line carried the rare Bombay phenotype, meaning his biological child could never inherit standard O-negative blood without specific maternal markers.
Outside, the study door shuddered. A fist struck the wood three times in rapid succession.
“Claire,” Richard’s voice commanded. “Open the door.”
Claire rose slowly, holding the baby with one arm while sliding back the steel bolt with the other. The door swung open to reveal Richard standing flanked by Julian. Down the hall, Evelyn had disappeared.
“Where is she?” Claire whispered.
Richard’s face was an emotionless mask. “She went to the garage. But the perimeter gates are deadlocked. Julian, show me the original certificates.”
May you like
Julian pointed toward the ceiling. “Not here. Look up.”
The security camera dome above the foyer was no longer glowing blue; a small red light was blinking continuously, accompanied by a faint mechanical ticking.
