Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Root
Julian snatched the medical record from Claire’s grip. His eyes scanned the black-and-white ink, tracing the sterile laboratory figures: Victoria Sterling, maternal; Julian Sterling, listed father; blood group discordant. Negative compatibility. A mathematical impossibility.
Lily watched his face crumble, stepping forward to touch his sleeve. "Daddy, are you sick?"
Julian couldn't look down at her. The air in his lungs turned to ash. For six years, every laugh, every scrape on her knee, every midnight bedtime story had been anchored in the sacred memory of his late wife, Victoria, who had died bringing this girl into the world.
"You see?" Claire sneered, feeling the pendulum of control swing back in her favor. "Eleanor knew. She hid the true codicil because your father intended to disinherit any child not born of Sterling blood. I was protecting us, Julian! I was protecting our future lineage from a bastard child who will drain your empire dry!"
A sharp crack severed Claire's tirade.
Eleanor had risen from her seat. Her aged palm was still outstretched, vibrating with the force of the slap she had delivered across Claire's cheek. The younger woman staggered back, her hand flying to her stinging, reddened skin.
"Do not ever speak my granddaughter's name with that mouth," Eleanor said, her voice resonant and devoid of all infirmity. "Julian, you fool. Do you truly believe everything an extortionist hands you?"
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"The hospital seal is genuine, Mother," Julian choked out, his vision blurring.
"The seal is genuine," Eleanor agreed, her eyes turning sorrowful. "The bloodline is genuine. But the man you think you are... is not."
