Chapter 5 - The Heir's Shadow
Julian stepped back, the paper slipping from his numb fingers onto the dinner plate where his untouched steak lay congealing. "What are you talking about?"
"Your father was sterile, Julian," Eleanor declared, every word dropping like lead into the silence. "He survived scarlet fever at eighteen. He could never father an heir. When our marriage faced ruin under the pressure of the Sterling board, we made an arrangement. A private donor of noble lineage. Victoria knew. When she struggled to conceive, we utilized the exact same medical protocol."
Claire’s eyes widened with utter horror as the foundation of her blackmail began to disintegrate. "That’s impossible... That means..."
"That means Lily has precisely as much Sterling blood as Julian does," Eleanor said coldly, turning her gaze onto the cowering blonde. "None by gene. All by honor, name, and legacy. And you, Claire, just tried to blackmail a family whose deepest secret was sealed with my own signature forty years ago."
Julian stared at his mother. The room tilted. His entire identity—the proud lineage he carried on his broad shoulders, the portrait gallery of ancestors whose cheekbones he had imagined in his own reflection—was a legal fiction.
Yet as his world fractured, he felt small arms wrap tightly around his knee. Lily pressed her tear-streaked face against his trousers. "You’re still my daddy," she whispered. "Right?"
Julian looked down at her. The uncertainty vanished, replaced by an iron core of protective rage. He scooped the little girl into his arms, holding her close against his chest.
May you like
"Always," he whispered into her hair. Then, he looked at Claire. "Pack your things. You leave tonight."
Claire's terrified expression suddenly twisted into a cold, cruel grin. "I wouldn't throw me out just yet, Julian. You haven't checked the cellar vault, have you?"
