Chapter 3 - An Uneasy Truce
By midnight, the manor was locked down under private security. Julian refused to let Elena leave the grounds, but he also refused to separate her from Clara. Genetic testing kits were dispatched under armed courier to an independent lab in Manhattan, bypassing the Vance-owned medical subsidiaries.
In the south guest wing, Elena tucked Clara into a wide four-poster bed. The child refused to release Elena’s hand, drifting into sleep only when Elena began humming an old lullaby about a silver sailboat.
Julian stood in the doorway of the adjoining parlor, watching through the half-open door. When Elena finally emerged, closing the door quietly behind her, he handed her a glass of water.
"Her speech therapist said she might never process the shock," Julian admitted, loosening his black tie. "Yet, five minutes with you, and she spoke a full sentence."
"A child doesn't need therapy to recognize safety," Elena said, taking the glass. "She needed to know she wasn't abandoned in a cold house."
"I gave her everything," Julian countered, a defensive edge in his tone. "I brought in the best specialists in the country. I spent every night sitting outside her room."
"You managed her grief like a corporate crisis, Julian," Elena said softly, not with anger, but with sorrow. "You surrounded her with guards and strangers while mourning in private. Victoria preyed on your distance."
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Julian looked away toward the moonlit garden below. "If the DNA test comes back positive tomorrow, Victoria faces criminal investigation. But if there is even a fractional mismatch, Elena, you will leave this estate in handcuffs."
"Take all the blood you want," Elena answered calmly. "My truth is asleep in that room."
