. CHAPTER 7 — Blood Is Not the Only Proof
Victoria recovered faster than anyone expected. Shame slid off her like rain from silk. “You believe a dead woman’s letter over your wife?” she demanded. “Over the woman who kept this estate running while you chased business across Europe?”
Alexander did not flinch. “I believe records.”
Margaret opened another folder. “Claire Reed gave birth to Emma in Portland on September ninth. The father’s name was left blank after Ms. Reed received legal threats from an unknown representative of the Vale family.”
“That proves nothing,” Victoria snapped.
Margaret placed a second document beside it. “Mr. Vale submitted DNA voluntarily after the London office recovered Claire’s medical correspondence. The preliminary comparison, using an old personal sample from his estate file, indicates a biological relationship. A full court test will confirm it.”
Emma felt as if the floor beneath her had become ocean. For years, she had lived with absence as if it were a room she could not leave. Now the walls were falling, and she did not know whether to run or reach for what stood beyond them.
Alexander faced Victoria. “You knew.”
Victoria’s lips parted, but no lie came quickly enough.
“You knew before Emma entered this house,” he continued. “You saw her face. You saw Claire in her. You stole the letter because if I learned about my daughter, the trust would change.”
The donors had stopped pretending not to listen. A man near the dining room quietly lowered his champagne glass. One woman shook her head in disgust.
Victoria’s voice turned sharp. “Do you know what people will say? That you fathered a child and abandoned her. That this family is stained.”
Alexander looked at Emma, still kneeling on the marble. “Then let them say the truth. I did abandon her, even if I did not know her name. I built hospitals with my name on them while my own child stood outside my gate.”
Emma’s chest tightened.
He turned back to Victoria. “But you saw her. You knew she was alone. And you put her on the floor.”
Victoria stepped toward him, pleading now. “Alexander, I was protecting us.”
“No,” he said. “You were protecting money.”
The attorney handed him a final paper.
Alexander read it once, then looked up. “As of this moment, Victoria, your access to all Vale family accounts is suspended. Your position on the foundation board is terminated pending investigation. Security will escort you to your rooms while you collect personal belongings.”
Victoria stared as if the chandelier had fallen.
May you like
“You cannot do this to me.”
Alexander’s voice was cold. “I should have done it sooner.”
