Blood on Paper
Chapter 07 - Blood on Paper
Helena immediately called the failed test proof of fraud.
Her representatives claimed Ethan had tampered with his own sample. The hospital denied it, explaining that both vials had been sealed when collected, then transported by a courier approved by Victor Hale’s office.
Mrs. Cole reviewed security footage from the hospital loading bay. A courier entered with the samples, but a different man left wearing the same uniform.
The man’s face matched a Crown Meridian employee photographed in Portugal.
The court ordered a second collection under police supervision.
Helena could no longer control the procedure, so she changed tactics. She announced that the Golden Harbor vote would happen twenty-four hours before the DNA results. Once the land sale was complete, even Ethan’s return might not reverse it.
Workers gathered outside Vale Tower carrying signs with Arthur’s old promise: NO FAMILY FORTUNE BEFORE FAMILY DUTY.
Ethan went to speak with them. Helena’s media team filmed from across the street, hoping he would lose his temper.
An elderly machinist named Samuel Price stepped from the crowd.
“I worked beside your father before he had an office,” Samuel said. “He promised our homes would never be collateral.”
Ethan looked at the men and women who had built Vale Global while his family attended galas.
“If I regain control,” he said, “the sale stops.”
A woman shouted, “And if you lose?”
“Then I will still fight it.”
That answer changed the mood. Ethan was not asking them to trust his blood. He was asking them to judge his actions.
Daniel watched the speech from his mother’s office high above the street. Helena entered and closed the blinds.
“You met him,” she said.
Daniel did not deny it.
Helena touched his cheek with the tenderness she used only when she wanted obedience.
“Your brother always knew how to make strangers love him. Your father loved him for the same reason.”
“He is your stepson.”
“He is a threat.”
Daniel pulled away.
Helena’s expression sharpened. “Choose carefully. If Ethan wins, he will discover what you signed after Arthur died.”
Daniel had signed dozens of documents while grieving. He had never read all of them.
Helena opened a file.
May you like
One document transferred the stolen pension funds through an account bearing Daniel’s name.
His mother had built the trap before Ethan ever returned.
