Chapter 6 - The Burden of Truth
The receiver trembled in Emma's hand. Julian's words echoed in the small living room with a metallic ring. We have a lot to talk about, my daughter.
"Daughter?" Emma managed to choke out, her stomach tying itself in knots. "You're delusional, Julian. This is a scam to try and manipulate me. Cheap blackmail."
"Open the red folder underneath the certificate, Emma," Julian replied. His tone wasn't mocking; it held a cold, measured desperation. "Look at the DNA test Victoria had done five years ago. Richard found out about everything right before the merger. He knew you weren't his biological daughter."
Emma swallowed back bile. She reached into the safe and pulled out a report from a Swiss laboratory. The genetic markers were devastating: a 99.9% match between her and Julian Vance.
"No..." she murmured, stepping backward until she bumped into the dining table.
"Richard wasn't trying to protect you, Emma. He planned to disinherit you the second the Chicago deal was signed. This whole time, the lies about the money, the demands for perfection... you were just a pawn in his revenge against Victoria and me. He used you to ruin us."
"Liar!" Emma screamed, finally shattering the icy silence of the room. "He went to prison because of the documents you leaked!"
"Do you honestly think I leaked those?" Julian let out a dry, bitter laugh. "I was a lovesick idiot for your mother, sure, but I wasn't committing corporate suicide. It was Richard. He leaked his own accounting records through a shell account to tank Carter Holdings, cash out the offshore insurance policies, and leave Victoria destitute. And take me down with him while he was at it. He knew he'd do a few months in a white-collar resort, but he made sure there was nothing left for anyone to inherit."
"Where are you?" Emma demanded, grinding her teeth.
May you like
"At the corner coffee shop down your street. They close in fifteen minutes. If you want to know what your 'father' plans to do when he makes bail next week, come downstairs."
The line went dead. Emma stared blankly at the paper. The shadow of doubt had just ripped a chasm open at her feet.
