Chapter 3 - The Senator’s Shadow
Senator Montgomery gestured wildly to his private bodyguards, but Ethan’s father, Richard Vance—the patriarch of the Vance estate—stepped onto the marble platform, raising a single hand to halt the guards. Richard’s face was unreadable as he inspected the gold clover bracelets, recognizing the custom crest engraved on the back.
“That crest belongs to the St. Jude Private Sanatorium,” Richard said quietly, his voice cutting through the tension. “A private facility our family funded five years ago. Claire, you claimed you were in London completing your master's degree during that exact year.”
Claire pulled her hands back, tucking them into the folds of her gown as she tried to pull herself together. She stood up, smoothing her messy golden bangs, and pointed a manicured finger at Lily. She claimed that Lily was a bitter former employee’s daughter who had stolen the bracelet from her dressing room weeks ago to stage a public shaming for money.
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Lily didn't argue. Instead, she reached into the wet pocket of her torn dress and pulled out a small, waterlogged leather booklet. She held it out to Ethan. The cover was stamped with the seal of the county coroner's office, dated three days prior.
“My big sister died in that sanatorium last week, Mr. Vance,” Lily sobbed, her voice cracking under the weight of her grief. “She died giving birth to this baby. And before she closed her eyes, she gave me that bracelet and told me to find the woman who took her identity and left her there to die.”
