Chapter 6 - The Unwanted Child
The confession hung in the air of the empty funeral hall like an impending storm.
Ethan rubbed his face with both hands, stepping toward the shattered wooden coffin and resting his palms against the fractured rim. “A child? Father had another child? That’s impossible. Mother would have known. The board would have known!”
“Father kept it completely off the books,” Sophia explained, her breath coming easier now as the paralysis fully faded from her system. “He paid cash to a private maternity clinic in Vermont. The baby was born during the winter storm of 2000.”
Emma stood perfectly still, her green eyes staring blankly at the marble floor. Her mind was racing, connecting dates and memories that hadn't made sense before.
“Winter of 2000...” Emma murmured softly. “That was the year Mother took me to live in France for six months because she said she needed a break from Father.”
Ethan turned to look at Emma, his sharp blue eyes narrowing. “Emma, you were adopted when you were two years old. We all know that. Father and Mother brought you home from the orphanage in Boston.”
“Did they?” Emma asked, her voice dropping into a hushed tone. “Or is that just what they told you so you wouldn't ask questions?”
Sophia reached out, taking Emma’s cold hand into her own. “I checked the orphanage records in Boston last month, Emma. There was no paper trail for your adoption. The file was completely blank except for one thing—a monthly transfer of fifty thousand dollars coming directly from Father’s private Swiss account.”
Emma’s breath hitched. She looked down at her small, delicate hands—hands that had just swung a sledgehammer hard enough to shatter a solid wooden casket.
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“I am Father’s daughter...” Emma whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Not an orphan he took in out of charity. I am his blood.”
“And that,” Ethan said slowly, realization dawning on his face like a cold shadow, “is why someone wanted Sophia dead. Because Sophia was the only one who had seen the second will. If Sophia died and you remained oblivious to your true identity, Aunt Clara and Julian would inherit the entire voting control of Sterling Logistics by default.”
