Chapter 10 - The Arrival of the Doctor
By midnight, the storm had reached its peak. Thunder shook the foundations of the Sterling mansion as a sleek black town car pulled up to the main entrance under the portico.
The massive front doors opened, and a tall, silver-haired man in a immaculate trench coat stepped into the foyer. Dr. Harrison Vance carried a black leather medical briefcase, his demeanor calm, professional, and entirely unbothered by the late hour.
Arthur was waiting for him at the top of the grand marble staircase, standing like a statue against the dim lighting.
“Harrison,” Arthur said, his voice carrying down the vast foyer. “You’re a long way from Switzerland.”
Dr. Vance removed his gloves, looking up at the patriarch with a polite, clinical smile. “Arthur. I wish our meeting were under better circumstances. But as the designated medical executor of the Sterling Estate’s international trust, I received a formal report of child endangerment at this address three hours ago.”
“Reported by whom?” Arthur asked, descending the stairs step by step, his presence dominating the space.
“By an anonymous stakeholder with voting rights,” Vance replied, setting his briefcase on the foyer table. “According to the trust charter established by your late wife, any allegation of physical abuse against the primary heir requires an immediate, independent genetic and psychological evaluation. I am here to collect Lily’s blood sample and take her into temporary custody.”
Arthur reached the bottom of the stairs, standing mere inches from the doctor. “You aren't touching the child, Harrison.”
Vance didn't flinch. He reached into his coat and pulled out a court order stamped by a federal judge in Manhattan. “I have full legal authority, Arthur. If you resist, the federal marshals waiting outside will enter this house and arrest you for obstruction.”
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From the upper landing, Julian and Beatrice appeared, watching the confrontation from above like spectators at a gladiator arena.
“Let him take the sample, Father,” Julian called down, his voice echoing. “If Lily is really Thomas’s legitimate daughter, you have nothing to fear. Unless… the test Vance brings will prove what Mother knew all along.”
