Chapter 8 - The Shadowed Clinic
Arthur walked over to a large fern, staring out at the torrential downpour outside. The weight of eighty years of power sat heavy on his shoulders, but his gaze remained hard as iron.
“You think you have it all figured out, don't you, Beatrice?” Arthur said, his tone turning dangerously soft. “You, Julian, Victoria… all of you squabbling over shares and seats on a board like vultures over a carcass.”
“I am protecting what is mine!” Beatrice spat.
“You know nothing,” Arthur said, turning back to face her. “You think I bought a baby to keep voting shares? You think I would bring a stranger into this house, give her my son’s name, and raise her under my own roof just for a financial proxy?”
Beatrice hesitated for the first time, caught off guard by the absolute sincerity in her father’s voice. “Then why did you do it? The DNA test Victoria had showed a 99.99% match to the Sterling male line! If Thomas was sterile, whose blood does that child carry? Did you… father her yourself?”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed into a look of such immense disgust that Beatrice instinctively took a step back.
“If you ever repeat that vile accusation again, Beatrice, I will ruin you before the sun rises,” Arthur warned, his voice shaking the glass panes of the conservatory. “Lily carries Sterling blood. The DNA test was accurate.”
“That’s mathematically impossible unless—” Beatrice stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened as a horrifying realization began to form in her mind. “Unless Thomas wasn't the only son who was in Zurich six years ago…”
Arthur didn't answer. He simply checked his gold pocket watch, clicked it shut, and walked toward the conservatory exit.
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“Where are you going?” Beatrice called out, her voice losing its icy composure.
“To the holding quarters,” Arthur replied over his shoulder. “It’s time Victoria told me who paid her to buy that cake.”
