“A criminal one,” I corrected.
The chandeliers burned brightly overhead while waves rolled against the cliffs below. Every influential person my mother had spent years trying to impress watched me place Elena’s folder on the table.
Vivian gave a short laugh. “Papers? That’s your grand revenge?”
“No. Evidence is.”
The large screen at the far end of the room came alive.
First appeared hospital footage showing Elena, pregnant and crying, stopped by two Hale guards while my mother stood behind them, cold and unmoved.
Then came the financial records.
Payments to a hospital administrator. Payments to a county clerk. Payments to a private courier who had delivered forged legal papers.
The color drained from Vivian’s face.
I clicked again.
Her recorded voice filled the room.
“Make sure Elena believes he died. If she contacts him, ruin her. The child must never reach Daniel. That trust cannot pass to an outsider’s bloodline.”
Gasps swept across the room.
