Chapter 5 - Blood and Ink
At eight o'clock sharp the next morning, the private medical team arrived at Vale Manor.
Dr. Harrison, the Vale family's personal physician for over thirty years, performed the cheek swabs himself in the sunlit morning room. Eleanor sat in her wheelchair nearby, watching every movement with intense focus, while Lucia sat on my lap, giggling as the soft cotton swab brushed against the inside of her cheek.
"There you go, little princess," Dr. Harrison said kindly, placing the swab into a sterile vial. "All done."
"Is that going to tell you if I'm a princess?" Lucia asked innocently, tilting her head.
Eleanor let out a soft, joyful laugh—a sound that Adrian later told me he hadn't heard in years. "My darling," Eleanor said, reaching out to hold Lucia's small hand, "it's going to tell the whole world that you are a princess."
As the medical team packed their bags to rush the samples to a high-security lab for expedited two-hour processing, Adrian walked into the room holding a stack of morning newspapers.
His face was solemn.
"It's hit the press," Adrian said, setting the papers down on the coffee table.
I looked at the front page of the Boston Globe.
There was a large, grainy photograph of me in my maid's uniform holding my silver tray, side-by-side with a picture of Lucia dancing in her blue dress beneath the chandeliers. The bold headline read:
"MAID OR HEIR? DRAMA AT VALE MANOR AS BILLIONAIRE CANCELS WEDDING AMID SECRETS AND CLAIMS OF LOST DAUGHTER."
On the next page, an interview with Celeste Winthrop’s spokesperson painted a toxic narrative: “The Winthrop family expresses deep concern over the psychological manipulation of elderly matriarch Eleanor Vale by an ambitious catering employee using fabricated claims.”
"They're calling me a con artist," I murmured, feeling a cold knot form in my stomach despite my earlier brave words.
"Let them talk," Eleanor said fiercely, her eyes flashing with anger. "The Winthrops are desperate because their legal claw into our fortune just snapped. When those DNA results come back today, I am calling a press conference on the front lawn of this very estate."
Suddenly, the butler, Marcus, stepped into the room, holding an silver tray with an official envelope.
"Mr. Vale," Marcus said smoothly. "A courier just delivered this from the Probate Court of Massachusetts."
Adrian took the envelope, tore it open, and quickly scanned the document inside. His jaw clenched tight.
"What is it, Adrian?" I asked.
"Richard Winthrop has filed an emergency injunction," Adrian revealed, his voice laced with cold fury. "He is petitioning the court to freeze all Vale family trust distributions and appoint an independent guardian over Eleanor's affairs, claiming she is mentally incompetent due to age and trauma."
Eleanor slammed her hand against the armrest of her wheelchair. "Incompetent?! That arrogant little parasite!"
"He’s trying to stall us," Adrian explained, turning to me. "If he gets the court to freeze the trusts, he can force a prolonged legal battle that could take months or years. He wants to starve you out financially so you'll take a small settlement and go away."
I looked down at Lucia, who was playing with the yellow ribbon in her hair.
"He doesn't know who he's dealing with," I said quietly, looking up at Adrian and Eleanor. "My mother spent her whole life sacrificing for me. I will not let a corrupt lawyer drag her memory through the mud just to protect his bank account."
Before Adrian could reply, Dr. Harrison’s assistant knocked urgently on the door frame, holding a tablet with a encrypted digital file open on the screen.
"Mr. Vale," the assistant said, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "The expedited DNA results from the lab just arrived."
Adrian took the tablet. Eleanor leaned forward, her knuckles white against her cane. I held my breath, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.
Adrian read the screen. A slow, triumphant, radiant smile spread across his face.
He looked up at me.
"A 99.99% direct maternal match," Adrian announced softly. "Clara... you are Rose’s daughter. You are officially a Vale."
Eleanor let out a sob of pure relief, closing her eyes and bringing her hands to her face in prayer.
May you like
Adrian looked toward the front windows, where dozens of news vans were already parking along the perimeter fence of the estate.
"Marcus," Adrian called out to the butler. "Open the front gates. Tell the press to set up their cameras on the main lawn. The Vales have a statement to make."
