Chapter 5 - The Bloodline Lie
Julian’s hand froze mid-air. The color drained from his lips so fast he looked like a walking corpse. "What... what did you just say?"
"I said," I repeated clearly, "did you ever independently verify the DNA testing for Mia’s fifteen-month-old son?"
"Of course I did!" Julian rasped, his voice faltering violently. "She gave me the certified results from the private clinic in Manhattan last year! The boy is ninety-nine point nine percent my son!"
Khloe slid a fresh, sealed white envelope across the table, stopping right in front of Julian.
"That private clinic," Khloe stated, "was owned by Mia Sun’s former college boyfriend—a medical officer currently under federal investigation for falsifying lab records. Yesterday morning, while the marshals were serving the search warrant on the Soho apartment, we court-ordered an official state DNA swab of the child."
Julian stared at the white envelope as if it contained live ordnance. His fingers shook so violently he could barely tear the paper open.
He pulled out the document inside. His eyes scanned the bold text at the bottom of the page.
RESULT OF PATERNITY ANALYSIS: SUBJECT: VANCE, JULIAN CHILD: SUN, LEO PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 0.00% CONCLUSION: ALLEGED FATHER IS DEFINITIVELY EXCLUDED.
Julian dropped the paper. He stared at the floor, his pupils dilated in complete, absolute horror.
"No..." he whimpered, falling back into his chair. "No, no, no... she wouldn't... she swore to me... she gave me a son... I gave her everything for that boy..."
"She gave you a convenient story, Julian," I said, my voice cutting through his panic like a scalpel. "She knew you were obsessed with an outdated, patriarchal idea of a 'male heir.' She used your own deep-seated arrogance and misogyny against you to steal forty-five million dollars from your company."
"I ruined my life for a child that isn't mine?" Julian muttered, grabbing his hair with both hands, pulling at it as tears began to spill over his cheeks. "I discarded my real daughter... I walked out on my wife... for a lie?"
"You didn't just ruin your life, Mr. Vance," the chairman of the board interrupted sternly, standing up and buttoning his jacket. "You destroyed your standing in the global financial market. The board formally moves to seize all your remaining vested stock options to compensate the company for your grand larceny."
"Seconded," three board members shouted in unison.
May you like
"Motion passed," I declared, standing up from the head of the table. "Julian Vance, you are officially stripped of all corporate titles, voting rights, and legal representation from Vance Holdings. Security, please escort the former CEO out of the building."
Two towering security guards stepped forward, grabbing Julian by his arms and hauling him out of his chair. He didn't fight them. He couldn't. He was a hollowed-out shell, weeping brokenly as his shoes dragged across the carpet of the boardroom he had once ruled with an iron fist.
