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Adrian didn’t look down. His gaze remained locked on the man standing across the room—a man wearing an expensive tailored suit, holding a crystal glass as if he owned the very air in the mansion. / Chapter 4 / 8

Chapter 4 - The Poisoned LegacyAt the hidden warehouse, Marcus—Adrian’s long-time head of security—helped set up a temporary sanctuary for the girls. While Lila and Mia slept peacefully under warm heat lamps, Marcus brought Adrian a confidential medical report.

“You need to see this,” Marcus said grimly, handing over a file. “I had the girls’ blood tested at a private clinic two weeks ago when you suspected Vanessa was neglecting them.”

Adrian scanned the document, his blood running cold. “Traces of synthetic sedatives? She was drugging my children?!”

“In small doses,” Marcus confirmed. “To keep them quiet while Julian visited the house over the last six months. But that’s not all. Look at the DNA comparison section at the bottom.”

Adrian flipped to the last page. His eyes widened in absolute horror.

DNA ANALYSIS RESULT: Subject: Lila Vance & Mia Vance Paternal Match with Adrian Vance: 0%

Adrian dropped the folder. The paper scattered across the concrete floor.

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The heavy iron gates of the Moretti estate hissed shut, sealing off the sprawling Westchester property from the outside world. Inside the main salon, the glittering chandeliers still cast a warm amber glow over the shattered porcelain of Ethan’s ruined birthday cake, but the festive atmosphere had been replaced by a suffocating, lethal silence.

The heavy iron gates of the Moretti estate hissed shut, sealing off the...

The heavy oak doors of the Westchester estate clicked shut, sealing out the damp autumn wind and the remaining murmurs of the panicked guests. Inside, the silence was absolute—a suffocating, heavy quiet that usually preceded a storm in the Moretti household. Dominic Moretti stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of his private study, his silhouette framed against the pale moonlight. He hadn’t touched a drink, but his knuckles were stark white as they gripped the mahogany windowsill.

The heavy oak doors of the Westchester estate clicked shut, sealing out...

The sterile silence of the Moretti estate’s private chapel was shattered not by a prayer, but by the frantic, echoing ring of a burner phone. Lorenzo Moretti stood frozen in the dim candlelight, the heavy bronze key still cool and damning in his palm. Beside him, Sophia Hale clutched her trembling daughter, Lily,

The sterile silence of the Moretti estate’s private chapel was shattered...

“No... no, that’s impossible!” Adrian yelled, slamming his fist onto the metal desk. “I raised them! They are my daughters!”

“Adrian, listen to me,” Marcus said calmly, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Julian isn’t just your half-brother. Vanessa met Julian six years ago, before you two even got married. This entire marriage... the children... it was a calculated long-con to steal your father’s inheritance.”

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