Chapter 5 - Shadows of the Past
Three days after the public downfall of Alexander Vance and Julian Escalando, silence had finally returned to the Vance Headquarters. Vivienne sat in the massive corner office that had once belonged to her father. The view of the city was vast, stretching out toward the ocean, but the heavy mahogany desk felt cold.
Her phone buzzed. It was a private, unlisted number.
Vivienne picked it up. "Vivienne Vance."
"You think you’ve won the whole game, don't you, little girl?"
The voice was raspy, venomous, and unmistakable. It was Eleanor Escalando.
"Eleanor," Vivienne said calmly, leaning back in her leather chair. "I assumed you were busy liquidating your jewelry collection to pay for Julian’s bail."
"Julian is a fool," Eleanor spat. "He was too soft on you. He actually cared about what you thought of him. But I never cared, Vivienne. You were an outsider, a parasite trying to buy into a bloodline that goes back generations."
"A bloodline currently facing bankruptcy," Vivienne reminded her smoothly. "Your family estate is listed for auction on Monday. I suggest you pack your bags before the marshals arrive."
"Check your email, Vivienne," Eleanor sneered. "Your precious mother wasn't the saint you think she was. You think your father was the only one hiding secrets? Why don't you look at the real reason your parents' marriage collapsed?"
The line went dead.
A second later, a notification chimed on Vivienne’s computer screen. An anonymous email had arrived with a single PDF attachment titled ’The Sovereign Trust_1998’.
Vivienne clicked on the file with a trembling finger. As the document opened, her heart rate spiked. It was an adoption record, stamped by a private court twenty-six years ago.
SUBJECT: VIVIENNE VANCE
BIOLOGICAL MOTHER: ELEANOR ESCALANDO
BIOLOGICAL FATHER: ALEXANDER VANCE
LEGAL GUARDIAN AT ADOPTION: CATHERINE VANCE
Vivienne’s breath hitched in her throat. The screen blurred before her eyes as the horrifying truth washed over her.
She wasn't Catherine Vance's biological daughter. She was the product of an affair between her father and Eleanor Escalando—the very woman who had slapped her, humiliated her, and treated her like trash for five long years.
Julian wasn't just her ex-husband. He was her half-brother.
The room seemed to spin violently. The air pulled out of her lungs as she gripped the edges of the desk. The sickening cruelty of the Escalando family wasn't just about money or corporate power. Eleanor had known all along. She had forced her own biological daughter into a sham marriage with her legal son to keep the Vance fortune within her bloodline, treating Vivienne like disposable trash while secretly engineering her complete submission.
The door to the office opened. Marcus walked in, holding a folder, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Vivienne’s ghost-pale face.
"Vivienne?" Marcus rushed forward. "What happened? What’s wrong?"
Vivienne couldn't speak. She simply pointed a trembling finger at the glowing computer screen.
Marcus read the document, his eyes widening in absolute horror. "My God... Eleanor knew. That twisted monster knew the entire time."
"She didn't just hurt me, Marcus," Vivienne whispered, her voice cracking as a single tear escaped her eye. "She made me live a lie... she made me marry..." She couldn't even finish the sentence, nausea rising in her throat.
"Wait," Marcus said suddenly, his eyes darting back to the dates on the document. "Look at the timestamp on the DNA registry attached to page four, Vivienne. Look closely!"
Vivienne forced herself to look back at the screen.
Marcus zoomed in on the official hospital seal at the bottom of the page. "This record was generated three days ago from an IP address inside Eleanor's personal legal firm. It’s a deepfake forgery!"
Vivienne blinked, her mind racing. "A forgery?"
"She’s playing a psychological war with you!" Marcus said fiercely, grabbing her hands to ground her. "Eleanor knows she can't beat you in court! She can't beat you in the stock market! So she’s trying to destroy your mind from the inside out! She wants you to break down, surrender control of the company, and hide away in shame!"
Vivienne looked from Marcus to the screen, the panic fading, replaced by a dark, terrifying clarity.
Eleanor had weaponized the ultimate psychological horror against her. She had tried to break her spirit using the sickest lie imaginable.
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Vivienne wiped the single tear from her cheek. Her jaw set, her eyes flashing with a lethal intensity.
"Call the DNA testing center," Vivienne said, her voice dropping an octave into absolute ice. "We’re going to do a live, public blood test. And then... I am going to erase Eleanor Escalando from existence."
