Chapter 13 - The Genesis of SinClaire carried the lockbox upstairs to the private study, where a multi-media player still sat connected to a vintage television set. Her hands trembled as she pulled the journal out first and flipped open to the first page.
It was written in her biological father’s handwriting—a man history books recorded as a disgraced bankrupt partner of Arthur Sterling.
“If you are reading this, Claire, it means Arthur and Eleanor found the truth. We didn't lose our company to bankruptcy; Arthur forged our signatures and framed us for embezzlement. And when we threatened to go to the authorities, our brakes failed on the winding cliff road. They took everything. But we managed to hide our daughter—our real daughter—with a trusted family friend before they caught up with us.”
Claire froze. The world tilted violently on its axis.
Trusted family friend?
She kept reading, her eyes scanning the frantic ink lines down the page, until she hit the final, shattering paragraph:
“The girl currently known as Claire Vance... is not our biological daughter. She is Eleanor’s child, smuggled away and given to us as insurance when Eleanor tried to double-cross Arthur years ago. When our real daughter died in the crash, Eleanor took you back into her home disguised as an orphan, keeping you close to control the inheritance chess board.”
May you like
The room spun. Claire dropped the journal.
She wasn't a victim seeking vengeance against her oppressors. She was the blood-kin of the monsters who built the empire. She was Eleanor’s true flesh and blood.
