Chapter 2 - The Mother's Confession — "A $10 Million Mistake: The Businessman from His Past Who Actually Fathered the Golden Child!"
By Wednesday afternoon, the news of the DNA test had rippled through the Harper extended family like a tidal wave. The aunts, uncles, and cousins who had sat in the front rows of the funeral, whispering about my presence, were now blowing up my phone with missed calls and frantic text messages. I ignored them all.
I sat in the study of my rented apartment in downtown Columbus, reviewing the corporate files Mr. Vance had sent over. My father hadn't just been a wealthy real estate developer; he had owned 60% of Harper Logistics, a company valued at over fifteen million dollars.
A sharp knock at my door broke my concentration.
I opened it to find Vivian standing on the threshold. She wasn't wearing her flawless black designer dresses anymore. She wore a simple trench coat, her hair slightly messy, looking every bit like a woman who hadn't slept in forty-eight hours.
"Can I come in, Candace?" she asked, her voice stripped of its usual haughty edge.
"You have five minutes, Vivian," I said, stepping aside just enough for her to pass. "And if you're here to beg for Alyssa's share, you're wasting your breath."
Vivian walked into the room, looking around the modest space before turning to face me. She let out a long, ragged sigh. "William knew," she whispered.
My brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"He knew Alyssa wasn't his," Vivian confessed, a tear escaping her eye. "He found out ten years ago during a routine medical screening for his kidney condition. The blood types didn't match. He confronted me, and I had to tell him the truth."
"Who is her father, Vivian?" I asked, my voice cold.
"Do you remember Richard Sterling?" she asked, looking down at her hands. "His former business partner. The man who suddenly left the company twenty-six years ago and moved to Europe? We had an affair during the second year of my marriage to William. It was a mistake, a brief lapse in judgment. But then I got pregnant with Alyssa. I prayed every day she would look like William. And when she grew up blonde and beautiful, I thought I had gotten away with it."
"So you spent the next twenty-five years making me look like the outsider to cover your own guilt," I said, the realization hitting me like a physical blow. "You told my father I didn't look like him. You kept me out of the family photos. You convinced the entire world I was the mistake so no one would look too closely at your precious, golden daughter."
"I was terrified, Candace!" Vivian cried out, grabbing my wrist. "If William found out back then, he would have divorced me and left me with nothing! I had to build a wall around Alyssa to protect her! When William found out ten years ago, he didn't divorce me because of the public scandal, but he completely cut me out of his emotional life. We lived like strangers in that big house. That’s why he started tracking your life in Chicago. He was punishing me by looking for you."
I pulled my wrist away from her grip, disgust washing over me. "He wasn't just punishing you, Vivian. He was grieving the daughter he let you drive away."
"Please, Candace," Vivian begged, dropping to her knees on my floor. "Alyssa doesn't know anything else. She thinks she’s a Harper. She has a high-society wedding planned next month with the Governor's son. If this scandal goes public, the wedding will be cancelled, her reputation will be ruined, and we will be completely destitute. Just sign a waiver. Give her just 20% of the logistics shares. That’s all we ask."
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I looked down at the woman who had spent my childhood ensuring I felt less than human.
"Your five minutes are up, Vivian," I said, walking to the door and holding it wide open. "Tell Alyssa to start looking for a cheaper wedding venue. And don't forget to leave the keys to the mansion on the kitchen counter by tomorrow afternoon."
