Chapter 5 - Serena's Web of Lies
Serena took an instinctive step backward, catching the deadly gleam in Gabriel’s eyes. "Gabriel... be sensible. Look at the timing. We are two days away from merging our families' shipping assets. She turns up tonight, at this specific charity gala? She wants to blackmail you."
"Marco," Gabriel said, his voice flat.
Marco stepped into the salon, closing the heavy doors behind him and shutting out the murmurs of the hallway. "Yes, boss."
"Five years ago, Claire supposedly signed an NDA and received a wire transfer of twenty million dollars from account 409. Who authorized that transfer?"
Serena’s breath hitched. A flicker of sheer panic crossed her eyes, so brief that anyone else might have missed it, but Gabriel caught it instantly.
Marco hesitated, his eyes darting toward Serena. "The financial ledger showed your digital signature, Mr. Vance."
"My digital signature is maintained by two people," Gabriel said, his voice dropping into a lethal register. "Me. And the executive director of Vance Holdings."
All eyes turned to Serena. She had been the executive director for the past six years.
"That proves nothing!" Serena stammered, her voice climbing an octave. "You gave me broad power of attorney during the cartel negotiations in Chicago! You told me to settle any liabilities! Claire was an uneducated waitress who trapped you into marriage! I was cleaning up your mess!"
"I never authorized a divorce settlement," Gabriel said, stepping closer to her, each heavy footstep echoing like a death knell. "I signed those papers because you told me Claire had aborted our child, emptied our private vault, and ran away with an Italian art dealer."
I froze on the sofa, clutching Leo’s hand so tightly the little boy whimpered softly. I released his hand immediately, stroking his dark curls, but my eyes remained glued to Gabriel.
*He thought I aborted our child?*
"You lied to me," Gabriel whispered, standing inches from Serena. The sheer gravity of his presence made the tall, proud socialite shrink until she looked small and pathetic. "You forged the hospital discharge papers showing a termination of pregnancy. You brought me photographs of an empty apartment."
"She was poisoning you!" Serena screamed, breaking completely. Her regal composure shattered into ugly hysteria. "She was weak! You are the head of the Vance syndicate! You needed an empire, an equal, a woman who could stand beside you in blood and fire! Not some pathetic orphan crying over every bullet you fired! I saved you from her!"
A sharp, rhythmic beep broke the suffocating confession.
Dr. Hayes stood up, his hand shaking violently as he held the digital readout from the PCR sequencer.
May you like
"Mr. Vance," the doctor said, his voice trembling under the weight of history changing in an instant. "The markers are an identical match. Paternity probability is ninety-nine point nine-nine percent. They are your sons."
***
