Chapter 9 - The Bloodline Verified
Sophia froze, all the blood draining from her face until she looked like a corpse. “V-Vincent… what are you talking about?”
“The satellite call from the private cabin, Sophia. Seat 2A. Two minutes before impact.” Vincent looked at her with pure disgust. “Did you really think Julian Vance wouldn’t recover the black box data from the Department of Transportation?”
Sophia took a frantic step back, her heel catching on the carpet. “No… Vincent, that’s a forgery! Anna is framing me! She wants to tear us apart!”
“There was never an ‘us’,” Vincent snarled softly. “Get out of my sight before I forget my promise not to have you arrested in public. My security team is already clearing your belongings out of my penthouse. By midnight, you won’t have a cent in your accounts.”
“You can’t do that!” she shrieked, but two stone-faced Moretti bodyguards materialized on either side of her, gripping her arms firmly and escorting her through the service exit before she could cause a scene.
Vincent didn’t wait to watch her dragged out. He had only one destination.
Thirty minutes later, Vincent stood outside the Vance Estate in upstate New York. High wrought-iron gates barred his entrance, but he didn’t try to force his way in. He stood in the pouring autumn rain, waiting beneath the glare of security cameras until the front gates slowly clicked open.
He walked up the winding driveway. Julian Vance stood on the front porch, arms crossed over his chest.
“You’re persistent, Moretti,” Julian said, observing Vincent’s drenched, ruined tuxedo.
“I dealt with Sophia,” Vincent said through chattering teeth. “The police have the audio logs. She will spend the rest of her life in federal prison.”
“That solves your conscience, not her pain,” Julian replied coldly.
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“I know,” Vincent rasped. “I don’t expect her to take me back. But Leo is my son. I have a right to know him. I have a duty to protect him.”
Julian pulled an envelope from his coat and handed it to Vincent. “We ran the DNA test three years ago when Anna gave birth in Zurich. We already know he’s yours, Vincent. The question is: what kind of father lets his son grow up knowing his dad chose someone else?”
