Chapter 5 - The Truth About Julian
The revelation hit Elena like a physical blow.
Julian had lied to her for half a decade.
He had watched her cry over negative pregnancy tests.
He had allowed his mother to make cruel comments about Elena's inability to provide a Sterling heir.
All while knowing he was the one who was incapable.
“He is a monster,” Elena whispered, her voice breaking.
“He is a narcissist who values his image above human life,” Silas agreed.
Elena stood up and paced across the library.
“But this doesn't make any sense, Silas.”
“I went to the Sterling Family Fertility Clinic.”
“They took my eggs.”
“They told me they fertilized them with Julian's sample.”
Silas watched her pace, his expression unreadable.
“The clinic is owned by a subsidiary of Sterling Enterprises.”
“Julian controlled the narrative entirely.”
“Then how did I get pregnant?” Elena demanded, her voice rising in panic.
“Did they use anonymous donor sperm without my consent?”
“That is medical malpractice on a catastrophic level!”
Silas walked over to his massive mahogany desk and opened a drawer.
He pulled out a thick, black leather folder.
“It was not an anonymous donor, Elena.”
“Someone intentionally swapped the vials in the laboratory.”
Elena felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck.
“Someone orchestrated a mix-up?”
“It was not a mix-up,” Silas corrected softly.
“It was a highly calculated theft.”
Silas opened the folder and spread several documents across the desk.
They were internal emails from the fertility clinic.
“Someone paid the head embryologist a massive sum of money to replace Julian's useless sample with a very specific, highly valuable genetic line.”
Elena leaned over the desk, reading the printed emails.
The amounts of money being discussed were staggering.
“Who would do this?” Elena asked, horrified.
“Who would buy their way into my womb?”
Silas pointed to a redacted signature at the bottom of the email chain.
“Someone who wanted a child but lacked a trustworthy surrogate.”
“Someone who knew Julian would eventually divorce you, leaving you vulnerable and desperate.”
Elena backed away from the desk, wrapping her arms around herself.
She felt violated on a molecular level.
“Do you know who the biological father is, Silas?”
Silas looked her directly in the eyes.
“Yes.”
“I have known since the day I offered you my protection.”
Elena’s heart pounded a frantic rhythm.
“Tell me.”
Silas closed the folder with a quiet, definitive snap.
“The biological father of your son is a man named Dominic Vance.”
Elena stared at him in utter confusion.
“Vance?”
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“Dominic Vance was my older brother,” Silas revealed.
“And he was murdered three years ago.”
