Chapter 10 - The True Bloodline
A team of real, heavily armed FBI agents poured out of the elevator, quickly securing the unconscious Chloe.
My father wrapped me in a protective embrace, ensuring I didn't have a single scratch on me.
"It is finally over, my brave girl," my father whispered, kissing my forehead gently.
The next morning, the news of Julian's arrest and the apprehension of a notorious international spy dominated every global headline.
Julian was sentenced to thirty years in federal prison for massive corporate fraud and conspiracy.
I filed for divorce immediately, completely liquidating his remaining assets and donating the money to a women's charity.
My father stepped down as the active head of the Apex Group, proudly naming me as his successor and the new CEO.
I rebranded the entire enterprise, bringing in an era of transparency, loyalty, and massive financial success.
Six months later, I was sitting in my beautiful corner office on the top floor of the Apex tower.
I was wearing a sharp, tailored white suit, feeling powerful, respected, and completely in control of my own destiny.
The worn-out navy-blue dress was a distant memory, replaced by a life of absolute freedom and genuine happiness.
I smiled as I looked at a framed photo on my desk of my father and me at the gala, victorious and united.
My assistant walked into the office, carrying a heavy, ancient-looking wooden box with no return address.
She placed it carefully on my desk, mentioning that a private courier had demanded it be delivered directly to my hands.
I used a silver letter opener to pry the rusted clasp open, revealing a velvet interior that smelled like old dust and dried roses.
Inside the box lay a cracked, blood-stained photograph of my mother, who had supposedly died in a car crash twenty years ago.
Beneath the picture was a burner phone, which suddenly lit up and began to vibrate violently on the desk.
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I picked up the phone, pressing it to my ear with a trembling hand, and heard a chilling, raspy voice whisper from the other end.
"Did you really think Arthur Vance was your biological father, Clarissa?"
