Chapter 29 - The Bloodline Truth
We sat Clara down at the wooden table where generations of Vances had broken bread. Carol, putting aside decades of bitter pride, poured Clara a steaming cup of dark roast coffee and set a warm apple turnover before her.
"If you want to stop them, we need more than a confession," Frank Callahan said as he entered from the back office, having listened to the entire conversation from behind the pantry door. "You signed a power of attorney under Massachusetts law. But if we can prove you are not Arthur Vance’s legal daughter, that power of attorney cannot touch this land."
Clara looked up, startled. "What do you mean? My birth certificate lists Arthur Vance as my father."
I placed the letter Lily had found from the music box on the table, smoothing out the creased onionskin paper.
"Read this," I said gently.
Clara read Arthur’s handwriting. As she reached the final lines, her skin went ashen.
"Arthur knew," Carol said softly, placing a hand on Clara’s trembling shoulder. "Evelyn was already carrying Richard Sterling’s child when she married Arthur. Arthur married her to save her from the scandal, but Richard used that marriage as a weapon to ruin him."
"No..." Clara breathed, pulling back. "Richard Sterling is my... my father?"
"Look at the cameo on your chest," I pointed out. "Richard gave that to your mother before she left Geneva. My father kept the duplicate in his safe. You don't have Arthur Vance’s blood, Clara. You have Sterling blood. And Richard has been using his own daughter to execute his personal vendetta."
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Suddenly, the front door of the bakery rattled violently. The brass lock groaned under heavy pressure. Through the frosted glass, the dark silhouettes of Marcus Sterling and two burly private security guards were visible against the streetlights.
"Clara! Open the damn door!" Marcus’s muffled voice barked from the porch. "We know you’re in there. Don't make this ugly before the hearing!"