Chapter 4

The Sterling family's ancestral manor held a reinforced boardroom deep within its underground levels.

At the far end of the long mahogany table sat Old Man Sterling—the reigning Patriarch of the syndicate.

Julian's mother sat to his right, while Julian sat on his left, with Nicole perched right beside him.

Several senior council elders lined the sides of the table. The family's personal physician, Dr. Hayes, was also present, standing beside a stack of old medical ledgers.

When I walked in with Daniel, every set of eyes in the room locked onto me.

Their gazes were heavy with judgment, suspicion, and a hungry desire to watch me burn.

The Patriarch tapped his knuckles against the polished wood. "Serena. Internal family business was never meant to spill into the streets. But your little stunt at the hospital has dragged the Sterling name through the mud. Speak. What the hell are you playing at?"

"I want a DNA test," I said clearly. "I suspect Mia is not my daughter."

The air in the room was sucked out in an instant.

Julian's face drained of color, and he bolted to his feet. "Grandfather, she's lost her mind! Mia is lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life, and she's using this family meeting to spread delusional slander!"

"Delusional?" I locked eyes with him. "Julian, why don't you explain to the council what you were doing ten years ago on the day I gave birth?"

"Ten years ago, Nicole and I gave birth on the exact same day, in the exact same wing of this family's hospital, with the exact same surgeon operating on both of us. Do you really expect everyone here to believe that was pure coincidence?"

Julian's mother gasped, her hands shaking. "What are you implying?!"

"My implication is simple," I said, turning my gaze to the Patriarch. "I demand an immediate paternity and maternity test. If Mia is proven to be my biological daughter, I will accept full responsibility, sign away all my marital assets, walk out with nothing, and issue a formal public apology to Julian and Nicole."

Julian's voice rose to a panicked screech. "I refuse!"

His mother jumped up as well, shrieking, "You've completely lost your senses! Mia is your daughter! Are you so vicious you'd disown your own flesh and blood?!"

The Patriarch raised his weathered hand, cutting off the noise instantly. His sharp, hawk-like eyes drilled into me. "What made you suspect this?"

I opened my leather briefcase, pulled out a faded document, and slid it across the table.

"Three years ago, I found a silver locket at the bottom of Mia's toy chest. The inner casing was engraved with Nicole's initials and birthdate. That same year, I pulled an archived record from the regional blood registry. Mia's blood markers violate basic genetic inheritance rules between Julian and me."

Julian's face turned stark white. He stammered, "That was a contaminated sample! I explained that to you years ago!"

"Yes, you did," I replied calmly. "And I chose to believe you back then. I told myself I was being paranoid. I showered Mia with twice as much love, desperate to drown out the doubt eating away at me."

I turned back to the Patriarch. "But during this recent accident, Mia required an extremely rare blood match. Julian didn't reach out to the donor network—he immediately summoned Nicole for a direct transfusion. Tell me, Grandfather... why would a simple 'family friend' happen to have the exact rare blood type, happen to be on standby twenty-four-seven, and happen to care more about my daughter's survival than her own life?"

Silence hung heavy over the boardroom.

The Patriarch shifted his piercing gaze toward Julian. "Julian. Answer her."

Sweat beaded across Julian's forehead. "Grandfather, this is pure spite! She hates that I asked Nicole for help, and now she's manufacturing lies to tear my reputation apart!"

"Then run the test," the Patriarch ordered coldly. "Once the results are on the table, no one can argue."

Julian's knees visibly buckled. "Grandfather, please!"

"I said, test them," the Patriarch snapped, slamming his palm onto the table. "The first law of the Sterling family is that our bloodline remains pure and unbroken. Do it now."