Chapter 5 - HIDDEN TRUTHS
Sam Vance arrived just as Victoria left. He brought a trusted, independent DNA specialist. Daniel and Lily both provided swabs. While they waited for the accelerated results, Sam laid out a blueprint of secrets on Daniel’s desk.
"Your father didn't act alone, Daniel," Sam explained, pointing to financial transactions from nine years ago. "Emma didn't die in that car crash. The crash was real, but she survived with minor injuries. Your father paid off the attending physician, Dr. Aris, and Marcus Vale forged the death certificates. They threatened Emma—told her that if she ever approached you, they would use their power to ruin her family and put her in prison for fraud."
Daniel's heart broke for Emma. She had lived in hiding, raising Lily in poverty, terrified of the monstrous power of the Whitmore family.
"Where is Dr. Aris now?" Daniel asked, his fists clenching.
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"He retired comfortably in a private villa in upstate New York shortly after the incident," Sam said. "Paid for by a shell company owned by your stepmother, Victoria."
The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Victoria had been in on it from the very beginning, wanting to ensure her own biological son, Daniel’s half-brother Julian, would inherit the entire empire if Daniel died without a "legitimate" heir.
