Chapter 18 - The Adoption Lie
Julian drove straight to the Virginia State Archives building in downtown Richmond to investigate Evelyn's cryptic claim.
With the help of a court order signed by Judge Ross, Julian accessed the sealed 1998 adoption records.
The official records revealed that Clara had not been born to the wealthy Sterling family as she had believed her entire life.
She was adopted illegally through an unlicensed agency managed directly by Marcus Vance when he was a young lawyer.
The biological birth certificate listed Clara's real birth mother as Eleanor Vance—Julian's late paternal aunt.
Julian stared at the yellowed document, his jaw dropping in absolute, paralyzing disbelief.
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Clara was not an outsider who married into the Vance family; she was Julian's biological first cousin.
Evelyn had known the truth all along, using the secret to manipulate the estate trust for over two decades.
