Chapter 18 - The Lost Identity Of Queens
Clara’s heart slammed against her ribs like a trapped bird, the floor feeling suddenly unsteady beneath her heels.
Her adoptive parents in Queens had raised her with endless love, but they had always been open about her adoption as a baby.
They had told her that her birth mother was an unknown American student who had passed away shortly after giving birth in Manhattan.
"My mother was an American student," Clara stammered, her voice barely audible over the chatter of the lounge.
Mr. Laurent shook his head gently, pulling an old black-and-white photograph from his leather breast pocket.
He handed the photograph to Clara, showing a young, beautiful woman with Clara's exact brown eyes standing in front of a grand Swiss estate.
"Your birth mother was Countess Helene Laurent," Mr. Laurent revealed quietly.
"She did not pass away from natural causes, Clara. She was hidden away in America during a bitter European inheritance war."
"And the real reason Harrison Vance's private security firm had your Queens apartment on their radar long before the country club incident..."
Mr. Laurent paused, looking around the lounge to ensure no one was listening to their conversation.
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"Is because Harrison Vance's father was the man who arranged her disappearance thirty years ago."
Clara stared at the photograph, her mind spinning wildly as twenty-five years of her life rewritten themselves in a matter of seconds.
