Chapter 3 - The Bloodline Ledger**
The rain battered against the glass panels of the foyer as the sound of Pamela’s departure faded into the storm.
Julian gently set Leo down onto the velvet bench near the grand staircase.
“Clara, take him upstairs and lock the nursery door,” Julian ordered quietly, his eyes never leaving the envelope on the floor.
Clara immediately stepped forward, scooping the little boy into her arms with gentle familiarity.
“Is she going to come back, Daddy?” Leo whimpered, his small fingers clutching Clara’s navy uniform collar.
“No, sweetheart,” Julian lied, crouching down to kiss the boy’s forehead. “Daddy won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”
Once the heavy wooden doors of the upper floor clicked shut, Julian knelt beside the dropped silver tray.
He broke the red wax seal on the envelope, pulling out three sheets of heavy legal parchment stamped with a court seal from Wilmington, Delaware.
The top document was a petition for full emergency custody of Leo Vance, filed under Pamela’s maiden name.
Attached behind it was a financial audit detailing twenty-four offshore bank accounts operating under the name of Julian’s late father.
At the very bottom of the ledger, typed in stark black ink, was a signature that made Julian’s heart stop entirely.
It wasn't Pamela's signature, nor was it his father’s.
It was Clara’s legal name, written as the sole trustee of a forty-million-dollar offshore account.
May you like
Julian stood up slowly, the paper crushing inside his fist as he stared up toward the dark second-floor hallway.
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