Chapter 16 - The Unmarked Envelope From Chicago
In September, a crisp autumn breeze blew across the manicured gardens of the Vance-Sterling estate in Boston.
Claire was sitting in the glass sunroom, reviewing grant proposals for young engineering students from the Midwest.
A private courier stepped onto the patio, handing her a thick, unmarked brown envelope stamped with a red wax seal from Chicago.
Claire opened the envelope, pulling out a stack of black-and-white photographs and an official legal document from 1976.
The top photograph showed a young Thomas Vance standing beside a wealthy-looking man in a military uniform near Lake Michigan.
Attached to the photograph was a handwritten letter written in sharp, aggressive handwriting that made Claire’s blood run cold.
“Dear Mrs. Sterling,” the letter read, sending a sudden wave of tension through the quiet sunroom.
“You believe you have reclaimed your family’s legacy by sending Eleanor Sterling to federal prison in Boston.”
“You have no idea that your father’s 1984 patent was not his original invention at all.”
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“It was created by my father, General Richard Dupont, before he was murdered in an undercover operation in Chicago.”
“And the man who signed the order to terminate my father was your beloved grandfather, Arthur Sterling.”
