Chapter 21 - A Sealed Black Envelope Arrives At Midnight
Late one quiet Friday evening, after the entire estate was wrapped in deep midnight silence and Victor had retired to his private wing, the front gate chime sounded softly. Clara walked down the grand marble staircase to check the security pillar in the foyer, finding a small, unmarked black envelope resting on the stone ledge.
There was no return address or postal stamp, only a heavy crimson wax seal stamped with an unfamiliar family crest from an ancient estate in New England. Clara brought the envelope into her private study, using a silver letter opener to slice open the heavy parchment paper inside.
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The handwritten message in dark ink made her blood run ice-cold:
“Vanessa was not acting alone when she took your place... the biological mother you believed died in the hospital fire twenty years ago has just checked into a hotel in downtown Boston.”
