Chapter 3 - THE RECOGNITION OF BLOOD
"Look at me, child," Arthur whispered, his voice trembling with a raw, buried emotion that had frozen in his chest for two decades.
Chloe slowly raised her tear-filled eyes, staring up into the weathered, striking face of the billionaire founder of Vance Global Enterprises.
"You... you have your mother's eyes," Arthur choked out, reaching out with a trembling, age-spotted hand to gently touch her cheek.
Victoria rushed over, her heavy diamond necklace clinking loudly as she forced a hysterical, manic laugh to mask her rising panic.
"This is an elaborate scam! She drew that ridiculous mark on her skin to steal our family fortune!" Victoria screamed at the top of her lungs.
Arthur didn't even turn his head to look at his granddaughter, keeping his entire focus locked onto the terrified young worker.
"Silence, Victoria," Arthur commanded, his voice dropping into a lethal, authoritative register that silenced the entire lobby instantly.
"I know every curve of that birthmark because I designed the family crest it was named after," Arthur stated, his eyes shining with tears.
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Chloe's breath hitched in her throat as she processed the impossible reality of what was happening around her.
"My name is Chloe," the young woman whispered softly, her voice shaking violently as natural panic warred with dawning realization.
