Chapter 3: The Name Written In Blood
Eleanor stared at the sealed envelope sitting on her desk.
For the first time in decades, she was afraid to open a piece of paper.
She had faced hostile investors, corporate wars, and enemies who spent millions trying to destroy her reputation.
None of them had ever made her hands shake.
But this envelope held something far more powerful than money.
It held the truth.
Grace stood across from her, silent and pale.
The young maid who had spent months cleaning Eleanor’s home was now standing at the center of the greatest mystery of the Vance family.
Samuel slowly sat down.
"You should know something before you read it.""
Eleanor looked up.
"What?""
"The test was done twice.""
Her heart stopped.
"Why?""
"Because the first result was so unexpected that the laboratory repeated it.""
Grace swallowed.
"And?""
Samuel looked at the envelope.
"The results were identical.""
The room felt smaller.
Eleanor opened the envelope with trembling fingers.
She removed the paper.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then her eyes filled with tears.
"No...""
Grace stepped forward.
"Mrs. Vance?""
Eleanor looked at her.
Not as an employee.
Not as a stranger.
As a daughter.
"The probability is ninety-nine point nine percent.""
Grace covered her mouth.
Samuel quietly said the words Eleanor couldn't.
"You are her biological daughter.""
The silence that followed felt heavier than any sound.
Eleanor slowly walked toward Grace.
Twenty-five years.
Twenty-five years of wondering.
Twenty-five years of guilt.
Twenty-five years of loving a child who was not hers while the child she had lost was standing right in front of her.
"I'm sorry," Eleanor whispered.
Grace shook her head.
"For what?""
"For not finding you.""
Grace looked away.
"I wasn't exactly easy to find.""
"No.""
Eleanor's voice broke.
"But I should have tried harder.""
Grace's eyes became wet.
"I spent my whole life thinking my mother abandoned me.""
The words struck Eleanor like a physical blow.
"She didn't.""
Grace looked at her.
"Then what happened?""
Before Eleanor could answer, Samuel interrupted.
"There is something else.""
Both women turned.
The doctor looked uncomfortable.
"The hospital records weren't just altered. Someone removed specific information.""
Eleanor frowned.
"What information?""
Samuel opened a folder.
"Your original birth records.""
He placed several documents on the table.
"Your daughter's blood type, the nurse reports, the delivery notes. All of it was changed.""
Grace looked confused.
"Why would someone do that?""
Eleanor had no answer.
Then Samuel placed one final document down.
A copy of the original hospital log.
"There was one name that appeared before it was removed.""
Eleanor looked at the page.
Her face changed.
Because she knew the name.
"Lillian Miller.""
Grace stepped closer.
"My mother?""
Samuel nodded.
"She was assigned to your room the night your daughter was born.""
Grace looked at Eleanor.
"She knew?""
"I believe she did.""
Eleanor stared at the document.
Lillian had been the missing piece all along.
The nurse who disappeared.
The woman who raised Grace.
The woman who took the secret to her grave.
But one question remained.
Why?
The office door suddenly opened.
Chloe stood there.
Her eyes were red.
She had clearly been crying.
"Is it true?""
Nobody answered.
Chloe looked at the DNA test on the desk.
"Is she really your daughter?""
Eleanor slowly nodded.
Chloe stepped backward.
For the first time, the confident woman who had always carried the Vance name looked lost.
"Then what am I?""
Eleanor softened.
"Chloe...""
"No.""
Her voice cracked.
"Don't say my name like you still see me the same way.""
Grace looked uncomfortable.
"This doesn't mean you don't belong here.""
Chloe turned toward her.
"You don't understand.""
Her laugh was bitter.
"You walked into this mansion yesterday carrying plates.""
She pointed at the room around them.
"And today, everything belongs to you.""
Grace immediately shook her head.
"I don't want your life.""
Chloe stared at her.
"Everyone says that until they see what it's worth.""
Eleanor stepped forward.
"Enough.""
But Chloe wasn't looking at her anymore.
She was looking at the documents.
At the proof that her entire identity had changed overnight.
Then her expression shifted.
A strange realization crossed her face.
"What if someone wanted this?""
Eleanor froze.
"What do you mean?""
Chloe looked at the papers.
"What if someone didn't just switch babies?""
Nobody spoke.
Chloe whispered:
"What if someone planned for Grace to come back?""
A cold silence filled the room.
Because for the first time, everyone realized the same thing.
The DNA test had answered one question.
But it had created another.
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Who had stolen Eleanor's daughter?
And why did they make sure the truth would be discovered twenty-five years later?
