Chapter 3 - The Ten-Minute Lie
"It's a forgery!" Victoria shrieked, pointing a shaking finger at Arthur. "Harrison was not in his right mind!"
"The medical examiners cleared him completely," Arthur said dryly.
Julian slowly stood up.
He walked toward me, his hands trembling.
"Genevieve," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Ten years ago... you were pregnant?"
"I was," I said coldly. "With quintuplets."
He stumbled back as if I had shot him.
"You didn't tell me."
"I tried," I replied, my voice hard and uncompromising.
I remembered that night so clearly.
The fake photos Victoria had planted on my computer.
The forged hotel receipts.
The hired man who swore to Julian he had been sleeping with me.
"You gave me ten minutes to pack my bags, Julian," I reminded him, the entire room listening.
"You told me I was a whore. You told me you never wanted to see my face again."
"I was blinded," Julian choked out. "The evidence..."
"The evidence was manufactured by the woman currently standing next to you," I said, pointing at Victoria.
Victoria scoffed, trying to maintain her composure. "Julian, darling, don't listen to this garbage. She could have had those kids with anyone! Look at them, it's a desperate cash grab!"
Ethan, my fourteen-year-old son, finally had enough.
He stepped in front of me, squaring his shoulders exactly like I taught him.
He looked Julian dead in the eye.
"Don't talk to my mother like that," Ethan demanded.
Julian stared at the boy.
It was like looking into a time machine. Ethan had Julian’s posture, Julian’s voice, Julian’s face.
"I demand a DNA test," Victoria hissed. "Before a single dime of the trust is transferred!"
Arthur sighed. "That is standard procedure, considering the amount of wealth involved."
I looked at Julian. He looked broken, desperate, hoping against hope.
"Fine," I said. "We will do the test. But when the results come back, Victoria Hayes leaves this property forever. And she does it in handcuffs."
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Victoria laughed nervously. "You can't prove anything."
"I am a Captain in the United States Army," I whispered. "I don't make threats. I make promises."
