Chapter 8 - DNA Never Lies
Nathaniel pulled his trembling hands out of his pockets and snatched his vibrating phone. His eyes scanned the screen, and what little breath remained in his lungs seemed to evaporate entirely.
"No... no, this can't be..." he whimpered.
"As of six o’clock this evening," Julian announced to the room, "Sterling Global Holdings acquired seventy-two percent of Harrington Enterprises' outstanding short-term debt notes. When your Swiss collateral was frozen due to the fraudulent executor filing, your seventy-billion-dollar credit facility went into immediate default."
Nathaniel dropped the phone. The screen shattered against the marble floor.
"You didn't buy Titan Global, Nathaniel," Julian whispered, leaning in close so only Nathaniel could hear the final blow. "I bought Titan Global. And five minutes ago, I bought Harrington Enterprises for pennies on the dollar. You don't own a company. You don't own a building. You don't even own the suit on your back."
"Clara, please!" Nathaniel suddenly collapsed to his knees, crawling toward my sapphire gown, trying to grasp my hem just as I had crawled through the snow six months ago. Tears of pure terror streamed down his cheeks. "I was out of my mind! I was under immense pressure! Victoria seduced me, she poisoned my mind against you! Think of our marriage! Think of our history!"
"Our history ended the moment you looked at my ruined gown and complained about your Persian rug," I replied, pulling my dress away from his filthy fingers.
"The baby..." he wept, looking up with desperate, pleading eyes. "You said you were carrying my son. Clara, where is he? Where is my boy? You can't keep a father from his child! We can start over! For the baby!"
A sharp, mocking laugh echoed from the stage entrance.
Dr. Evelyn Vance walked into the spotlight, flanked by a uniformed pediatric nurse carrying six-month-old Leo, dressed in a royal blue velvet suit. The boy looked out at the flashing cameras with wide, innocent eyes, completely unafraid.
Nathaniel stared at the baby, his breath hitching. "My son... he's alive..."
"He is my son," I corrected, stepping forward to take Leo gently into my arms. Leo cooed softly, burying his face into my neck. "And according to the New York State Department of Health and the family court filings processed this afternoon, your parental rights have been permanently terminated under the Extreme Parental Endangerment statute."
I turned to the federal agents. "Furthermore, the state has processed the certified DNA results. Nathaniel Harrington is indeed the biological contributor. Which means his claims of infertility were deliberate perjury to justify abandoning a newborn in sub-zero temperatures."
The lead federal marshal stepped forward, producing a pair of heavy steel handcuffs.
"Nathaniel Harrington, Victoria Kensington. You are both under arrest for attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, corporate embezzlement, and wire fraud. You have the right to remain silent."
Victoria began sobbing violently as cold steel snapped around her wrists. "Take off the necklace! It hurts! Please, someone help me!"
An officer unclasped my mother's emerald choker from Victoria's neck, handing it back to me. Victoria was dragged away, kicking and screaming in front of the flashing cameras of the very press she had spent years courting.
Nathaniel remained on his knees, staring blankly as the handcuffs locked around his wrists.
He looked up at me one last time, his empire gone, his reputation annihilated, facing twenty-five years to life in federal prison.
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"You destroyed me," he rasped.
"No, Nathaniel," I looked down at him with cold finality. "You destroyed yourself the moment you underestimated a mother fighting for her child."
