Chapter 4 - The Viper in Silk
Two hours later, the private study felt like an interrogation room.
Dr. Sterling, the Rossi family’s private physician for twenty years, stood before the desk holding a sealed digital tablet. His face was completely neutral, but his hands held the device with profound gravity.
Sophia sat in a leather armchair, Emma resting peacefully in her lap after drinking a carton of apple juice provided by the kitchen staff. Alexander stood by the tall window, watching the rain begin to patter against the glass pane.
“The results, Sterling,” Alexander commanded.
Dr. Sterling cleared his throat. “Alexander, we ran forty-six genetic markers against your private profile on file. The statistical probability of paternity is ninety-nine point nine-nine percent. There is no doubt. Emma is your biological daughter.”
A heavy, solemn silence filled the room.
Alexander didn't smile, but a deep breath expanded his chest. He turned around, his eyes locking onto Emma. A daughter. In a world full of enemies, treachery, and isolation, he had a flesh-and-blood child.
“And her medical history?” Alexander asked.
“Her asthma requires specialized pulmonary therapy,” Dr. Sterling noted gently. “The current generic inhalers she was prescribed are inadequate. With the proper specialist and high-grade nebulizer treatments, her lungs will heal within six months.”
Alexander’s eyes darkened as he looked at Sophia. She had spent two years working until her bones ached, unable to afford the proper medication for his own flesh and blood—all while Vanessa paraded through Manhattan high society spending fifty thousand dollars on handbag collections.
“Marco,” Alexander said.
Marco stepped out of the shadows by the door. “Yes, Boss?”
“Bring Vanessa in.”
A minute later, the double doors swung open. Vanessa marched in, wearing a faux smile of outraged innocence. “Alexander, this farce has gone on long enough! Keeping me waiting downstairs like a common guest while you entertain a cleaning woman and her brat? Do you realize the council members are asking questions?”
Alexander walked slowly toward her. His expression was so terrifyingly calm that Vanessa’s voice faltered.
“Emma is my daughter,” Alexander stated clearly.
Vanessa blinked, her smile freezing. “What? That’s... that’s absurd! She’s running a scam! You can’t trust street trash with fake papers!”
“The DNA test was conducted by Sterling twenty minutes ago,” Alexander countered, stepping into her personal space. “She is a Rossi.”
Vanessa swallowed hard, her manicured fingers curling into fists. “Even if... even if she is, that woman trapped you! She probably targeted you at that clinic!”
“Let’s talk about that clinic, Vanessa,” Alexander said softly.
Vanessa’s face lost every drop of color.
“You knew,” Alexander whispered, his voice dripping with deadly venom. “You knew I had an encounter with my caregiver. You went upstate three years ago to destroy the medical logs. And when you discovered Sophia was pregnant, you used our family connections to revoke her medical license, forcing her into poverty so she would never have the resources to find me.”
Sophia gasped softly from the chair, holding Emma tighter.
“Why, Vanessa?” Alexander asked, his voice reverberating through the room. “Why keep my child in the gutter?”
Vanessa’s composure cracked completely. Her sneer returned, bitter and hateful. “Because of the trust, Alexander! If you die without an heir, the entire Rossi estate and the commercial holdings revert to my late husband’s branch—to me! My husband died for this family, and you inherited everything! I wasn't going to let some nobody nurse produce a bastard child and rob me of my rightful empire!”
Alexander didn't raise his hand. He didn't even raise his voice.
“You stripped a mother of her livelihood,” Alexander said, his words falling like iron anvils. “You left my daughter struggling to breathe in a damp apartment in Queens. You dared to call her 'evidence of personal failure' in my own home.”
Alexander turned to Marco.
“Strip Vanessa of every Rossi credit line, property deed, and vehicle lease. Freeze her offshore accounts through our legal division. She has one hour to pack her personal clothes from the penthouse and vacate the premises.”
Vanessa screamed, lunging toward Alexander. “You can’t do this to me! I am family!”
May you like
Marco intercepted her effortlessly, gripping her by the arms.
“You are no longer family,” Alexander said without looking back. “You are a trespasser. If I ever see your face within five miles of Sophia or Emma again, the law will be the least of your concerns.”
