Chapter 4 - The DNA Helix of DoomThree days later, the private medical lab in downtown Neo-Vienna was dead quiet.
The storm outside lashed rain against the reinforced glass windows, mirroring the tempest raging inside the minds of the three people sitting in Dr. Heinrich’s sterile white office.
Dr. Heinrich slid a thick manila envelope across the polished steel desk. Inside were three copies of the comprehensive genetic sequencing report, cross-referenced against national birth registries, mitochondrial DNA databases, and familial markers.
"The results are conclusive," Dr. Heinrich said, his voice measured and professional. He pointed a laser pen at the summary page. "Ms. Elena Miller shares a 99.99% maternal DNA match with Mrs. Clara Vance. Furthermore, Julian Vance and Elena Miller share identical paternal-side markers from the Vance lineage, confirming they are biological siblings of the same mother and father."
The silence in the room was heavier than lead.
Clara sat in the corner chair, staring blankly at her manicured hands. She hadn't slept in seventy-two hours. Her skin looked gray, her eyes sunken into deep, dark sockets. The almighty matriarch had been reduced to a fragile, broken old woman by a simple scientific sheet of paper.
Julian sat across the desk, his head bowed, his hands locked tightly together between his knees. He hadn't looked at Elena once since entering the room.
Elena stood by the window, watching the rain streak down the glass. She felt numb. The anger that had sustained her through a lifetime of struggle had burned out, leaving behind a cold, desolate wasteland.
"So," Elena said softly, her voice barely audible over the hum of the air purifier. "Victor Vance wasn't my father. Arthur Sterling wasn't either. Julian and I share the same father... and the same mother."
"Yes," Dr. Heinrich replied quietly. "Victor Vance was your biological father, Miss Miller—or rather, Miss Vance. The genetic profile matches Victor Vance’s archived medical samples from his cancer treatment ten years ago."
Clara flinched violently at the name. She looked up, her voice cracking. "Victor... Victor never knew. I swore he didn't know. When I found out I was pregnant, I thought it was Arthur’s child because of our... affair before the engagement. But the timeline... the timeline proved it was Victor’s child all along."
"Then why did you throw me away?!" Elena spun around, her voice finally cracking into a raw, furious scream that startled Dr. Heinrich. She slammed her hands down on the steel desk, leaning over it so her face was inches from Clara’s. "If I was Victor’s legitimate child—if I was a Vance by blood—why did you put me in that hellhole of an orphanage? Why did you let me starve, let me beat up by older kids, let me crawl my way out of the dirt with zero help while Julian grew up in a mansion with silver spoons?!"
"Because Victor was paranoid!" Clara shrieked back, tears streaming down her face as she defended her past cowardice. "You don't know what kind of man he was! He murdered his own business partners when they crossed him! If he found out I had a child he didn't approve of—or if he suspected betrayal—he would have locked me in the asylum and thrown you into the river! I saved your life by giving you away!"
"You didn't save my life, you destroyed it!" Elena sobbed, the tears finally breaking through her defenses. She slid down the side of the desk, pulling her knees to her chest as she wept on the cold medical floor. "You traded me for safety. And then, decades later, when I tried to enter your world honestly, you tried to destroy me again."
Julian watched his sister—his former fiancée—crying on the floor. He slowly stood up. His legs felt like lead. He walked over, knelt beside her, and hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder.
Elena flinched away from his touch as if burned by fire.
"Don't," she whispered, pulling herself away from him. "Don't touch me, Julian. Don't look at me. Everything we felt... everything we shared... it’s disgusting now."
Julian’s hand hung frozen in the air. The words felt like acid burning his throat. He looked at Clara, whose eyes were wide with horror as she watched her two children—the children she had separated and nearly destroyed—shattered beyond repair.
"It’s not over," a voice echoed from the doorway.
Arthur Sterling stepped into the office, his expression grim and resolute. He held a thick digital tablet in his hand, casting a blue glow over his sharp features.
"What do you want now, Arthur?" Julian asked, his voice dead and hollow. "Haven't you done enough damage?"
"I haven't even started," Arthur replied coldly. He tossed the tablet onto the desk. "While you two are mourning your romance, your mother’s empire is actively collapsing. The moment the wedding was interrupted, the board of Vance Global caught wind of the scandal. And someone else—someone far more dangerous than Clara—just made a hostile move to take over the company."
Clara’s head snapped up, panic replacing grief in her eyes. "Who? Who could take over Vance Global? The shares are locked in family trusts!"
"Not anymore," Arthur said, tapping the screen to reveal a corporate filing. "Victor Vance had a secret will written six months before he died. A will that activates the moment his true, long-lost biological daughter is legally identified and verified by DNA."
The room went dead silent once more.
Elena slowly stopped crying. She looked up from the floor, her eyes locking onto Arthur’s tablet.
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"What... what does the will say?" Elena whispered.
"It says," Arthur smiled grimly, "that ninety percent of Vance Global, every mansion, every account, and every asset your mother holds dear... belongs to you, Elena. You are now the majority owner and CEO of the Vance empire."
