Chapter 2: The House of Vipers
The grand penthouse of Harper Financial Holdings looked out over Central Park, but inside, the atmosphere was suffocating.
Victoria sat behind her late husband’s mahogany desk, her eyes cold as ice. Across from her stood her brother-in-law, Thomas Harper, a man with a perfectly tailored suit and a smile that had always felt a fraction too sharp. Beside him was a young woman with flawless porcelain skin, diamonds dripping from her wrists, and an arrogant posture.
Her name was Julianna Harper. For the past seven years, Thomas had presented Julianna to the world as the "miraculously found" Emily Harper, claiming he had tracked her down to an adoption agency in Europe. Victoria had desperately wanted to believe it, welcoming the girl into her home and granting her a five-percent stake in the family trust.
But Victoria had never felt a bond with Julianna. And now, she knew why.
"Victoria, darling, you look completely disheveled," Thomas said, pouring himself a glass of whiskey from the crystal decanter. "The board is buzzing. They say you were spotted kneeling in the mud in Lower Manhattan before a homeless brat. We have an IPO launching next week. We cannot have the matriarch looking unhinged."
"The brat has a name, Thomas," Victoria said, her voice chillingly calm. "Her name is Emma. And she has a crescent birthmark on her right heel."
Thomas’s hand froze mid-air. The amber liquid in his glass trembled for a microsecond before he set it down.
Julianna’s eyes narrowed, her hand instinctively clutching her luxury handbag. "Mother, what are you talking about? I am your daughter. We ran the DNA test seven years ago."
"We ran the DNA test using a laboratory owned by a subsidiary company that Thomas controls," Victoria countered, standing up slowly. She leaned over the desk, her gaze pinning Thomas to his chair.
"I spent the last three hours unsealing the medical records of that night nurse, Rose. The administration didn't blacklist her because of negligence, Thomas. They blacklisted her because you paid them half a million dollars from an offshore account. You didn't find my daughter in Europe. You stole her twenty years ago to break my husband's heart, destroy our marriage, and assume control of the Harper executive board when he died."
Thomas laughed, a hollow, mocking sound. "This is a delusion, Victoria. You have no proof. Julianna is legally recognized as your heir. The board supports her."
"Then let's run a new test," Victoria said, pulling a medical kit from her desk drawer. "Right here. Right now. An independent, court-certified forensic swab. If Julianna is my daughter, she has nothing to fear."
Julianna backed away toward the door, her face turning an ugly shade of pale. "I don't have to submit to this humiliation! Thomas, do something!"
Thomas stood up, his smile vanishing, replaced by the dark, predatory sneer of a man who had finally been unmasked. "Be careful, Victoria. A woman who loses her mind can easily be removed from the trust by a vote of the board. You might have found a beggar child, but I own the empire. Don't start a war you can't afford to lose."
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They stormed out of the room, leaving Victoria alone in the quiet penthouse. She looked down at the independent lab kit, her jaw tightening. She wasn't the grieving, broken widow they had manipulated for twenty years anymore.
She was a mother. And the hunt had officially begun.
