Chapter 5 - The Bloodline Ledger
Clara felt the floor tilt beneath her heels.
She took the crumpled newspaper clipping from Lily’s fingers. The headline from four years ago read: PROMINENT SCIENTIST ELEANOR VANCE DECLARED DEAD IN LAB EXPLOSION; ASSETS FROZEN. Below the text was a photograph of a woman who possessed Clara’s exact face, holding a newborn infant wrapped in a pink blanket.
"Eleanor..." Clara breathed, her eyes burning with sudden tears. "Eleanor died in Switzerland. The police verified the dental records."
"They lied," Lily said, her voice dropping all childhood inflection. "My mother didn't die in the lab. She was taken by the syndicate because she refused to sign over the Rosewood Bio-Synthetic Patent. And the person who signed the authorization papers using her name..."
Lily pointed a trembling finger at the gold pendant resting on Clara’s desk.
"...was the person who inherited her personal seal. You."
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Clara took a step back, her back hitting the cold glass of the window pane. "No... no, I didn't! I was in New York when the explosion happened! I received the estate settlement from father's attorney!"
"Father's attorney died five years ago, Clara," a deep, raspy voice spoke from the shadows of the back hallway.
