Chapter 10 - The Judge’s Offer
Judge Conrad Vale waited in Margaret’s penthouse as though he owned it.
He stood near the fireplace with one hand resting on a carved wooden cane. Two men in dark suits waited by the elevator.
Dominic entered first.
Grace, Lucas, and Margaret followed.
Vale looked at Grace.
“You resemble Elena more each time I see you.”
“Did you kill her?”
Dominic shut the elevator doors behind them.
Vale sighed.
“So direct.”
“Answer her.”
“I did not kill Elena.”
“You were at the apartment.”
“Yes.”
Grace’s pulse quickened.
“You lied in the ballroom.”
“The ballroom was not an appropriate place for the truth.”
“You threatened my mother.”
“I offered her a choice.”
“You told her to accept money.”
“Money that would have allowed her to leave the country safely.”
“Why would she need to leave?”
“Because Victoria had already decided she was dangerous.”
Grace stared at him.
“You blame Victoria.”
“I blame many people.”
Margaret moved forward.
“Where is she?”
Vale looked at the city lights.
“Beyond your reach.”
“You helped her escape.”
“I prevented Dominic’s private guards from illegally detaining a federal informant.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“What does she know about the government?”
Vale smiled faintly.
“Enough to protect herself.”
“Who is she informing on?”
“People far more dangerous than anyone in this room.”
Grace took the photograph of the three infants from her pocket.
“Tell us who the children were.”
Vale looked at it for several seconds.
Then he sat.
“You should destroy that.”
“No.”
“The truth will not give you what you want.”
“What do I want?”
“A villain who explains every loss.”
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“Then explain.”
Vale placed both hands on his cane.
“Thirty-five years ago, Saint Catherine’s Hospital operated a private medical program funded by the DeLuca Foundation. Sebastian Vale supervised experimental neonatal procedures.”
“What kind of procedures?” Dominic asked.
“Treatments designed to save infants with severe immune disorders.”
“Were they legal?”
“Some were approved. Others were not.”
Margaret looked ill.
“My foundation paid for experiments?”
“Anthony approved the funding.”
“Without telling me.”
“He believed the research could save your child.”
Dominic’s gaze sharpened.
“What was wrong with the DeLuca infant?”
“A genetic immune failure. He was not expected to survive the night.”
“And Elena’s child?”
“Healthy.”
Grace already knew what came next.
“They used Elena’s baby.”
Vale did not answer directly.
“Sebastian believed a transfusion of stem cells from a compatible newborn might stabilize the DeLuca child.”
“Did it?”
“For several hours.”
Margaret whispered, “Then my baby died.”
“Yes.”
“And Anthony replaced him with Elena’s son.”
Vale looked toward Dominic.
“That was the official secret.”
“Official?” Grace asked.
“There were three children in the treatment room. The DeLuca infant. Elena’s infant. Evelyn Vale.”
“Why was Evelyn there?”
“Sebastian claimed she had also developed complications.”
“Claimed?” Dominic repeated.
Vale’s expression darkened.
“My brother lied to everyone, including me.”
“What did he do?”
“He altered the identification bands during the emergency. By the time the DeLuca child died, no one could prove which infant had received which treatment.”
Grace held the photograph tighter.
“Then the baby given to Margaret may not have been Elena’s son.”
“Correct.”
“Dominic could be Evelyn Vale?”
“Evelyn was female.”
Grace stared at him.
“You said the bands were altered.”
Vale nodded.
“The child raised as Evelyn may not have been born female either.”
Margaret looked horrified.
“That makes no sense.”
“The records were falsified at multiple stages. Gender, blood type, parentage, even time of birth.”
Dominic’s patience broke.
“Who am I?”
Vale looked at him.
“I do not know.”
Dominic grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him from the chair.
The two men near the elevator reached inside their jackets.
Lucas aimed his weapon.
“No one moves.”
Vale remained calm.
“If I knew, I would tell you.”
“Why should I believe that?”
“Because your identity is the one thing I have spent thirty-five years trying to learn.”
Dominic released him slowly.
Grace frowned.
“Why?”
Vale adjusted his jacket.
“Because the surviving child carries something Sebastian placed in the treatment.”
“What?”
“A biological marker.”
“For what purpose?”
Vale looked at Margaret.
“To control inheritance.”
Margaret stared at him.
“Anthony’s will.”
“Anthony created a sealed inheritance clause. Ownership of the DeLuca voting trust would pass only to his verified biological heir. Sebastian designed a marker that could identify the treated infant later.”
Dominic laughed bitterly.
“So my father branded a baby to protect his fortune.”
“Anthony believed the child was his.”
“But you are not certain.”
“No.”
Grace looked at the photograph again.
“What happened to the third child?”
Vale’s face changed.
“That is the question Elena answered before she died.”
“Where is her evidence?”
“In the complete camera archive.”
Grace glanced at the hidden device.
“This only contains fragments.”
“The device is a key, not the archive.”
“The patient number.”
Vale nodded.
“Saint Catherine’s stored experimental footage on a private server beneath the hospital’s research wing.”
“The hospital was demolished,” Lucas said.
“The public building was demolished. The underground wing remains.”
Dominic looked at Vale.
“Why are you telling us?”
“Because Victoria has gone there.”
Vale reached into his coat slowly and removed a sealed envelope.
“She intends to destroy the archive.”
Grace did not take it.
“And what do you want?”
Vale held the envelope toward her.
“I want the same thing Elena wanted.”
“The truth?”
“No.”
May you like
His eyes moved toward Dominic.
“I want the surviving child found before the wrong person inherits everything.”
