Chapter 4: Unearthing the Dark Past
The next forty-eight hours were a blur of furious determination for Maya. Instead of sinking into despair, the betrayal burned away her naivety. She refused to speak to Julian or Victoria, locking herself in her room, pretending to be broken while secretly utilizing her own resources.
She knew she couldn't trust the family lawyers or the corporate security. Instead, she contacted Marcus, an old, retired private investigator who had been a loyal friend to her biological father before the tragedy.
Meeting Marcus secretly in a quiet diner on the outskirts of the city, Maya laid out the pieces of the puzzle.
"Marcus, I need you to find Leo. He’s out there on the streets, injured and framed," Maya pleaded, pushing a photo of Leo across the table. "And I need the truth about the medical lab Julian used. They falsified the DNA test."
Marcus looked at the photo, his weathered face hardening. "He looks just like your father, Maya. Anyone with eyes can see the truth. Victoria and Julian have been bleeding the Vance estate dry for years through shell companies. If a true heir appears, their entire empire of fraud collapses."
"Can you get a real DNA sample?" Maya asked.
"I still have a contact inside the central forensics laboratory," Marcus replied, nodding. "But you need to get me a true sample of Leo's hair or blood, and a fresh one of yours. More importantly, we need to find the technician Julian bribed."
While Marcus set off to track down Leo and investigate the lab, Maya returned to the mansion, acting the part of the defeated heiress. She pretended to accept the fake DNA results, telling Victoria she was ready to move forward with the wedding to Julian to "put the nightmare behind her."
Julian was ecstatic, believing he had completely won. "I knew you’d see reason, darling," he smiled, kissing her hand. "The wedding is set for tomorrow evening at the Grand Vance Gala. Once we are married, we will rule the empire together."
But the snake was getting careless in his triumph.
Later that evening, Maya slipped into Julian's private office using a duplicated key she had managed to acquire from the housekeeper. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she went through his desk drawers. She found a hidden safe behind a painting. Remembering Julian's habit of using significant corporate dates for passwords, she tried the date Vance Enterprises was founded.
Click.
The safe swung open. Inside were columns of offshore bank statements, documents detailing the systematic embezzlement of millions from Maya's trust fund, and a signed agreement with a laboratory technician named Dr. Evans, promising a offshore payment of five hundred thousand dollars dated the exact day of Leo's DNA test.
Suddenly, the office door flew open.
Julian stood there, flanked by two burly corporate security guards. The smug grin was gone from his face, replaced by a cold, murderous glare.
"You always were too smart for your own good, Maya," Julian said softly, stepping into the room. "Did you really think I’d believe you just accepted that fraud’s departure? You're just like your stubborn father."
"You killed them, didn't you?" Maya gasped, backing away against the desk, clutching the documents to her chest. "The fire ten years ago... it wasn't an accident. You and Victoria planned it!"
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"Victoria wanted the wealth; I wanted the power," Julian confessed carelessly, gesturing to the guards. "And now, you've forced my hand. There won't be a wedding tomorrow, Maya. Just a tragic accident involving an emotional heiress who couldn't handle the grief of discovering her 'brother' was a fake. Take her to the old warehouse by the docks. We'll deal with her tonight."
The guards grabbed Maya, pinning her arms behind her back. She struggled, but a cloth laced with chloroform was pressed against her face. As the darkness took her, her last thought was of Leo.
