Chapter 3 - The Bruises
The doctor examined Elena's shoulders while Julian stood against the wall.
“Those bruises are recent,” Dr. Mason said.
Elena looked away.
Julian noticed.
“Who did this?”
Silence.
“Elena.”
She swallowed.
“I fell.”
Julian's eyes moved toward the bruises again.
“That isn't a fall.”
She said nothing.
The doctor glanced at Julian.
“She needs rest.”
Julian nodded.
Then his phone buzzed.
A photograph appeared.
Elena standing beside Chloe three nights earlier.
The image was taken inside the family estate.
Elena's shoulders were already bruised.
Julian zoomed in.
Behind them was a locked office.
On the desk sat a thick blue folder.
He recognized it.
His father's private records.
Julian stared at the photograph.
“When was this taken?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Julian…”
“Who took it?”
She whispered.
“I don't know.”
His phone buzzed again.
A second photograph.
This time, the blue folder was open.
One page was visible.
At the top were the words:
PATERNITY VERIFICATION — CONFIDENTIAL.
Julian's heartbeat changed.
He looked at Elena.
“You knew about this.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I knew they were testing something.”
“What?”
“I never saw the result.”
Julian looked down at the screen.
The answer was now sitting in his hand.
Zero percent.
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But whose DNA had they tested?
👉 The real question was no longer whether Julian was related to his family—it was why someone had tested him in secret.
