Chapter 8 - The Embezzlement Unveiled

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On the massive screen, Lucian leaned a few inches closer to the camera, as if he had somehow heard his mother’s command across time and space.
“And to my mother, Victoria, and my sister, Celine, who will almost certainly attempt to present a forged paternity test at my funeral to publicly humiliate my wife—yes, Mother, I know all about Dr. Anton Bell and the false laboratory report you paid him fifty thousand dollars to prepare.”
The entire cathedral gasped as one single entity.
Victoria stumbled backward, the heel of her expensive shoe catching on the stone floor. She looked wildly at the folder resting on the coffin. Suddenly, the paper looked cheap, filthy, and radioactive.
Lucian’s image did not blink.
“The true, medically verified prenatal paternity results are currently filed with Marcus Reed, the state trust court, and federal authorities. The child Isabel carries is unequivocally mine. I authorized the secret test myself after discovering your disgusting plan to challenge his legitimacy. Isabel did not know about any of this, because I absolutely refused to make her feel suspected or stressed during the most vulnerable, beautiful months of her life.”
Tears blurred my vision so heavily I could barely see the screen. Even then, even while preparing for a brutal family war, he had fiercely protected me from the deep psychological wound of his mother's doubt.
The screen suddenly split in half. Documents began to flash beside Lucian’s face in rapid succession: certified paternity records, medical chain-of-custody forms, lab certifications, damning emails from Victoria’s private server to Dr. Bell, and bank transfers thinly disguised as 'consulting payments.'
The pews erupted into complete chaos. A prominent board member cursed loudly under his breath. A woman in the second row lifted her phone and began recording. A retired judge who had once served on a Helixion ethics panel stood up slowly, staring at Victoria as if watching a marble statue crack and crumble into dust.
Victoria whispered, “No. No, no, no.”
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Lucian’s voice sharpened, cutting through the noise in the church like a blade.
“That is not all I found.”