She Tried to Steal His Daughter's Fortune — Then the DNA Test Arrived

The Lawyer's Secret

Julian spent the next morning tracking down Emily’s lawyer, a man named Harold Finch who had retired to a small town in Vermont. He drove through the rain, Aria asleep in the back seat, her trusty envelope clutched to her chest.

Harold’s office was a dusty room above a bookstore. He looked up when Julian entered, his face shadowed with old grief.

“I was wondering when you’d come,” Harold said. He pulled a manila folder from his desk. “Emily made me promise to give this to you if anything ever happened to her. She said you’d know when the time was right.”

Julian opened the folder. Inside was a deed to a property in the Cayman Islands, registered under a shell company. And a note: “This is where Victoria has been hiding the money she siphoned from the shipping business. I found the account numbers. I’ve also recorded her threatening me, saying she’d ‘make sure Aria never sees a penny.’”

Julian’s hands tightened. “Why didn’t you go to the police?”

“I tried,” Harold said. “But Victoria had already bribed the local DA. He buried the evidence. I’ve been waiting for you to be ready.”

Julian thanked him and drove back to the city. That evening, he called a meeting with his board of directors. He laid out the evidence, the bank records, the recorded threats. The board was silent as the truth sank in.

“Victoria has been embezzling from the company for two years,” Julian said. “She’s also attempted to falsify a paternity test to disinherit my daughter. I’m pressing charges, and I expect your full support.”

The board nodded. One of them, a man named Robert, spoke up. “There’s more. Victoria made a deal with our biggest rival. She sold them confidential shipping routes. We almost lost three major contracts.”

Julian’s fury was icy. “She’s going to regret that.”

But Victoria had one more card to play. The next day, she was released on bail, and she showed up at the townhouse with a court order. She claimed that Julian had abused Aria, and she demanded emergency custody.

“You think you can destroy me?” she spat. “I’ll take everything from you, just like you did to me.”

Julian stood in the doorway, his arms crossed. “You’re delusional,” he said. “The only thing you’re getting is a prison sentence.”

But Victoria smiled. “I have a witness. Your own housekeeper saw you strike Aria last week.”

Julian’s blood ran cold. He hadn’t touched Aria. But the housekeeper, Maria, had been acting strangely lately. He realized she might have been bribed.

He called his lawyer. “I need a forensic accountant and a private investigator. Now.”

That night, he sat with Aria in her room, watching her sleep. He couldn’t lose her. She was all he had left.

The Witness's Confession

Maria, the housekeeper, came to Julian the next morning, her eyes red from crying. She handed him a check from Victoria’s personal account.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “She said she’d hurt my family if I didn’t lie. But I can’t do it. I can’t.”

Julian took the check. “You did the right thing, Maria. I’ll protect you.”

He called the police and gave them the check, along with Maria’s testimony. Victoria’s bail was revoked, and she was taken into custody. But Julian knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“She’ll try to flee,” he told his lawyer. “Make sure she can’t.”

The lawyer nodded. “I’ve already alerted the airports and the border patrol. She’s not going anywhere.”

But Victoria was clever. She had hidden a passport and a stack of cash in a safety deposit box under a fake name. She managed to slip out of the country before the authorities could stop her.

Julian was furious when he found out. He hired a team of private investigators to track her down. For two weeks, there was no sign of her.

Then, one night, his phone rang. It was the investigator.

“We found her,” the man said. “She’s in Brazil. But she’s not alone. She’s with a man who looks like he’s from the rival company.”

Julian’s jaw tightened. “Bring her back. Whatever it takes.”

He hung up and looked at Aria, who was playing on the floor. “Daddy, when is she coming home?”

“She’s not, sweetheart,” Julian said. “She’s never coming home again.”

But even as he said it, he knew the battle wasn’t over. Victoria had resources, connections, and a desperate need for revenge. She wouldn’t stop until she had destroyed everything Julian loved.

He had to be ready.