Chapter 2 - The Sins of the Son
Clara remained in the hospital for three days. She named the boy Leo. During that time, Arthur Vance did not leave her side. He pulled strings to have her moved to the VIP maternity suite. He brought her hot, nutritious meals from outside the hospital and sat in the armchair holding his newborn grandson while Clara slept.
On the evening before her discharge, Arthur sat beside her bed. The storm outside lashed rain against the windowpane, mirroring the heavy tension in the room. It was time for the truth.
"Julian was a brilliant boy," Arthur began, staring down at his hands. "But there has always been a darkness in him. A profound lack of empathy. When he was twenty-two, he was poised to take over my father’s venture capital firm. But we caught him embezzling millions. He was funneling money into offshore accounts, destroying the lives of innocent investors to fund a lavish, secret lifestyle."
Clara felt a cold knot tighten in her stomach. "He told me he was an independent software developer. He drove a used sedan. We lived in a walk-up."
"A disguise," Arthur said grimly. "When the family confronted him, my father—Leo’s great-grandfather—gave Julian an ultimatum. Go to prison, or walk away with absolutely nothing. Julian chose the latter. He vanished. He changes his persona whenever it suits him, finding women he can manipulate, living off their resources until he gets bored, and then he disappears."
Clara felt sick. The six months of agony, the nights she spent crying over a man she thought she loved—it was all a fabrication. Julian hadn't left because he was scared of being a father. He left because a child was a tether, a responsibility that didn't fit into his sociopathic game.
May you like
"I have nothing, Dr. Vance," Clara whispered, looking at her sleeping son. "I work at a bakery. I live in a studio apartment the size of this hospital room. How am I supposed to protect Leo if Julian ever comes back?"
Arthur reached out and covered her hand with his own. "You are going to pack whatever you have in that apartment, and you are going to come live at my estate. I failed my son, Clara. I failed to see the monster he was becoming. But I will not fail my grandson. And I will not fail you."
