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Chapter 4 - The Matriarch's Dinner

The Bennett ancestral mansion in Beacon Hill was an imposing citadel of red brick, wrought iron, and century-old ivy.

On Sunday evening, Evelyn Bennett hosted her monthly family dinner. The thirty-foot mahogany dining table was set with heirloom sterling silver, antique Waterford crystal, and floral centerpieces flown in from Holland.

At the head of the table sat Evelyn, resplendent in tailored black velvet and pearls. Beside her sat Dr. Adrian Vale, looking distinguished in a bespoke Italian suit, sipping vintage Bordeaux with relaxed entitlement.

Rachel, Grant, and five-year-old Maddie sat on the opposite side of the table.

“Adrian was kind enough to join us tonight,” Evelyn announced smoothly, dabbing her lips with a linen napkin. “He was just sharing the remarkable expansion of his new regenerative genomics wing in Zurich. It is comforting to know that true scientific excellence still exists in our social circle.”

Evelyn turned her cold, appraising gaze toward little Maddie, who was quietly eating her roasted potatoes.

“It is a pity the child lacks the Bennett bone structure,” Evelyn remarked with casual cruelty. “Look at that chin, Adrian. Soft. Indecisive. One can always tell when common blood dilutes an aristocratic line.”

Grant stared down at his plate, his knuckles white against his silverware, remaining completely silent.

Rachel set her fork down with a sharp, deliberate clatter against the porcelain.

“Maddie’s bone structure is quite fascinating, Evelyn,” Rachel said, her voice cutting through the dining room with razor precision. “In fact, according to the Massachusetts Forensic Genetics Division, Maddie shares her exact bone structure and ninety-nine percent of her paternal markers with twenty-two other children in this city.”

Dr. Vale’s wine glass froze halfway to his lips.

Evelyn frowned, her aristocratic eyebrows arching with annoyance. “What nonsense are you babbling about now, Rachel?”

“I’m talking about Dr. Vale’s private laboratory protocol,” Rachel continued, looking directly into the physician’s widening eyes. “The protocol where he swapped contracted donor vials with his own semen and personally fathered over thirty children without patient consent.”

The dining room went dead silent. The butler standing near the sideboard stopped moving.

May you like

Dr. Vale set his glass down, his hands trembling slightly, though he attempted a patronizing chuckle. “Mrs. Bennett, you are making reckless, defamatory accusations. Fertility procedures involve complex laboratory vectors—”

“The state attorney general issued a search warrant on your cryogenic storage facility three hours ago, Adrian,” Rachel said calmly, pulling a folded court document from her handbag and laying it beside her plate. “They have seized your entire biological inventory.”

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