Chapter 7: The Motive
The motive came out during the first interrogation.
Victoria sat in the police station, still in her tailored suit, her hands cuffed to the table. The detective sat across from her, calm and professional.
“Why did you poison your grandson?” Reyes asked.
Victoria was silent for a long time. Then she spoke, voice steady but cold.
“Because he is not a Sterling.”
Elena, watching through the one-way glass with Marcus beside her, felt her stomach drop.
Victoria continued. “His father is not who Elena thinks he is. I ran a DNA test months ago. Leo carries blood from a man who betrayed this family years ago. He would have tainted the Sterling name. Ruined everything we built. I thought a quiet end was kinder than letting him grow up and destroy us.”
Elena’s legs nearly gave out.
Marcus caught her. “Elena… I didn’t know.”
Victoria looked straight at the glass, as if she knew Elena was watching.
“I protected this family for decades,” she said. “I will not apologize for it.”
The detective leaned forward. “You tried to kill a baby because of bloodline?”
Victoria’s eyes were hard. “Bloodline is everything.”
Elena turned away from the glass, unable to listen anymore.
The motive was not madness.
It was pride.
It was control.
It was the same cruelty Victoria had used on her own daughter for years, now turned on her grandson.
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The family secret was out.
And it was uglier than Elena had ever imagined.
