I Noticed My Maid’s Son Had the Same Birthmark as Me—Then His Hospital Papers Listed Me as His Father.

Victor stared into the open glass case. The cracked onyx ring rested on the red velvet as if it had never been moved.

Celeste let out a breath of relief, her voice instantly regaining its arrogant edge. "You see? The ring is right there! It's been in this cabinet since the day Marco died! She lied, Victor! The maid is making things up to milk you for child support!"

Claire shook her head, tears threatening to spill again. "I swear on my son's life. That is the exact ring the man wore. He twisted it on his pinky finger while he threatened me in that hospital room."

Victor reached out with gloved fingers and picked the ring up from the velvet cushion.

He didn't put it on. Instead, he flipped it upside down and held it beneath the desk lamp.

The inner band was completely clean.

"Marco had this ring resized when he turned twenty-five," Victor said quietly. "He had his initials and the coordinates of our family vineyard engraved on the inside band. *M.B. 1998*."

Victor held the ring out toward Mateo. "What does this band say?"

Mateo leaned in, inspecting the polished gold with a small jeweler's loupe. "Nothing, Boss. It's completely smooth. It's a replica."

Celeste’s face drained of every drop of color.

"Someone made a copy of Marco's ring, put it in this case, and used the real one seven years ago to threaten Claire into running away," Victor stated, his voice dangerously low. He turned the fake ring over in his palm. "And whoever put this fake here had access to my personal display case."

"Victor, please," Celeste stammered, raising her hands defensively. "I didn't know—I had nothing to do with this!"

"Then explain this," Mateo said, holding up a printout from the server log. "The replica ring was ordered from a private jeweler in Manhattan four days ago. Paid for by a credit card registered to the Moretti Corporation."

Claire gasped. "Moretti? That was the name on the envelope of cash!"