Chapter 13 - The Twin in the White SuitLydia removed her dark coat.
Beneath it she wore the white suit seen in several private foundation photographs. Her blonde hair was pinned back differently from Claire’s, but the resemblance became undeniable when they stood under the same light.
Independent DNA testing confirmed full sibling status.
Monozygotic twins.
Their genetic profiles were almost identical.
Project Starling had relied on that similarity.
If Claire disappeared permanently, Lydia could claim the Ashford identity with altered records and the same maternal DNA.
If Lydia rebelled, Claire could be presented as the only legitimate daughter.
Margaret controlled both by ensuring neither knew the full truth.
Lydia was raised inside Briar House by tutors, doctors, and rotating caregivers. Margaret visited monthly and called herself Grandmother.
Victoria was presented as a selfish socialite who abandoned one daughter and replaced both with Ethan.
Lydia watched Victoria’s public life through photographs.
Every image of Ethan beside her became proof of rejection.
“When did you learn Claire existed?” Mara asked.
“At twelve.”
“Why not contact her?”
“Margaret said Walter would kill Grace.”
“Later?”
“I needed evidence.”
Claire looked at her.
“You needed control.”
Lydia did not deny it.
She had arranged the wedding reveal after learning Claire’s engagement would activate Starling. She selected the chapel, planner credentials, dress boutique, and ultraviolet lighting.
She also fed Victoria anonymous reports describing Claire as a fortune hunter.
Victoria’s prejudice existed already.
Lydia sharpened it.
“You expected her to attack me,” Claire said.
“I expected her to expose the sleeve.”
“You expected humiliation.”
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt more than an excuse.
Lydia believed a private reveal could be buried. Public cruelty made denial impossible.
Claire understood strategy.
She rejected the right Lydia claimed to use her body and dignity.
Sophie sat with a child therapist in another room.
The adults agreed not to discuss custody as though she were an asset.
Lydia retained temporary caregiving under supervision because abrupt separation would harm the child. Claire and Ethan received no automatic parental rights.
They supported the decision.
Margaret’s files showed Lydia held the original bracelet.
She removed it from Briar House and placed it inside Charles’s mausoleum safe.
The bracelet contained the Founder’s Key.
Combined with Claire’s implant and Ethan’s Bridge token, it could open the central Starling archive.
Lydia wanted the archive transferred to an independent council.
Mara suspected she also wanted trust authority.
“Both can be true,” Lydia said.
Claire studied her.
“You still believe power can compensate for your childhood.”
“I believe people without power are erased.”
“Then build oversight, not a throne.”
Lydia laughed softly.
“You grew up loved enough to believe institutions listen to reasonable women.”
The accusation contained truth.
Grace’s love gave Claire an emotional foundation Lydia never received.
That did not make Lydia’s control ethical.
The sisters began working together under legal supervision.
The central files identified dozens of Starling children. Some knew their histories. Others lived ordinary lives under identities the project could challenge later.
Immediate public exposure could destroy innocent families.
Permanent secrecy protected criminals.
Claire proposed case-by-case disclosure led by independent child advocates.
Lydia called it too slow.
Anna supported Claire.
Ethan supported protected review.
Rebecca supported full criminal access but limited public release.
Victoria offered funding without governance rights.
The group formed the Starling Survivor Council.
Lydia agreed reluctantly.
Margaret responded by releasing Claire’s trust claim to the media.
Ashford Medical Technologies shares collapsed as investors feared a leadership dispute.
Walter reappeared at a police station, injured but alive.
He claimed he escaped Margaret’s people.
He offered evidence in exchange for protection.
Claire faced him inside an interview room.
“You watched me from childhood.”
“Yes.”
“You threatened my parents.”
“Yes.”
“You kept Edmund away.”
“Yes.”
“You planned to take Bellemont—” No, wrong story. Need consistency. “You planned to use my marriage.”
Walter corrected nothing.
“I believed the marriage was the only way to open the archive before Margaret erased it.”
“You became her while claiming to oppose her.”
Walter looked down.
He revealed Margaret maintained an offshore facility called North Haven.
The original Starling registry and reproductive laboratory were located there.
The flash drive Lydia surrendered held only a mirror copy.
The Founder’s Key could open North Haven remotely for one minute during the Ashford Foundation gala scheduled in two weeks.
Margaret intended to appear by video and force the twins to compete publicly.
Lydia smiled faintly.
“She still thinks we will.”
Claire looked at her.
“Will we?”
Lydia’s answer came after a pause.
May you like
“I don’t know.”
👉 Claire and Lydia were confirmed as identical twins and formed an uneasy alliance, but Walter revealed Margaret planned a public contest that could turn their unresolved resentment into another inheritance war.
