The quiet room suddenly felt colder as Arthur stared at the shiny coin medallion.
Elena pulled back slightly because she was afraid of losing her only prized possession.
She held the silver piece tightly inside her small hand to keep it safe.
Victoria folded her arms across her gold dress and looked down with deep annoyance.
Victoria: Father, why are you paying attention to that cheap piece of junk?
Arthur: Silence, Victoria, do not speak another word right now!
Victoria: She probably stole it from one of our guest bedrooms last week!
Elena: I am not a thief! My mother gave this to me before she passed away!
Arthur stood up slowly while keeping his eyes fixed on Elena's pale face.
He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a worn leather wallet.
His hands shook as he opened a small hidden compartment inside the dark leather.
He pulled out a faded black and white photograph from over two decades ago.
The picture showed a young woman wearing the exact same coin medallion around her neck.
Arthur turned the photograph around so Elena could see the old black ink photo clearly.
Arthur: Is this the woman who raised you in your home town?
Elena: Yes... that is my mother, Margaret!
Arthur: Where was this photograph taken, Elena?
Elena: In a small town three hours north of this city, sir.
Victoria stepped forward with a harsh look of disgust on her carefully painted face.
She snatched the old photograph from her father's hand and stared at it closely.
Her face went completely pale as she recognized the handwriting written on the back.
The words signed on the paper belonged to the former matriarch of the Vance estate.
Victoria: This is impossible... Margaret left this city twenty-two years ago!
Arthur: She did not leave by choice, Victoria.
Elena: My mother always told me that my real father was a wealthy businessman.
Arthur: She never told me that she was carrying my child when she vanished.
The revelation hit the grand ballroom like a thunderclap on a clear summer afternoon.
Elena stared up at the powerful patriarch with wide eyes full of disbelief and shock.
She had spent her whole life working hard jobs just to survive in small apartments.
Now the richest man in the city was looking at her like a long-lost daughter.
Victoria's hands began to shake as she realized what this discovery meant for her future.
If Elena was Arthur's eldest daughter, the family trust fund would change completely.
Victoria: Father, you cannot believe this maid based on an old coin necklace!
Victoria: Anyone could buy a fake coin at an antique shop in town!
Arthur: Look at the back of the coin, Victoria!
Arthur: My personal initials are carved right into the solid silver metal!
Arthur reached down and gently flipped the medallion over with his index finger.
Clear capital letters were engraved deep into the smooth surface of the silver coin.
Elena gasped as she read the initials out loud for the very first time.
The truth was now written plainly in front of everyone standing inside the ballroom.
Elena: A. V. ... Arthur Vance.
Arthur: You are my blood, Elena.