Chapter 5 — The DNA File Victor Buried
Chapter 5 — The DNA File Victor Buried
The words echoed through the underground corridor.
“Don't trust the nurse.”
Then silence.
Ethan stood completely still.
He looked at Clara.
She had gone pale.
Victor noticed it too.
A small, almost invisible smile appeared on his face.
That smile made Ethan's stomach turn.
“Clara,” Ethan said quietly.
She didn't answer.
“Where is my wife?”
“I don't know.”
“You just heard her.”
“I heard her.”
“Then why did she tell me not to trust you?”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
Victor laughed.
“You really want to believe her?”
Ethan turned toward him.
“Shut up.”
Victor's smile widened.
“Ask the nurse about the DNA file.”
Clara's face changed.
Ethan saw it.
“What DNA file?”
Victor said nothing.
Ethan stepped toward Clara.
“What file?”
She shook her head.
“I can't.”
“You can.”
“If I tell you, people will die.”
“They've already died.”
Clara closed her eyes.
Then whispered:
“Your daughter was never supposed to be identified.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“The hospital records were altered.”
“Why?”
“To make it impossible to prove Lily was yours.”
Victor interrupted.
“Because if the DNA test had been released, everything would have collapsed.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Where is the file?”
Victor smiled.
“Buried.”
“Where?”
“In my office.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“Then we're going.”
Forty minutes later, the Blackwood corporate tower was surrounded by police and security vehicles.
The building stood over the city like a monument to everything Ethan had spent his life believing.
Forty-seven floors of glass and steel.
His father's name on the lobby wall.
His family crest above the elevators.
For seven years, Ethan had walked through those doors believing the company was his legacy.
Now he wondered how much of it had been built on lies.
Victor was escorted through the lobby in handcuffs.
He remained strangely calm.
Ethan walked beside him.
“Where's the file?”
“Top floor.”
“Your office?”
“Yes.”
“Who has access?”
“No one.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I made sure nobody knew it existed.”
They entered the private elevator.
The doors closed.
Victor looked at Ethan through the reflection.
“You think finding that file will save you?”
“I don't need saving.”
“You don't understand what you're opening.”
“I understand enough.”
Victor smiled.
“You're going to discover that Lily isn't the only secret your family buried.”
The elevator reached the forty-seventh floor.
The doors opened.
Victor's office was enormous.
Dark wood.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
A wall covered with family photographs.
Ethan walked past them.
His eyes stopped on one.
A photograph of Richard.
Beside him stood a woman Ethan didn't recognize.
Young.
Beautiful.
Holding two newborn babies.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Who is she?”
Victor said nothing.
“Who?”
Victor smiled.
“You'll find out.”
Ethan turned away.
“Open the safe.”
Victor shook his head.
“I don't have the combination.”
“Don't lie.”
“I changed it.”
Ethan looked at security.
“Open it.”
They began working.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Finally—
click.
The safe opened.
Inside were dozens of folders.
Passports.
Bank records.
Old photographs.
Medical documents.
And one black envelope.
Ethan immediately knew.
He picked it up.
There was no name.
Only a date.
August 14 — Seven Years Ago.
His hands tightened.
He opened it.
Inside was a DNA report.
His eyes moved across the page.
PATERNITY ANALYSIS
ALLEGED FATHER: ETHAN BLACKWOOD
CHILD: FEMALE, UNIDENTIFIED
PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 99.99%
Ethan stopped breathing.
Lily.
It was Lily.
The test had been performed seven years ago.
Before Ethan ever knew she survived.
He turned the page.
There was another result.
MATERNAL MATCH: AMELIA BLACKWOOD — 99.98%
Ethan stared.
They had known.
They had known exactly who she was.
He looked at Victor.
“You knew.”
Victor remained silent.
“You knew Lily was my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“For seven years.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me grieve.”
Victor's expression remained cold.
“Yes.”
Ethan's voice broke.
“You let me bury an empty coffin.”
Victor looked at him.
“It was necessary.”
“Necessary?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Because the company needed stability.”
Ethan laughed.
A bitter sound.
“My daughter was worth less to you than the company.”
Victor didn't answer.
Ethan slammed the file onto the desk.
“Who ordered the test?”
Victor looked away.
“Who?”
“Richard.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“My father.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Two days after the fire.”
“Why?”
Victor hesitated.
“Because we found Lily.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
Victor looked at him.
“She was alive.”
The room became silent.
“You found her?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“In the neonatal storage room.”
“Who was with her?”
“Clara.”
Ethan turned toward the nurse.
Clara was crying.
“You lied to me.”
She shook her head.
“I was trying to protect her.”
“You knew she was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she was my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me mourn.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice!”
Clara flinched.
Ethan's voice echoed through the office.
“Why didn't you bring her to me?”
Clara finally answered.
“Because Richard threatened to kill you.”
“He threatened me?”
“He told me that if I brought Lily to you, he would kill both of you.”
Ethan stared at her.
“And the DNA test?”
Clara looked down.
“I collected the sample.”
“You helped them.”
“I thought I was buying time.”
“Seven years?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I kept her alive.”
Ethan looked at Lily's DNA report.
“You kept her hidden.”
“Yes.”
“There's a difference.”
Clara nodded.
“I know.”
Victor stepped toward the window.
“You're still missing the most important part.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
Victor pointed toward the DNA report.
“Read the laboratory signature.”
Ethan looked down.
The laboratory wasn't Blackwood Medical.
It was a private genetics company.
Caldwell Genetic Research.
Ethan frowned.
“Who owns this?”
Victor smiled.
“Your mother.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“My mother?”
“Catherine.”
“But she disappeared.”
“She built the company under another name.”
Ethan stared at the report.
“So she knew about Lily.”
“She knew before you did.”
“Why?”
Victor laughed.
“Because Catherine ordered the test.”
Ethan's mind raced.
“Why would she?”
“Because she was trying to determine whether Lily carried the Blackwood inheritance.”
“What inheritance?”
Victor leaned closer.
“The original trust.”
Ethan looked at the report.
“You said Lily was the key.”
“She is.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather changed the trust before he died.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“What did he change?”
Victor smiled.
“He removed your father.”
Silence.
“And your grandmother.”
Ethan stared.
“Then who inherits?”
Victor pointed at the DNA report.
“Your daughter.”
Ethan couldn't speak.
Victor continued.
“Your grandfather knew Richard and Eleanor were corrupt.”
“So he left everything to Lily?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't anyone know?”
“Because the amendment was hidden.”
“Where?”
Victor smiled.
“That's what your wife knows.”
Ethan's mind returned to Amelia.
The hospital.
The locked room.
The seven years.
She had known.
She had been kept alive because she knew where the trust was hidden.
Victor watched him.
“Now you understand.”
Ethan looked up.
“You didn't keep Lily hidden because she was dangerous.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“You kept her hidden because she was the legal owner of the empire.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to kill me so you could control her.”
“Yes.”
“And you kept Amelia alive because she knew where the documents were.”
“Yes.”
Ethan stared at him.
“How much money?”
Victor laughed.
“All of it.”
A security officer entered the room.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found another file.”
“Where?”
“Behind the safe.”
Ethan followed him.
A false panel had been removed.
Behind it was a second compartment.
Inside was a smaller envelope.
This one had Ethan's name on it.
He opened it.
A handwritten note fell out.
The handwriting was familiar.
Amelia.
Ethan,
If you're reading this, they failed to keep you away from the truth.
Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
He continued.
Lily is alive.
I am alive.
But there is someone you must never trust.
He stopped.
The next line was underlined.
Catherine.
Ethan stared.
His supposed mother.
The woman who was supposedly dead.
The woman Victor claimed had built the genetics company.
The woman Daniel claimed was his real mother.
Amelia had warned him about her.
The note continued.
She knows about the trust.
She knows about Lily.
And she knows why Richard wanted me alive.
Ethan turned the page.
The final paragraph was written in darker ink.
The DNA test was never about proving Lily was your daughter.
Ethan's heart stopped.
It was about proving which bloodline she belonged to.
Ethan read the sentence again.
Bloodline.
Not fatherhood.
Not inheritance.
Bloodline.
He looked at Victor.
“What does that mean?”
Victor remained silent.
“Answer me.”
Victor smiled.
“You should ask Daniel.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Where is he?”
Victor laughed.
“You really don't know?”
“What?”
“Daniel isn't your brother.”
Ethan froze.
Victor's voice became quieter.
“He's your half-brother.”
Ethan stared.
“That makes no sense.”
“Same mother.”
“Catherine.”
“Yes.”
“Different fathers.”
Victor nodded.
“Exactly.”
Ethan's mind raced.
“Then who was his father?”
Victor looked at the photograph of the young woman holding two babies.
“Not Richard.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Who?”
Victor smiled.
“The man who actually owned the Blackwood fortune.”
Silence.
Ethan felt a chill move through him.
“Who was he?”
Victor didn't answer.
Instead, he pointed toward the DNA report.
“Look at the second page.”
Ethan turned it.
There was another genetic comparison.
CHILD: FEMALE
MATERNAL LINE: CATHERINE BLACKWOOD
GENETIC MATCH: 99.99%
Ethan's hands began trembling.
“Lily…”
Victor nodded.
“Isn't only your daughter.”
“What are you saying?”
“She is Catherine's granddaughter.”
Ethan frowned.
“Of course she is.”
Victor shook his head.
“You still don't understand.”
He pointed to another line.
PATERNAL LINE: UNKNOWN BLACKWOOD MALE
Ethan stared.
“Unknown Blackwood male?”
Victor smiled.
“The laboratory found something strange in Lily's DNA.”
“What?”
“She carries a genetic marker that only appears in one branch of the Blackwood family.”
“Which branch?”
Victor leaned forward.
“Your grandfather's.”
Ethan went still.
“That means…”
Victor whispered:
“Lily isn't simply the heir.”
“She is the bloodline your grandfather spent his life protecting.”
Suddenly, the office doors opened.
Daniel walked in.
His face was grim.
“Ethan.”
Ethan turned.
“Where were you?”
“Looking for Amelia.”
“Did you find her?”
“No.”
Daniel looked at Victor.
“You found the file.”
“Yes.”
Daniel's eyes fell on the DNA report.
He immediately understood.
“You know.”
Ethan stepped toward him.
“Tell me everything.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not here.”
“Now.”
“Ethan—”
“Seven years.”
His voice cracked.
“You knew for seven years.”
Daniel looked down.
“I knew enough.”
“You knew Lily was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Amelia was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew our family was lying.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Because every time I tried, someone died.”
Ethan stopped.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel looked at Victor.
“Ask him about the first DNA test.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
Daniel continued.
“The report you have isn't the original.”
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
“It was altered.”
Victor moved suddenly.
He grabbed a metal letter opener from the desk and lunged toward the file.
Ethan reacted immediately.
He knocked Victor's hand away.
The letter opener fell.
Security officers restrained Victor.
Ethan picked up the DNA report.
“Altered?”
Daniel nodded.
“The real report says something else.”
“What?”
Daniel looked at him.
“It says Lily's DNA matches someone else.”
“Who?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“Someone who was never supposed to have a living descendant.”
Ethan stared.
“Who?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he looked toward the door.
“Because she's here.”
Everyone turned.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Elegant.
Silver-haired.
Wearing a dark coat.
Her face was older than the photographs Ethan remembered.
But he knew her.
Even after thirty years.
His heart stopped.
“Mom?”
The woman smiled.
“Hello, Ethan.”
Ethan couldn't move.
Catherine Blackwood stepped into the room.
Alive.
Calm.
And completely unafraid.
Her eyes moved to the DNA file.
Then to Victor.
Then to Ethan.
“You finally found it.”
Ethan's voice was barely audible.
“Why did you let me believe you were dead?”
Catherine's expression didn't change.
“Because it was the only way to keep you alive.”
“And Lily?”
Catherine looked toward him.
“She was never supposed to survive.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“What?”
Catherine's eyes became cold.
“She was the one thing that could expose us all.”
Silence.
Ethan stepped closer.
“You're her grandmother.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Amelia was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew what they did to us.”
“Yes.”
“Then why?”
Catherine looked at the DNA file.
“Because the truth is much worse than you think.”
She reached for the report.
Ethan pulled it away.
Catherine smiled faintly.
“Read the final page.”
Ethan looked down.
There was one last genetic result.
His hands began shaking.
The result was not a paternity test.
It was a lineage test.
And beside Lily's name was a classification:
DIRECT DESCENDANT OF THE ORIGINAL BLACKWOOD HEIR.
Ethan looked up.
Catherine was crying now.
“The fortune was never supposed to belong to Richard.”
She paused.
“It belonged to Lily's bloodline.”
Ethan stared at her.
“And that's why they tried to erase her.”
Catherine nodded.
“But there is one more thing.”
“What?”
Catherine looked directly into his eyes.
“Lily isn't the only surviving heir.”
The room went silent.
Ethan's phone suddenly rang.
The screen showed an unknown number.
He answered.
A child's voice whispered:
“Daddy?”
Ethan froze.
It wasn't Lily.
The voice continued.
“Please help me.”
A pause.
Then:
“They told me you were dead too.”
The call ended.
Ethan looked at Daniel.
Daniel's face had gone completely white.
“Who was that?”
Daniel whispered:
“Another child.”
May you like
And Ethan realized the DNA file Victor had buried for seven years had not revealed the end of the conspiracy.
It had only opened the door to something far more dangerous.
