Chapter 7 — The Blood Test
Chapter 7 — The Blood Test
Every alarm in the Blackwood mansion screamed at once.
Red lights flashed across the corridors.
Security doors slammed shut.
Somewhere downstairs, glass shattered.
Ethan instinctively moved in front of Lily.
“Stay behind me.”
Daniel remained in the doorway.
He looked strangely calm.
Too calm for a man who had supposedly been dead for fifteen years.
Amelia stood frozen at the end of the hallway.
Elias stared at the old man.
“You're him.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Yes.”
“My grandfather?”
Daniel nodded.
Elias took a step backward.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“So was your father.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“What did you do to my life?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Nothing.”
“You disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“You let me bury an empty grave.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“If I had returned, you would have died.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Victor said you were responsible.”
“Victor lies.”
“Richard says you're the reason the children disappeared.”
“Richard is my son.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
Daniel looked toward Amelia.
“And he has been lying to all of you for longer than Victor has.”
Amelia whispered:
“Daniel.”
He turned toward her.
“You knew this day would come.”
“I prayed it wouldn't.”
“It was inevitable.”
Ethan looked between them.
“Enough.”
He pointed toward Lily.
“You said she isn't the heir.”
Daniel's eyes moved to the little girl.
“No.”
“Then who is she?”
“I don't know.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“That's not good enough.”
“It is the truth.”
“You're telling me you created this entire nightmare and you don't know who my daughter is?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I created the protection.”
“Then tell me who she is.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the answer has to come from her blood.”
Silence.
Ethan understood.
“The test.”
Daniel nodded.
“The blood test.”
An hour later, the mansion was secured.
Victor's men had attempted to breach the eastern gate.
They failed.
Richard remained missing.
Daniel sat inside Ethan's study.
Amelia stood near the window.
Elias sat beside Lily.
Ethan placed four envelopes on the desk.
One for Lily.
One for Elias.
One for himself.
One for Amelia.
Daniel looked at them.
“You're going to test all four?”
“Yes.”
“You should test three.”
“Why?”
“Because Amelia is not the biological mother of one of them.”
Ethan's heart stopped.
He turned toward his wife.
Amelia closed her eyes.
“I was afraid you'd find out.”
“Which one?”
She didn't answer.
“Amelia.”
“Lily.”
Ethan stared.
“She isn't my biological daughter?”
“No.”
“Then whose child is she?”
Amelia's voice broke.
“I don't know.”
Ethan felt the floor disappear beneath him.
“You don't know?”
“I was told she was yours.”
“By who?”
“Your mother.”
Daniel suddenly stood.
“That was never supposed to happen.”
Ethan turned.
“What wasn't?”
Daniel's face had gone pale.
“The child was switched.”
“Switched with whom?”
Daniel looked at Lily.
“With the baby that died.”
No one spoke.
Lily looked confused.
Elias reached for her hand.
“Don't worry.”
Ethan crouched beside Lily.
“Sweetheart.”
She looked at him.
“Are you angry?”
“No.”
“Am I in trouble?”
“Never.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Ethan wiped his face.
“I don't know.”
Lily leaned forward.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Am I still your daughter?”
Ethan's heart broke.
“Nothing can change that.”
“But if the blood test says I'm not…”
“You're still my little girl.”
Lily smiled.
“Okay.”
Daniel looked away.
Amelia began crying silently.
Ethan took the blood collection kit from Samuel.
He didn't want to do this.
But he needed the truth.
He needed to know who had been protecting whom.
And who had been lying.
The samples were collected under strict supervision.
Lily's first.
Elias's second.
Ethan's third.
Amelia's fourth.
Daniel refused.
“You don't need mine.”
Ethan looked at him.
“I want yours.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you aren't ready for what it will show.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“I've been unready for seven years.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You think this is about biology.”
“Isn't it?”
“No.”
Daniel looked at Lily.
“It is about inheritance.”
Ethan frowned.
“What does blood have to do with inheritance?”
“Everything.”
The laboratory was inside a secure medical facility owned by the Blackwood Foundation.
Only three people had access to the testing room.
Samuel.
Ethan.
And an independent genetic specialist.
No Blackwood employee was permitted inside.
Ethan insisted.
The results would be impossible to manipulate.
At least, that was what he believed.
For six hours, they waited.
Six hours of silence.
Six hours of suspicion.
Six hours of Ethan watching Amelia.
Finally, Samuel entered.
His face told Ethan everything.
“What?”
Samuel closed the door.
“I need you to sit down.”
Ethan remained standing.
“Tell me.”
Samuel placed four reports on the desk.
“The results are unusual.”
“Unusual how?”
“Elias is biologically your son.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
One certainty.
At least one.
“And Amelia?”
“His biological mother.”
Ethan looked at Elias.
The boy's eyes filled with tears.
Ethan smiled.
“You're my son.”
Elias nodded.
“I knew.”
Ethan hugged him.
For the first time, the boy didn't hesitate.
He hugged his father back.
Then Ethan looked at Lily.
“And her?”
Samuel hesitated.
Ethan's heart sank.
“Tell me.”
Samuel opened the report.
“Lily is not biologically related to Amelia.”
Ethan swallowed.
“And me?”
Samuel looked at him.
“She is not your biological daughter.”
Silence.
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
Ethan immediately moved toward her.
She stepped backward.
“Don't.”
“Lily…”
“You said I was your daughter.”
“You are.”
“I'm not.”
“Blood doesn't change what you are to me.”
“But you don't want me.”
Ethan dropped to his knees.
“I would choose you even if you weren't related to me.”
Lily stared at him.
“Really?”
“Every time.”
She ran into his arms.
Ethan held her tightly.
Behind them, Amelia cried.
But Samuel wasn't finished.
“There is something else.”
Ethan looked up.
“What?”
“Lily's DNA matches someone.”
“Who?”
Samuel placed the final report on the table.
Daniel.
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“Lily is biologically related to Daniel.”
Ethan turned toward the old man.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“She is my granddaughter.”
Ethan's voice disappeared.
“That means…”
Daniel nodded.
“Lily is your sister's daughter.”
Ethan frowned.
“I don't have a sister.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You did.”
The room went silent.
Daniel sat down.
“Her name was Evelyn.”
Ethan stared.
“I've never heard that name.”
“Because your grandfather erased her.”
“Why?”
“Because she was born with a different surname.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“What surname?”
Daniel looked toward Amelia.
“Rossi.”
Amelia gasped.
Ethan turned.
“Rossi?”
Daniel nodded.
“Your sister was born before your father married your mother.”
Ethan's mind raced.
“Who was her mother?”
“Isabella Rossi.”
The name hit Ethan like a blow.
Isabella Rossi.
The woman connected to the hospital records.
The woman who had disappeared shortly before the fire.
The woman Victor had always refused to discuss.
Ethan whispered:
“She was my aunt.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“She was your sister's mother.”
Ethan left the room.
He walked into the hallway.
He needed air.
Lily followed.
“Daddy?”
He turned.
She stood there holding the little silver locket.
“I still have this.”
Ethan crouched.
“Where did you get it?”
“Mommy gave it to me.”
“Amelia?”
Lily nodded.
“But you said you didn't remember.”
“I remembered tonight.”
“What?”
Lily opened the locket.
The photograph inside had changed.
Ethan stared.
It was no longer a photograph of Amelia holding a newborn.
It showed a young woman.
A woman he had never seen.
Behind her were three babies.
On the back was handwriting.
EVELYN — MOTHER OF THE THREE.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“Three?”
Lily nodded.
“Mommy said there were three.”
“Who?”
“Evelyn.”
Ethan stared.
“Do you remember her?”
Lily nodded.
“She sang to me.”
“When?”
“Before the fire.”
Ethan's heart stopped.
“Lily…”
“She told me to remember her face.”
“What did she look like?”
Lily pointed to the photograph.
“That woman.”
Ethan stared at the image.
His dead sister.
Evelyn Blackwood.
Alive in Lily's memories.
Back in the study, Daniel was waiting.
Ethan threw the photograph onto the desk.
“You told me Evelyn was dead.”
“She disappeared.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Don't lie to me.”
Daniel looked exhausted.
“She was taken.”
“By Victor?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Your grandfather.”
Ethan froze.
“My grandfather?”
“He believed Evelyn was dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew about the children.”
“What children?”
“The original heirs.”
Ethan stared.
“Three babies.”
Daniel nodded.
“Lily.”
“Elias.”
“And the third.”
Ethan's voice lowered.
“Elias was one.”
“Yes.”
“Then Lily is another.”
Daniel nodded.
“And the third?”
Daniel looked at him.
“The third was never meant to survive.”
Ethan swallowed.
“Who was the third child?”
Daniel didn't answer.
“Dad.”
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“You.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“You were the third child.”
Silence.
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
“You were born before the others.”
“No.”
“Your mother died giving birth to you.”
“That isn't what I was told.”
“I know.”
“Then what happened?”
“Your grandfather replaced you.”
“With whom?”
Daniel looked at him.
“With another child.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“You're saying I'm not Ethan Blackwood?”
Daniel whispered:
“Not biologically.”
The world seemed to tilt.
Ethan looked at Amelia.
She knew.
She had known.
“You knew.”
Amelia couldn't look at him.
“You knew I wasn't your father's son.”
“I knew there was a possibility.”
“Possibility?”
“You had no birth record.”
“My birth certificate?”
“Forged.”
Ethan stepped backward.
Everything he knew about himself was collapsing.
His name.
His father.
His mother.
His children.
His inheritance.
His entire life.
All built on documents.
All built on lies.
Then the study door opened.
Richard stood there.
Blood covered his shirt.
He was holding a gun.
Everyone froze.
Richard looked directly at Ethan.
“I tried to warn you.”
Ethan stared.
“You're my uncle.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Lily.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Elias.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew I wasn't Daniel's biological son.”
Richard's expression changed.
“Yes.”
Ethan's voice became cold.
“Then who am I?”
Richard lowered the gun.
“That is the question your father has spent twenty years trying to keep buried.”
Daniel stood.
“Richard.”
“It's over.”
“No.”
Richard looked at Ethan.
“Your real father is alive.”
Ethan's heart stopped.
“Who?”
Richard glanced at Lily.
Then Elias.
Then Amelia.
“He's the reason all three children were separated.”
Ethan whispered:
“Victor?”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Richard's face became grim.
“The man who ordered the hospital fire.”
Ethan stared.
“Who?”
Richard answered:
“Your grandfather.”
The room went silent.
Then Richard added:
“And he didn't die.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“He's still alive.”
A slow smile appeared on Richard's face.
“He's been waiting for you.”
Outside, a car stopped at the gates.
Security alarms began screaming again.
Samuel looked toward the window.
A black limousine had arrived.
The rear door opened.
An old man stepped out.
Ethan stared through the glass.
He recognized the face.
He had seen it in the oldest Blackwood family portrait.
His grandfather.
The man who had supposedly died thirty years ago.
The man who had built the empire.
The man who had supposedly disappeared.
He looked directly at the mansion.
Then at Ethan.
And smiled.
Ethan's phone vibrated.
One message appeared.
YOU FINALLY KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
A second message followed.
NOW COME HOME.
Ethan stared at the gates.
Then at Lily.
Then Elias.
Then Amelia.
And finally Daniel.
For the first time, Daniel looked genuinely terrified.
“Ethan,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Don't let him see the children.”
“Why?”
Daniel's eyes filled with fear.
“Because he didn't create the trust to protect them.”
He paused.
May you like
“He created it to own them.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
