CHAPTER 8 — THE DNA TEST
CHAPTER 8 — THE DNA TEST
Robert Whitmore's laughter echoed through the house.
I stood frozen at the top of the stairs.
My mother's voice was still trapped inside the tape recorder.
Your real father is the reason I had to disappear.
Then another sentence kept repeating inside my head.
Robert is not your father.
I looked at Daniel.
He was staring toward the staircase as if he'd just seen a ghost.
Ethan stood behind him.
For once, my husband had no explanation.
No excuse.
No carefully constructed lie.
Only fear.
"Claire," Ethan whispered, "don't go downstairs."
I turned toward him.
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what Robert wants."
I almost laughed.
"Apparently, he has wanted me my entire life."
A man's voice came from below.
"That's true."
Robert.
He was waiting.
I gripped the recorder.
"Come upstairs."
"No."
His voice was calm.
"Come down."
"Why?"
"Because you deserve to know who you are."
Daniel stepped in front of me.
"You've had thirty years to tell her."
Robert laughed.
"Daniel."
The sound of his name made Daniel flinch.
"You always were sentimental."
"Stay away from her."
"She's my daughter."
"No."
Robert's voice became colder.
"You know better than anyone."
Daniel turned toward me.
"Don't listen to him."
I looked at him.
"Then tell me the truth."
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Everyone keeps telling me I'm connected to this family."
I pointed toward the stairs.
"My mother."
"Victoria."
"Ethan."
"You."
"And now Robert."
My voice broke.
"I want one answer that isn't a lie."
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Robert called from below.
"Then come down, Claire."
"Let me show you."
I began walking.
Daniel grabbed my wrist.
"No."
I pulled away.
"Don't touch me."
His hand fell.
I walked down the stairs.
Ethan followed.
Daniel came behind him.
At the bottom stood a man in a dark coat.
He was older than the photographs.
His hair was almost completely gray.
But his eyes were unmistakable.
Cold.
Sharp.
Calculating.
Robert Whitmore.
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then smiled.
"You look like her."
"My mother?"
"Yes."
"She said you weren't my father."
His smile faded.
"Your mother said many things."
"Was she lying?"
"Sometimes."
"About you?"
"Not entirely."
I stared.
"Then who is my father?"
Robert looked at Daniel.
Then Ethan.
Then me.
"That's why you need the test."
He held up a small black case.
Inside was a DNA collection kit.
My stomach tightened.
"You already tested me?"
"No."
"Then why do you have that?"
"Because I knew you'd eventually ask."
I stepped back.
"I don't trust you."
"You shouldn't."
For the first time, Robert smiled genuinely.
"That's the first intelligent thing you've said tonight."
I looked at Daniel.
He was pale.
"Don't do it."
Robert turned toward him.
"Why?"
Daniel said nothing.
Robert laughed.
"Because you're afraid of the result?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"She deserves the truth."
"Then let her take the test."
I looked at the kit.
"Who will it compare me to?"
Robert answered:
"Me."
I frowned.
"You said you weren't my father."
"I said your mother was right that I wasn't your father."
"Then why test?"
"Because if I am related to you, we'll know how."
I looked at Daniel.
"And him?"
Robert's smile disappeared.
"Daniel is not your brother."
My heart stopped.
I stared at Daniel.
He looked away.
"What?"
Robert continued.
"He's your uncle."
The room went silent.
I couldn't breathe.
"Then who is my father?"
Robert didn't answer.
I turned toward Daniel.
"Is that true?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
My voice became barely audible.
"You're my uncle?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you never tell me?"
"Because I didn't know until recently."
"How?"
"Your mother hid it."
"Why?"
"To protect you."
I shook my head.
"That word again."
I looked at Robert.
"Everyone uses protection as an excuse."
Robert nodded.
"Because sometimes it is."
"Take the test."
I pointed at the kit.
"Now."
The test took less than five minutes.
A swab from my cheek.
A swab from Robert.
One from Daniel.
And, after a long silence, one from Ethan.
I looked at him.
"Why?"
He shrugged.
"Because if we're going to uncover everything, I want to know where I stand."
Robert smiled.
"That's the first honest thing you've done."
Ethan glared at him.
"You don't know me."
"I know you better than your wife does."
I looked at Robert.
"What does that mean?"
"Ask him."
Ethan looked away.
I felt that familiar anger rising.
"No."
I stepped between them.
"Nobody is leaving until I have answers."
Robert smiled.
"Then you'll be waiting."
"For what?"
"The truth."
He walked toward the kitchen.
"DNA takes time."
I followed.
"How long?"
"Long enough."
"Where are you going?"
"To make coffee."
I stared at him.
"You kidnapped children."
"Yes."
"You manipulated my husband."
"Yes."
"You lied about my mother."
"Yes."
"And you're making coffee?"
He looked over his shoulder.
"Coffee is useful when you're about to destroy someone's entire understanding of their life."
I almost laughed.
The man was terrifying.
But he was also disturbingly calm.
I sat at the kitchen table.
Ethan sat across from me.
Daniel remained near the doorway.
No one spoke.
Then I asked:
"Ethan."
He looked at me.
"Did you know Robert was alive?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Three months."
"Three months?"
He nodded.
"And you didn't tell me."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't know whether he was working with Victoria."
"Was he?"
"Sometimes."
"What does that mean?"
"They've been enemies for years."
"Enemies?"
"Yes."
"Then why did they work together?"
"Because they needed each other."
I frowned.
"For what?"
Ethan looked toward Robert.
"The program."
Robert answered without turning.
"The program needed money."
"Victoria had money."
"Yes."
"Then why need you?"
"Because I had the research."
I felt sick.
"You created it?"
Robert finally turned.
"I created the foundation."
"And my mother?"
"She improved it."
"Daniel?"
"My first successful subject."
"Victoria?"
"My partner."
"Ethan?"
"My son."
I stared.
"And me?"
Robert smiled.
"That's the interesting part."
An hour passed.
The children were safe.
The police had surrounded the area.
But no one entered the house.
Robert had somehow convinced them to wait.
I didn't understand how.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message.
From an unknown number.
LEAVE THE HOUSE.
Another message arrived.
ROBERT IS NOT ALONE.
Then:
THE DNA TEST IS A TRAP.
I looked up.
Robert was watching me.
"Who texted you?"
"I don't know."
"Show me."
"No."
He smiled.
"Good."
I frowned.
"Good?"
"If you trusted me, I'd be disappointed."
I stood.
"I'm leaving."
Robert didn't stop me.
"Go."
I froze.
"What?"
"Go."
I looked at the door.
Then at Daniel.
Then Ethan.
Something felt wrong.
Robert said:
"The test will still tell you the truth."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Unless you tampered with it."
He shook his head.
"I didn't."
"How do I know?"
"You don't."
I hated how reasonable he sounded.
I walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
"Where is my mother?"
Robert's face changed.
For the first time—
real emotion appeared.
Pain.
"She's alive."
My heart stopped.
"Where?"
He didn't answer.
"Where is she?"
"Not far."
"Tell me."
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because if she knows you're looking for her, she'll disappear again."
I stared.
"You've spoken to her."
"Recently."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
My breath caught.
"Yesterday?"
He nodded.
"She asked me to tell you something."
"What?"
Robert looked directly into my eyes.
"Don't take the DNA test."
I turned toward the table.
The samples.
The kit.
My blood went cold.
"What?"
Robert repeated:
"She told me not to let you take it."
"But you did."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I don't always listen to your mother."
I stared at him.
"Then why did you tell me?"
"Because you need to know what you're willing to risk."
Suddenly—
the lights went out.
Again.
The room plunged into darkness.
A gunshot shattered the silence.
I screamed.
Ethan grabbed me.
Daniel shouted:
"DOWN!"
Another shot.
Glass shattered.
Robert fell backward.
"Robert!"
I dropped to the floor.
Then the emergency lights came on.
Robert was standing.
Uninjured.
But the DNA case was gone.
Someone had taken it.
The front window was broken.
Daniel ran outside.
Ethan followed.
I remained inside.
Then I noticed something.
One of the DNA tubes was still on the table.
The label read:
CLAIRE BENNETT — MATERNAL SAMPLE
I picked it up.
My hands were shaking.
Then I noticed a second label.
SUBJECT 17
I froze.
The sample wasn't Robert's.
It was mine.
Someone had switched the tubes.
The test hadn't been designed to prove whether Robert was my father.
It was designed to compare me to Subject 17.
Daniel.
I looked toward the broken window.
"Daniel!"
No answer.
Ethan returned alone.
"Where is he?"
"Gone."
My stomach dropped.
"What do you mean?"
"He disappeared."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
I looked at the DNA tube.
Then at Robert.
"You knew."
Robert's expression was unreadable.
"Yes."
"You knew they switched the samples."
"Yes."
"You let it happen."
"Yes."
"Why?"
He stepped closer.
"Because now we know who is afraid of the result."
I stared.
"Who?"
Robert looked at the shattered window.
"The person who took the test."
Thirty minutes later, the police recovered the DNA kit.
The lab technician arrived under armed escort.
The samples were processed immediately.
No one spoke while we waited.
I sat beside Amelia.
She was asleep.
My son was sleeping too.
Ethan stood near the window.
Robert sat across the room.
Daniel was still missing.
I couldn't stop thinking about him.
My uncle.
My mother's secret.
The children.
The program.
The truth.
Finally, the technician entered.
She carried a sealed envelope.
"Ms. Bennett?"
I stood.
"Yes."
She handed it to me.
"These results are preliminary."
I looked at the envelope.
"Open it."
She hesitated.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
I tore it open.
The first page was simple.
PATERNITY ANALYSIS
CLAIRE BENNETT
ROBERT WHITMORE
RESULT: NOT BIOLOGICAL FATHER
I exhaled.
Robert wasn't my father.
I looked at the second page.
RELATIONSHIP ANALYSIS
CLAIRE BENNETT
DANIEL WHITMORE
I read the result.
My heart stopped.
PROBABILITY OF FULL SIBLING RELATIONSHIP: 0.00%
I stared.
Not siblings.
Not half-siblings.
Nothing.
Daniel wasn't my brother.
Wasn't my uncle.
Wasn't even closely related to me.
I looked at Robert.
"What is this?"
He didn't answer.
The technician turned the page.
"There's another result."
My fingers trembled.
CLAIRE BENNETT
SUBJECT 17
BIOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP: MATERNAL
I frowned.
"Maternal?"
The technician swallowed.
"It means Subject 17 shares your mother's genetic line."
I stared.
"My mother?"
"Yes."
I looked at Robert.
"Then who is Subject 17?"
The technician looked at the file.
"We don't know."
I felt cold.
"But you said maternal."
"Yes."
"Meaning?"
She hesitated.
Then:
"Subject 17 is your child."
The room went silent.
I couldn't breathe.
"My..."
She nodded.
"Your biological child."
I looked at Amelia.
Then my son.
I counted.
One.
Two.
Then another thought struck me.
"How old is Subject 17?"
The technician looked at the records.
"Approximately three years old."
My blood froze.
I turned toward Robert.
"You said there were seventeen children."
He nodded.
"Yes."
"One of them is mine."
"Yes."
"Then who is Subject 17?"
Robert looked at me.
His expression had completely changed.
He whispered:
"That's what we've been trying to find."
I stared.
"But Amelia is my daughter."
"Yes."
"And my son is Ethan's."
"Yes."
"Then who is the third child?"
Robert didn't answer.
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It was mine.
The caller ID showed an unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then a child's voice whispered:
"Mommy?"
My blood ran cold.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it in Room 17.
The little girl.
Lena.
But she said something next that made my heart stop.
"Mommy..."
A pause.
"They took Amelia."
I turned.
The chair where my daughter had been sleeping was empty.
The blanket lay on the floor.
The window was open.
And on the glass, written in red:
ONE CHILD WAS NEVER YOURS.
I screamed.
"Ethan!"
He ran toward me.
Robert stood slowly.
For the first time, he looked terrified.
May you like
Because beneath the message was one final line.
ASK YOUR MOTHER WHO GAVE BIRTH TO HER.
