Chapter 8 — The Blood Test
Chapter 8 — The Blood Test
The black SUV disappeared around the corner.
I stood frozen beside the window.
Vanessa had looked directly at me.
She hadn't looked surprised.
She hadn't looked afraid.
She had smiled.
That smile told me everything.
We had not found Patricia by accident.
We had been led to her.
Daniel stepped beside me.
“What did she want?”
I didn't answer.
Michael Vale did.
“She wanted you to hear what Patricia told you.”
I turned toward him.
“You knew?”
Michael nodded.
“She wanted you to question Daniel.”
My husband looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because that's how she separates people.”
Michael's expression hardened.
“She creates suspicion, then waits for everyone to destroy each other.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Did you tell Richard where I was?”
Daniel's face changed.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Michael stepped between us.
“Daniel isn't the problem.”
I looked at him.
“You're his biological father. Of course you'd say that.”
Michael didn't react.
“Then test it.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Test the blood.”
The words changed the room.
Patricia stared at Michael.
Helen slowly sat down.
Daniel looked confused.
“Test what?”
Michael looked at him.
“Your DNA.”
“Why?”
“Because there is something you need to know before you trust anyone.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“You said you were my father.”
“I am.”
“Then why do you sound afraid?”
Michael looked at me.
“Because Richard may have altered the records.”
“How?”
“Your birth certificate.”
Patricia shook her head.
“No.”
Michael turned toward her.
“What?”
“You told me the records were sealed.”
“They were.”
“Then how did Richard get access?”
Michael didn't answer.
Patricia's expression changed.
“You don't know.”
Michael looked away.
I felt a cold sensation move through me.
“What are you both hiding?”
Patricia finally spoke.
“When Daniel was born, there was another baby.”
Silence.
Daniel stared at her.
“What?”
Patricia's hands trembled.
“Twins.”
Nobody moved.
Daniel looked at his father.
“I'm a twin?”
Michael nodded.
“You had a brother.”
“Where is he?”
Patricia began crying.
“He died.”
Daniel's face fell.
“When?”
“Two days after birth.”
“Why?”
Patricia looked at Michael.
“He was sick.”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
Patricia looked at him.
“You weren't there.”
“I was there.”
“Then you know.”
Michael's jaw tightened.
“Tell him.”
Patricia closed her eyes.
“Your brother wasn't sick.”
Daniel whispered:
“What happened to him?”
“He was taken.”
“By Richard?”
“Yes.”
Michael stepped forward.
“Richard believed the second child could be used to manipulate the inheritance.”
I stared.
“Why?”
Patricia answered.
“Because the trust required proof of biological lineage.”
“So he took one child.”
“Yes.”
“And raised the other.”
Michael nodded.
“To make sure no one could ever prove the truth.”
Daniel's voice broke.
“Where is my brother?”
Patricia looked at me.
“He's alive.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Daniel sat down.
“No.”
Patricia nodded.
“He was placed with another family.”
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
Michael reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a sealed envelope.
“Until yesterday.”
He placed it on the table.
Inside was a photograph.
A young man.
Twenty-seven.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A scar above his left eyebrow.
Daniel stared.
He touched the photograph.
“He looks like me.”
Michael nodded.
“His name is Lucas.”
I looked at the photograph.
“Where is he?”
Michael's expression darkened.
“That's the problem.”
“What?”
“Vanessa found him first.”
Nobody spoke.
I felt my hand tighten around my stomach.
“Why would she want him?”
Michael answered immediately.
“Because Lucas is another biological heir.”
“But the will says first heir.”
“Exactly.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Michael looked at him.
“If Lucas was born before you, the trust could be challenged.”
Daniel stared.
“When was he born?”
“Three minutes before you.”
Silence.
Daniel's face went white.
“So I'm not the first heir.”
“No.”
Michael shook his head.
“Lucas is.”
I looked at him.
“Then Vanessa doesn't need my baby.”
Michael shook his head.
“She needs Lucas.”
“Why?”
“Because if Lucas signs the right documents, he can transfer control.”
“And if he refuses?”
Michael looked at me.
“Vanessa will kill him.”
Ruiz returned moments later.
I told him everything.
He listened without interruption.
When I finished, he asked:
“Where did the photograph come from?”
Michael answered:
“A private investigator.”
“Name?”
“Samuel Grant.”
Ruiz's expression changed.
“You know him?”
“I know his reputation.”
“Is he reliable?”
“No.”
That answer made me nervous.
“Then why trust him?”
“I don't.”
Michael pointed toward the photograph.
“I only trust the DNA.”
Ruiz stared at him.
“Have you tested it?”
“Not yet.”
“Then we don't know if Lucas is really Daniel's twin.”
I looked at the photograph.
“We can test it.”
Michael nodded.
“That's why I brought this.”
He removed a small sterile swab.
“Lucas left it behind.”
I stared.
“Where?”
“At a hotel.”
Ruiz looked skeptical.
“You expect us to use a random swab?”
“No.”
Michael shook his head.
“We'll collect fresh samples.”
“From whom?”
“Daniel.”
“Lucas?”
Michael looked at me.
“And the baby.”
My body went still.
“No.”
Michael immediately raised his hands.
“Not directly.”
“I won't let anyone hurt my baby.”
“We don't need to.”
He explained that a maternal blood sample could be tested using fetal DNA already circulating naturally in the mother's bloodstream.
I stared at him.
“Can that prove the baby's relationship to Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“And to Lucas?”
“If we have Lucas's sample.”
Ruiz nodded.
“Noninvasive.”
I finally agreed.
But I had one condition.
“Dr. Vale isn't touching me.”
Ruiz nodded.
“He won't.”
The blood was drawn in a private hospital room.
Daniel sat beside me.
He held my hand.
Neither of us spoke.
The nurse filled two tubes.
Then another.
I watched the dark red blood move through the transparent plastic.
It was strange.
Something so ordinary.
Yet everyone in that room believed those few milliliters could determine the fate of an entire family.
The nurse sealed the samples.
“Results will take several hours.”
Michael looked at Ruiz.
“We don't have several hours.”
Ruiz frowned.
“Why?”
Michael pointed toward the window.
“Because Vanessa knows we found Lucas.”
“How?”
Michael looked at me.
“She has been monitoring the hospital.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then what are we waiting for?”
We left through the underground parking garage.
Two police vehicles escorted us.
Daniel stayed close.
Michael drove separately.
Halfway to the safe house, Ruiz's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
A pause.
“Repeat that.”
He listened.
Then:
“When?”
Another pause.
“Send me the address.”
He hung up.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Someone tried to access the DNA lab.”
“Who?”
“They don't know.”
“Was anything stolen?”
Ruiz looked at me.
“No.”
“What did they take?”
“Nothing.”
I frowned.
“Then what were they doing?”
He answered:
“Looking for your blood.”
At the safe house, the doors were reinforced.
Agents surrounded the property.
No phones.
No outside visitors.
No unnecessary movement.
Daniel sat beside me in the living room.
Michael stood near the window.
For the first time, he looked exhausted.
I asked:
“Why did Richard hate you?”
Michael didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Because I loved Sarah.”
Daniel looked up.
Michael continued.
“Richard wanted Sarah to marry him.”
“She refused.”
“Yes.”
“So he threatened her?”
“He threatened both of us.”
“Why?”
“Because Sarah knew the truth about the trust.”
I looked at him.
“What truth?”
Michael took a breath.
“Your grandfather didn't create the trust for the Howard family.”
I frowned.
“Then who?”
“For the first child of Sarah and me.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
Michael looked at him.
“You.”
The room fell silent.
“Your grandfather knew Richard wasn't your father.”
“He knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he let Richard raise me?”
“Because Richard threatened to destroy the trust.”
Michael looked at me.
“And your grandfather needed time.”
“Time for what?”
“To find a way to protect you.”
Daniel looked devastated.
“All my life…”
Michael nodded.
“You were the child everyone was fighting over.”
“Not the money?”
“No.”
“The bloodline.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at me.
“And now my child is part of it.”
Michael shook his head.
“Your child is the end of it.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“The trust contains a final clause.”
“What clause?”
“If Daniel's first biological child is born, the entire Howard empire transfers to that child.”
I stared at him.
“So Vanessa wants my baby because—”
“She wants to control the final heir.”
Daniel stood.
“She won't touch my child.”
Michael looked at him.
“Then stop her.”
The DNA results arrived at 11:47 p.m.
Ruiz entered the room carrying a sealed envelope.
Everyone stood.
I looked at Daniel.
He squeezed my hand.
Ruiz opened the report.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
“What?”
He looked at Daniel.
“You have a biological twin.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
I whispered:
“Lucas.”
Ruiz nodded.
“The probability is 99.9999 percent.”
Michael exhaled.
“And the baby?”
Ruiz opened the second page.
He looked at me.
“The fetus shares biological parentage with Daniel.”
Daniel smiled weakly.
I touched my stomach.
For one moment, relief washed over me.
Then Ruiz turned the page.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“The fetal DNA matches another sample.”
Daniel frowned.
“What sample?”
Ruiz looked at Michael.
“The sample we received from Lucas.”
Silence.
“That isn't possible,” Daniel said.
Ruiz nodded slowly.
“It shouldn't be.”
I felt cold.
“What are you saying?”
Ruiz looked at me.
“Your baby shares DNA with Lucas.”
Daniel stared.
“Of course it does. He's my twin.”
“No.”
Ruiz shook his head.
“That's not what I mean.”
He pointed to the report.
“The baby's DNA matches Lucas as an uncle.”
Daniel frowned.
“That's normal.”
“No.”
Ruiz's voice became quiet.
“The match is much stronger.”
Michael stepped closer.
“How much stronger?”
Ruiz looked at him.
“Strong enough to indicate that Lucas isn't Daniel's twin.”
Nobody spoke.
Ruiz continued:
“Lucas is the baby's biological father.”
I felt the world disappear.
Daniel's hand slipped from mine.
Michael stared at the report.
“That can't be.”
Ruiz looked at me.
“The laboratory has repeated the test twice.”
I couldn't breathe.
My hand moved instinctively to my stomach.
The baby moved.
Daniel stepped backward.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Daniel…”
He shook his head.
“Don't.”
“But I never—”
“I know.”
His voice broke.
“I know you didn't.”
Then Ruiz's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed instantly.
“Where?”
A pause.
“Send everything.”
He hung up.
I stared at him.
“What happened?”
He looked at Daniel.
“Lucas has been found.”
“Where?”
Ruiz swallowed.
“In Vanessa's custody.”
My blood turned cold.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then we go get him.”
Ruiz hesitated.
“There's a problem.”
“What?”
He placed another photograph on the table.
Lucas was tied to a chair.
Vanessa stood behind him.
And beside Vanessa stood Richard.
But the person holding the gun to Lucas's head was someone else.
Someone I recognized.
Dr. Vale.
A message was written across the photograph.
THE BLOOD TEST WAS NEVER FOR DANIEL.
Beneath it:
IT WAS FOR ELENA.
Then my phone vibrated.
A live video appeared.
Vanessa.
She was standing in a dark room.
Lucas was behind her.
Richard stood beside him.
And Dr. Vale held the gun.
Vanessa smiled.
“Now you know the truth.”
She leaned closer to the camera.
“Your baby isn't Daniel's.”
My heart shattered.
“But don't worry, Elena.”
She smiled.
“I'm not going to hurt the baby.”
She paused.
“I'm going to take you both.”
The screen went black.
Then one final message appeared.
COME TO THE HOWARD ESTATE BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
COME ALONE.
OR LUCAS DIES.
I looked at Daniel.
He was staring at the black screen.
For the first time since I had known him, there was no fear in his eyes.
Only determination.
He picked up his coat.
“I’m going.”
I grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“She's using Lucas to get to you.”
“I know.”
“Then you can't go.”
He shook his head.
“She thinks she controls the bloodline.”
His eyes hardened.
“She doesn't know what we've learned.”
Michael stepped forward.
“What have we learned?”
Daniel looked at him.
“That blood isn't what makes a family.”
He turned toward me.
“And if Vanessa wants to destroy ours…”
He paused.
“She'll have to come through me first.”
Outside, the first snow began falling.
Midnight was less than two hours away.
And somewhere inside the Howard estate, Vanessa was waiting with two hostages, a stolen heir, and a secret she still believed could destroy us.
She was wrong.
Because for the first time, we knew exactly what she wanted.
May you like
And we finally knew what she was afraid of.
The truth.
