CHAPTER 9 — THE DNA TEST THAT SHOCKED PARIS
For fifteen years, Isabelle Moreau imagined this moment.
She imagined running toward her son.
Holding him.
Feeling his arms around her.
Hearing him call her "Mama" again.
She imagined tears of happiness.
A reunion filled with forgiveness.
But reality was different.
Because the boy standing in front of her was no longer the small child she had carried in her arms.
He was older.
Taller.
A stranger who had her son's eyes.
Her son's expression.
But not her memories.
Lucas stood frozen in the hallway.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't speak.
The woman he had spent years dreaming about was finally standing in front of him.
But his heart didn't know what to do.
Part of him wanted to run into her arms.
Another part wanted to ask the question that had lived inside him for years.
Why did you leave me?
"Lucas..."
Isabelle's voice broke.
She slowly stepped forward.
But Lucas stepped back.
The movement was small.
Almost invisible.
But it destroyed her.
Because she understood.
Her son knew her face.
But he didn't know her love anymore.
"Don't."
Lucas whispered.
Isabelle stopped.
"I'm sorry."
His eyes filled.
"You were alive."
A painful silence.
"All this time..."
He swallowed.
"You were alive."
Isabelle looked down.
Tears fell.
"I know."
"Then why?"
The question came out louder.
"Why didn't you come back?"
Every person in the hallway felt the weight of those words.
Alexander stood nearby.
His heart breaking.
Because this was the moment he had waited for.
But he never imagined it would hurt this much.
Isabelle looked at Lucas.
"I wanted to."
Her voice trembled.
"Every day."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because they would have found you."
Lucas frowned.
"Who?"
Isabelle looked around the mansion.
At the walls.
At the family portraits.
At the Laurent name.
Then she whispered:
"The people who wanted you gone."
Alexander stepped forward.
"Isabelle."
She turned.
Fifteen years of pain existed between them.
The love was still there.
But so was the hurt.
"You were alive."
Alexander's voice was broken.
"You let me believe you were dead."
Isabelle closed her eyes.
"I had no choice."
"No choice?"
His voice became stronger.
"I buried you."
"I know."
"I mourned you."
"I know."
"Every year, I visited your grave."
Isabelle's face collapsed.
Because she knew.
She knew exactly how much pain she had caused.
"I am sorry."
Alexander looked away.
Because sorry could not return fifteen years.
Then Lucas asked the question everyone feared.
"Was he looking for me?"
He pointed at Alexander.
Isabelle looked at him.
"Every day."
Lucas looked surprised.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"He never stopped."
The boy looked at Alexander.
The man who had searched for him.
The father he never knew.
And something inside him began to break.
Because for years...
He believed nobody wanted him.
But the truth was different.
Someone had been searching.
Someone had been waiting.
Later that evening...
The Laurent mansion became surrounded by reporters.
The news had leaked.
The missing Laurent heir had returned.
Cameras filled the gates.
The world wanted answers.
Who was Lucas?
Where had he been?
Who hid him?
And who was responsible?
Inside the mansion, Alexander made one decision.
"We need the DNA test."
Everyone became silent.
Lucas looked confused.
"Why?"
Alexander turned to him.
"Because the world will question you."
"I don't care."
"I do."
The answer surprised Lucas.
Alexander continued.
"I don't need a test to know who you are."
His voice softened.
"But you deserve proof."
"You deserve to know the truth."
Lucas looked at Isabelle.
Then nodded.
The DNA test was conducted at a private laboratory in Paris.
No media.
No cameras.
Only the people who mattered.
Alexander.
Lucas.
Isabelle.
Elena.
And Subi.
The waiting was unbearable.
Hours passed.
Nobody spoke much.
Alexander sat beside Lucas.
Not as a billionaire.
Not as an empire owner.
Just as a father.
"Are you scared?"
Alexander asked.
Lucas looked at him.
"A little."
"Me too."
The answer surprised him.
"You?"
Alexander smiled sadly.
"I have been scared for fifteen years."
Lucas looked down.
"Why?"
"Because I thought I would never meet you."
That sentence stayed with Lucas.
Finally...
The doctor entered.
Everyone stood.
The envelope was in his hand.
The entire room became silent.
"Mr. Laurent."
Alexander nodded.
The doctor looked serious.
"The results are confirmed."
A pause.
"Lucas Moreau is..."
Everyone held their breath.
"...biologically your son."
No one moved.
Then the doctor continued.
"His DNA matches Adrian Laurent."
The room filled with emotion.
Isabelle covered her mouth.
Elena cried.
Alexander closed his eyes.
Fifteen years.
Fifteen years of searching.
The answer was finally official.
His son was alive.
Outside the laboratory...
The news spread within minutes.
"MISSING LAURENT HEIR FOUND AFTER 15 YEARS."
Paris exploded.
People who once ignored the poor shoeshine boy now wanted his story.
Everyone wanted to know him.
Everyone wanted a piece of the miracle.
But inside the Laurent mansion...
Lucas sat quietly.
He looked at the news on television.
A picture of himself appeared.
THE LOST BILLIONAIRE HEIR.
He frowned.
"I don't like that."
Subi looked at him.
"What?"
"They didn't know me when I was nobody."
The room became silent.
Because Lucas was right.
The world celebrated him now.
But nobody saw him before.
Nobody saw the child in the rain.
Except one person.
Subi.
The boy who gave him cake.
That night...
Alexander found Lucas sitting outside.
Looking at the stars.
He sat beside him.
"Can I ask you something?"
Lucas nodded.
"Do you hate me?"
Alexander froze.
"What?"
"For not finding me sooner."
The question destroyed him.
"No."
"But maybe if you searched harder..."
Alexander interrupted.
"Lucas."
He turned toward him.
"There is nothing you could have done that would make me stop looking for you."
The boy looked at him.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
A long silence.
Then Lucas quietly said:
"I don't know how to be your son."
Alexander's eyes became wet.
"That's okay."
He smiled.
"I don't know how to be your father."
For the first time...
They both laughed.
A small laugh.
But real.
However...
While Paris celebrated the return of the lost heir...
One person watched the news in silence.
Sebastian Laurent.
He stared at the DNA results.
His face was pale.
Because Lucas being alive was not just a family problem.
It was a threat.
A threat to everything he had built.
His phone rang.
He answered.
"It's confirmed."
A woman's voice replied.
"Then we have no choice."
Sebastian looked toward the mansion.
"Are you sure?"
The woman answered coldly:
"The boy cannot inherit."
Sebastian lowered his voice.
"What are you going to do?"
A pause.
Then:
"What should have been done fifteen years ago."
The call ended.
Sebastian looked at the screen.
The image of Lucas remained.
The lost child.
The returned heir.
The boy who unknowingly held the key to destroying a powerful empire.
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And somewhere in Paris...
Someone was preparing to make him disappear again.
