CHAPTER 12: The DNA Test That Exposed the Blackwell Bloodline
The theft of the original birth records changed everything.
For twenty years, the Sterling family had controlled the truth by controlling the documents.
They changed names.
They erased identities.
They buried evidence.
But now…
Someone had stolen the one thing that could reveal the entire story.
The original record of Maya’s birth.
And Arthur Blackwell knew one thing:
The person who stole it wasn’t trying to hide the truth.
They were terrified of it.
The Blackwell mansion was surrounded by security within minutes.
Arthur stood in the main hall, surrounded by his team.
“Review every camera.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Check every entrance.”
“Yes.”
“And find out who accessed the archive.”
Daniel hesitated.
“Mr. Blackwell…”
Arthur looked at him.
“What?”
“There is something strange.”
“What?”
“The person who entered didn’t force the door.”
Arthur frowned.
“They had access?”
Daniel nodded.
“Someone with a Blackwell security clearance.”
Silence.
Arthur’s expression darkened.
Someone inside the company had helped them.
Someone close.
Meanwhile, Victoria sat alone in the old room.
The room where her daughter’s childhood had been frozen in time.
She held an old photograph.
A baby.
Her baby.
Maya.
Twenty years ago, she had promised herself she would find her.
She promised she would fix everything.
But fear had always won.
Until now.
A quiet knock interrupted her thoughts.
She looked up.
Lily stood at the door.
For a moment, neither woman spoke.
Two women connected by the same child.
Two women who had lost twenty years.
“I don’t know if I should hate you…”
Lily finally said.
Victoria lowered her eyes.
“You have every right.”
“You knew.”
Victoria looked at her.
“You knew Maya was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me raise her without telling me.”
Victoria’s eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Lily laughed sadly.
“Do you know what that feels like?”
Victoria remained silent.
“It feels like someone stole your life and then thanked you for protecting it.”
Those words hurt.
Because Victoria knew they were true.
“I’m sorry.”
Lily looked away.
“I spent twenty years wondering why my daughter had no father.”
A pause.
“Why I had to struggle.”
Another pause.
“And you…”
She looked at Victoria.
“You had money. Power. Everything.”
Victoria whispered:
“I had nothing.”
Lily frowned.
“You had everything.”
“No.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I had a cage.”
Before Lily could respond, Arthur entered.
“We need to talk.”
Both women turned.
Arthur held a folder.
“What happened?”
Arthur looked serious.
“The DNA results arrived.”
Silence.
Victoria stood.
“DNA?”
Arthur nodded.
“The test I ordered yesterday.”
Lily looked confused.
“Why would you need a DNA test?”
Arthur looked at Maya’s photograph on the table.
“Because we need the truth.”
One hour earlier…
Arthur had secretly taken a DNA sample.
Not because he doubted Lily.
Not because he doubted Victoria.
But because too many lies had surrounded Maya’s life.
He needed something nobody could manipulate.
Science.
The truth that couldn’t be bought.
Arthur opened the folder.
Inside was the result.
He looked at Victoria.
Then Lily.
Then said:
“The results confirm…”
A pause.
“Maya is Victoria’s biological daughter.”
Victoria closed her eyes.
A tear escaped.
Even after everything…
Hearing it confirmed was overwhelming.
But Arthur continued.
“There is something else.”
Everyone looked at him.
“The test also compared Maya’s DNA with Blackwell family records.”
Lily became tense.
“And?”
Arthur looked at the paper.
“The results show…”
He stopped.
Because even he struggled to say it.
“Maya has a biological connection to the Blackwell family.”
Silence.
Victoria stared.
“What?”
Arthur looked at her.
“A close connection.”
Lily stepped forward.
“Arthur…”
He looked at her.
“Maya shares DNA with my father.”
The room went completely still.
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
Arthur looked at her.
“You didn’t know?”
She stepped back.
“No.”
Her voice became smaller.
“I swear.”
Arthur believed something in her reaction.
Because Victoria looked genuinely shocked.
She had hidden many things.
But this?
This was new to her too.
Lily sat down.
Her hands trembling.
“So what does this mean?”
Arthur looked at the report.
“It means my father was involved.”
“But how?”
Nobody had the answer.
Until Arthur noticed something.
A second page.
A note from the laboratory.
He read it carefully.
His expression changed.
“What?”
Victoria asked.
Arthur looked up.
“The DNA match isn’t from my father.”
Everyone froze.
“Then who?”
Arthur slowly turned the page.
A name appeared.
The name of the person who submitted the original DNA sample years ago.
A person connected to the Blackwell family.
Someone they never suspected.
Thomas Blackwell.
Arthur’s younger brother.
The room exploded with shock.
“Thomas?”
Victoria whispered.
“But Thomas died when he was sixteen.”
Arthur nodded.
“That’s why this makes no sense.”
Daniel rushed into the room.
“Mr. Blackwell!”
Everyone turned.
“What happened?”
Daniel looked pale.
“We found the person who stole the birth records.”
Arthur immediately stood.
“Who?”
Daniel hesitated.
“It was someone from inside the Blackwell family.”
“Name.”
Daniel swallowed.
“Your brother’s former lawyer.”
Arthur frowned.
“My brother’s lawyer?”
Daniel nodded.
“He left behind a message.”
“What message?”
Daniel handed him a small envelope.
Arthur opened it.
Inside was a single sentence.
Written by Thomas Blackwell.
“Arthur, if you ever discover the truth about Maya… ask yourself why our father feared her.”
Arthur stared at the message.
His father.
His brother.
Victoria.
Maya.
All connected.
A mystery that began twenty years ago was becoming darker.
Because now Arthur understood something terrifying:
Maya wasn’t just connected to two powerful families.
She was connected to the one secret both families had tried to bury.
That night, Arthur entered his father’s old office again.
He searched through every file.
Every document.
Every hidden compartment.
Until he found something.
A sealed envelope.
With his name on it.
“For Arthur. Only open this when the child returns.”
His hands shook.
He opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The first line destroyed him.
“Arthur, I lied to you about your brother’s death.”
Arthur stopped breathing.
Then he read the next sentence.
“Thomas is alive.”
Arthur stepped back.
Impossible.
His brother had been dead for twenty years.
But the letter continued.
“And he is the only person who knows the real reason Maya was hidden.”
Arthur looked toward the window.
The city lights reflected against the glass.
Another lie.
Another secret.
Another person who had disappeared.
Across the city, inside a hidden apartment…
A man watched the news report about Maya.
He smiled.
After twenty years…
The truth was finally approaching.
A scar crossed his face.
His eyes were cold.
And beside him was an old photograph.
A photograph of a young Thomas Blackwell.
Alive.
The man whispered:
“Arthur finally found her.”
A pause.
“Now he will find me.”
Because the dead brother who held the final secret…
Was coming back.
And when Thomas Blackwell returned…
May you like
The truth about Maya’s birth would finally be revealed.
TO BE CONTINUED…
