CHAPTER 13 — THE DNA TEST THAT EXPOSED THE REAL FATHER
The ambulance sirens grew louder outside the old Rivera estate.
Laura stood motionless in front of the hidden compartment, her mother's letter trembling between her fingers.
Behind her, Adrian said nothing.
Neither did Dr. Bell.
Reed was kneeling beside Laura's father, pressing a folded piece of cloth against his shoulder wound.
Laura read the sentence again.
The man who claims to be your biological father may not be the man you think he is.
Her heart pounded.
She turned slowly.
“Adrian.”
He didn't answer.
“You told me you were my father.”
“I believed I was.”
“That's not what you said.”
His eyes filled with pain.
“I said what I thought was true.”
“You knew there was a possibility you weren't.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your mother never knew either.”
Laura stared.
“Then why did you come here tonight?”
“To stop you from making the same mistake she made.”
“What mistake?”
“Trusting a DNA record that was designed to lie.”
Laura looked at the USB.
“So this is the real record?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were you afraid of it?”
Adrian hesitated.
“Because it doesn't only identify your father.”
He looked at her stomach.
“It identifies your baby's.”
Laura instinctively covered her belly.
“What does that mean?”
“It means the truth about you and the truth about your child are connected.”
The ambulance doors opened outside.
Paramedics rushed into the house.
Laura's father was placed on a stretcher.
Before they carried him away, he grabbed Laura's hand.
“Don't trust anyone.”
Laura's eyes filled with tears.
“Dad…”
“Not even me.”
She froze.
Then he was gone.
The ambulance doors slammed shut.
The siren disappeared into the night.
Laura remained standing in the hallway.
For the first time in her life, she was completely alone.
Adrian approached carefully.
“Laura.”
She stepped back.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“I understand.”
“No, you don't.”
She held up the letter.
“My mother warned me about you.”
Adrian's face tightened.
“She warned you not to trust me.”
“Yes.”
“Then you should listen.”
Laura frowned.
“What?”
“If she wrote that, there was a reason.”
“You're admitting you lied?”
“No.”
“Then what are you saying?”
Adrian looked at the USB.
“I'm saying your mother was afraid of me.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew what I was capable of.”
Laura's heart raced.
“What did you do?”
Adrian's expression became hollow.
“I helped create the original genetic program.”
Laura stared.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“You worked with Evelyn.”
“Once.”
“How long?”
“Six years.”
“Why?”
“Because I believed we were developing treatments.”
“And then?”
“I discovered what she was really doing.”
“Using children.”
“Yes.”
“And me.”
“Yes.”
Laura's voice hardened.
“You helped create the program that turned me into a subject.”
“I tried to stop it.”
“Too late.”
“Yes.”
Reed returned from the driveway.
“The ambulance is gone.”
Laura nodded.
“Did you see Richard?”
“No.”
“Evelyn?”
“No.”
“Diego?”
Reed shook his head.
“None of them.”
Laura looked at the USB.
“Then we need to know what's on this.”
Reed nodded.
“There's an old computer in the study.”
They moved into the room.
Dust covered the desk.
A massive wooden cabinet stood against the wall.
Reed found an old laptop.
The battery was dead.
He connected it to a portable power source.
The screen flickered.
Laura inserted the USB.
A password prompt appeared.
ENTER ACCESS CODE.
Laura frowned.
“What code?”
Adrian looked at the screen.
“Your birthday.”
She tried it.
Denied.
Her mother's birthday.
Denied.
Her wedding date.
Denied.
Laura stared at the screen.
“Nothing works.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Try the date you were registered.”
Laura entered the date.
The screen unlocked.
Reed looked at her.
“How did you know that?”
“I didn't.”
The first file opened automatically.
A title appeared:
PROJECT LARK — SUBJECT 001
Laura's blood ran cold.
“Subject 001?”
Adrian nodded.
“You.”
The screen filled with medical photographs.
A newborn baby.
A tiny wrist.
A hospital bracelet.
Then a genetic chart.
Laura covered her mouth.
“That's me.”
Adrian nodded.
“Your mother stole the original file before Evelyn could destroy it.”
Laura scrolled.
There were hundreds of pages.
Clinical notes.
Blood samples.
DNA sequencing.
Financial transfers.
Names.
Dates.
Then she saw one entry.
PATERNAL CONTRIBUTION: UNVERIFIED.
Laura froze.
“Unverified.”
“Yes.”
“So you weren't listed as my father.”
“No.”
“Who was?”
Adrian stared at the screen.
“I don't know.”
Laura turned toward him.
“Then why did you tell me you were my father?”
“Because your mother told me.”
“She could have been wrong.”
“Yes.”
“Or she could have lied.”
Adrian's face tightened.
“Yes.”
Laura felt a terrible realization.
“Then my entire identity is still unknown.”
Reed looked at the screen.
“Maybe not.”
He pointed.
A second file had opened.
PATERNITY ANALYSIS — RESTRICTED
Laura clicked it.
The report contained three genetic profiles.
SUBJECT 001 — LAURA
MALE A — ADRIAN RIVERA
MALE B — UNKNOWN
Laura stared.
“Male B.”
Adrian whispered:
“That's the man your mother was protecting.”
“Who?”
The screen showed a partial name.
GABR—
The rest was corrupted.
Laura's heart stopped.
“Gabriel?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
“I don't know.”
Reed examined the metadata.
“This file was modified recently.”
Laura looked at him.
“How recently?”
“Three days ago.”
Her blood ran cold.
“Someone accessed this.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Reed looked at the computer.
“Whoever did it used a private administrator account.”
Laura whispered:
“Evelyn.”
“No.”
Reed shook his head.
“Different credentials.”
“Richard?”
“Not him.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Then who?”
Reed stared at the screen.
“I recognize the access signature.”
Laura's heart pounded.
“Whose?”
Reed slowly looked at Adrian.
“Yours.”
Silence.
Laura turned toward Adrian.
“You accessed this file three days ago.”
Adrian's face went pale.
“I didn't.”
“Your credentials say you did.”
“I haven't been inside this house in twenty-eight years.”
Reed shook his head.
“Then someone has your credentials.”
Laura stared at Adrian.
“Who?”
He whispered:
“Only one person.”
“Who?”
“Gabriel.”
Laura felt dizzy.
“Gabriel is alive.”
“Yes.”
“And he has your credentials.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Her phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
STOP LOOKING FOR YOUR FATHER.
Another message.
LOOK FOR YOUR HUSBAND.
Laura stared at the screen.
“Diego?”
Reed looked over her shoulder.
“Who sent it?”
“Unknown.”
Adrian frowned.
“That's not Diego.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Diego wouldn't tell you to stop looking for your father.”
Laura looked at him.
“Then who would?”
Adrian didn't answer.
The laptop suddenly chimed.
A new file appeared.
DIEGO RIVERA — ORIGINAL ADOPTION RECORD
Laura clicked it.
The document opened.
Her eyes widened.
Diego's adoption date.
His biological mother's name.
His biological father's name.
And beneath them—
a note.
TRANSFER AUTHORIZED BY: RICHARD MASON
Laura whispered:
“Richard.”
Reed nodded.
“That's the missing link.”
Laura scrolled further.
The adoption had been arranged when Diego was fourteen.
But there was another document.
PAYMENT AUTHORIZATION
Amount:
$2,400,000
Recipient:
VICTOR HALE
Laura stared.
“Two point four million dollars.”
Adrian nodded.
“That's why Victor kept quiet.”
“But why would Richard pay him?”
“To give up Diego.”
Laura frowned.
“Why?”
Adrian looked at the screen.
“Because Diego wasn't supposed to be a Rivera.”
“Then why adopt him?”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“To create a fake heir.”
Laura finally understood.
Diego had never been chosen because he was family.
He had been chosen because he wasn't.
He could be controlled.
Manipulated.
Removed.
And blamed.
Laura scrolled again.
Then she saw something that made her stop.
MARRIAGE ARRANGEMENT — LAURA RIVERA / DIEGO HALE
Date:
Seven years before wedding.
Her hands began shaking.
The agreement included:
financial compensation,
medical monitoring,
confidentiality,
marital surveillance,
and one final clause.
If Laura produces a biological heir, custody shall be contested immediately.
Laura stared.
“They planned this.”
Adrian nodded.
“Years before you met him.”
“But why would Richard want custody?”
“Because the child would activate the trust.”
Laura looked at the next page.
There was another name.
TRUST BENEFICIARY: RICHARD MASON
Her blood ran cold.
Richard wasn't trying to protect the Rivera family.
He was trying to inherit it.
Adrian's face darkened.
“He wanted control of the research company.”
“What company?”
“Rivera Biogenetics.”
Laura frowned.
“I thought it belonged to the foundation.”
“It did.”
“Then?”
“Richard created a shell corporation.”
Laura looked at the screen.
MASON GENETICS HOLDINGS
The company owned several laboratories.
Including the laboratory that processed her pregnancy tests.
Laura whispered:
“He controlled the lab.”
“Yes.”
“He could alter my records.”
“Yes.”
“He could manipulate the DNA test.”
“Yes.”
“And the medical records.”
“Yes.”
Laura closed her eyes.
Everything connected.
The vasectomy.
The pregnancy.
The false infertility diagnosis.
The manipulated DNA report.
The divorce.
The custody case.
The trust.
All of it led to one person.
Richard Mason.
But then Laura saw another payment.
Her face changed.
PAYMENT TO: EMILY RIVERA
Her own name.
She froze.
“Why would Richard pay me?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“That's impossible.”
The payment date was eight years earlier.
Three months before her wedding.
Amount:
$500,000
Description:
INITIAL SUCCESS FEE — SUBJECT MARRIAGE
Laura's stomach turned.
She stared at her father.
“You received money too.”
He didn't answer.
“Dad.”
He looked away.
“How much?”
He whispered:
“Two hundred thousand.”
Laura felt betrayed all over again.
“You took money.”
“Yes.”
“To arrange my marriage.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“You sold me.”
“No.”
“You sold my life.”
“I thought it was the only way.”
Laura shook her head.
“You keep saying that.”
Her father had no answer.
Suddenly, the laptop screen flickered.
The video player opened by itself.
A recording began.
Laura's mother appeared on the screen.
Older.
Tired.
Pregnant.
Laura stopped breathing.
Her mother looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this…”
She paused.
“…then I'm dead.”
Laura's eyes filled with tears.
Her mother continued.
“Laura, there is something I never told you.”
She looked frightened.
“Your father is not the man you think he is.”
Laura stared.
Her mother continued:
“Not your biological father.”
Laura's heart stopped.
“I don't know which man fathered you.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Laura watched the recording.
“But I know who your father was supposed to be.”
The screen glitched.
Then her mother said:
“Richard.”
Laura froze.
“What?”
Her mother continued.
“Richard Mason was the man Evelyn wanted me to marry.”
Laura's breathing stopped.
“He wasn't just Evelyn's lawyer.”
“He was part of the family.”
“He was supposed to become the father of my child.”
Laura stared at the screen.
“But I refused.”
Her mother touched her stomach.
“And when I discovered I was pregnant…”
The video suddenly cut.
Laura gasped.
“No.”
Reed tried to restart it.
Nothing.
The file was corrupted.
Laura turned toward Adrian.
“Richard wanted my mother.”
Adrian nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then why did she marry you?”
Adrian's face tightened.
“She didn't.”
Laura froze.
“What?”
“She married your father.”
“Who?”
Adrian looked at the screen.
“Richard.”
Laura's blood turned to ice.
“Then how could you be involved?”
“I wasn't.”
“Then why are you here?”
Adrian's eyes filled with tears.
“Because your mother contacted me after she discovered Richard's plan.”
Laura stared.
“What plan?”
“To take her baby.”
The laptop suddenly beeped.
A new file appeared.
PROJECT LARK — FINAL PATERNITY MATCH
Laura clicked it.
The report loaded.
Three names.
LAURA RIVERA
RICHARD MASON
ADRIAN RIVERA
Then the result.
PATERNITY PROBABILITY: RICHARD MASON — 99.97%
Laura stopped breathing.
Reed whispered:
“Oh my God.”
Adrian stepped backward.
“No.”
Laura stared at the screen.
Richard Mason.
The man who had engineered her marriage.
The man who had manipulated her medical records.
The man who had tried to take her unborn child.
Was apparently—
her biological father.
Laura's entire world shattered.
Then another line appeared.
MATERNAL MATCH: CONFIRMED — EMILY RIVERA
Laura stared.
Her mother.
That part was certain.
But then a final warning appeared.
WARNING: DATABASE CONTAMINATION DETECTED.
Laura frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Reed leaned closer.
“It means the report may have been altered.”
Laura looked at Adrian.
“Then we still don't know.”
“No.”
She turned back to the screen.
“But someone wants me to believe Richard is my father.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian whispered:
“To make you hate him.”
Laura's eyes narrowed.
“And if I hate him?”
“He becomes easier to destroy.”
“Who wants Richard destroyed?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Then the phone rang.
Laura looked down.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“Laura.”
She froze.
“Who is this?”
“I think you know.”
“Gabriel?”
“No.”
The voice laughed softly.
“You've been looking for the wrong Rivera.”
Laura's blood ran cold.
“Then who are you?”
A pause.
Then:
“The man who arranged your marriage.”
Laura's heart stopped.
“Richard?”
“No.”
The man whispered:
“Your father.”
The call ended.
Laura stared at the phone.
Her father was standing directly in front of her.
Adrian was beside the window.
And behind them, her mother's old video continued playing silently.
Laura looked at her father.
“Did you arrange my marriage?”
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
“Did you?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Laura's face went pale.
“Why?”
He whispered:
“Because I was ordered to.”
“By whom?”
He looked toward the dark hallway.
Then he said the words that would change everything:
“By your mother.”
Laura froze.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“Why would she order you to marry me to Diego?”
Her father closed his eyes.
“Because she knew Diego wasn't the real danger.”
“Then who was?”
He looked directly at Laura.
“Your unborn child's father.”
Laura's blood ran cold.
She instinctively covered her stomach.
“Who?”
Her father whispered:
“We don't know.”
A sound came from the front door.
Knock.
Everyone froze.
Three slow knocks.
Then a man's voice came from outside.
“Laura.”
She recognized it immediately.
Diego.
But there was something different in his voice.
No anger.
No arrogance.
Only fear.
“Open the door.”
Laura didn't move.
Diego spoke again.
“I know who the real father is.”
Silence.
Then:
“And if you don't let me in…”
May you like
He paused.
“They'll kill him before you ever meet him.”
