CHAPTER 7 – The DNA That Changed Everything
Emily couldn't speak.
She looked from Richard...
...to Sarah...
...then to the elegant old man standing on the balcony.
"No..."
she whispered.
"That's impossible."
Richard felt his entire world collapsing.
"Sarah..."
"Tell me she's lying."
Sarah burst into tears.
"I wanted to tell you years ago."
"But I never had the chance."
The old man slowly descended the staircase, his polished shoes echoing across the marble floor.
"My name is Edward Blackwood."
"For thirty years, governments have searched for me."
"And for thirty years..."
"They never realized I was hiding in plain sight."
Every guard lowered their weapons as he walked past.
No one dared look him in the eyes.
Edward stopped in front of Emily.
"You inherited my blood."
"My intelligence."
"My empire."
"You belong with me."
Emily stepped backward.
"My father is Richard Hayes."
Edward smiled.
"Is he?"
He nodded toward one of his men.
The guard placed a sealed envelope on the table.
Inside...
Were three DNA reports.
The first proved Richard was not Emily's biological father.
The second confirmed Edward Blackwood was.
The third...
Made Sarah scream.
Richard stared at it in disbelief.
The newborn baby...
Wasn't Emily's biological daughter.
Silence swallowed the room.
Emily grabbed the report with trembling hands.
"This has to be fake!"
Edward calmly removed his glasses.
"I expected that reaction."
"So I arranged a second laboratory."
Another folder appeared.
The results were identical.
Emily slowly looked toward the baby sleeping peacefully in Richard's arms.
Tears streamed down her face.
"If she's not my daughter..."
"Then..."
"Where is my real baby?"
Edward's expression turned cold.
"Safe."
"For now."
Richard exploded with rage.
"You switched babies?"
Edward nodded without a trace of guilt.
"The child in your arms is innocent."
"But your real daughter..."
"...is the key to controlling everything I built."
Suddenly...
A loud voice echoed from outside.
"FBI! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"
Floodlights lit up the mansion.
Helicopters thundered overhead.
Armored vehicles surrounded every exit.
Victor laughed hysterically.
"They're too late."
Edward smiled even wider.
"No..."
"They're exactly on time."
He pressed a small silver remote hidden inside his pocket.
A deafening explosion shook the entire mansion.
The floor beneath everyone cracked apart.
Richard grabbed Sarah.
Emily reached for the baby.
But the ground gave way.
They all plunged into darkness.
When Richard finally opened his eyes...
He was alone.
The mansion was gone.
The others had disappeared.
On the concrete floor beside him was only a single photograph.
It showed two infant girls lying side by side in a hospital nursery twenty-three years earlier.
One was labeled:
EMILY HAYES
The other simply read:
SUBJECT ZERO
On the back of the photograph, someone had written six chilling words in fresh black ink:
"You saved the wrong child, Richard."
Richard's hands began to shake.
He realized the nightmare had never been about one stolen daughter.
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It had begun with two babies...
And only one of them was ever meant to survive.
