CHAPTER 7 — The DNA Test That Destroyed an Empire
Emma couldn't breathe.
"The real heir?" she whispered.
Her father, Michael Carter, slowly closed his eyes.
"I wanted to tell you years ago."
Richard laughed from the floor as officers handcuffed him.
"You were never his daughter."
The words hit Emma harder than the fall into the pool.
"No..." she whispered.
Michael grabbed her shoulders.
"Listen to me. I raised you. I loved you. Nothing will ever change that."
"But... is it true?"
Michael nodded with tears in his eyes.
"Twenty-seven years ago, your mother gave birth during a violent storm. Another woman delivered her baby in the same hospital only minutes later."
"There was a fire."
"Records were destroyed."
"And someone switched the babies."
Emma felt the room spinning.
"My entire life..."
"...was a lie."
Michael handed her a sealed envelope.
"I hired private investigators years ago."
Inside were DNA results.
Emma's hands shook as she unfolded the papers.
Probability of biological relationship: 0.00%.
Her knees nearly gave out.
Another page followed.
Biological parents identified.
Emma stared at the name.
Then everything made sense.
She wasn't the daughter of an ordinary family.
She was the only surviving heir of the legendary Harrington dynasty...
A family whose fortune was estimated at over four billion dollars.
Richard smiled through broken teeth.
"Now you understand why Daniel married you."
"It was never about fifty million."
"It was about inheriting everything."
Just then, dozens of black SUVs surrounded the lake house.
Luxury security vehicles.
A silver-haired woman stepped out first.
She looked directly at Emma.
Then she whispered the words that shattered the last piece of Emma's old life.
May you like
"My granddaughter..."
"We've been searching for you for twenty-seven years."
