CHAPTER 4 – The DNA That Changed Everything
Emma could barely breathe as she unfolded the brittle letter.
Her mother's handwriting was unmistakable.
Every curve of every word carried memories of bedtime stories and birthday cards she had treasured for years.
But the message inside destroyed everything she believed about her family.
Emma, if this letter ever reaches you, it means the people who spent decades hiding the truth have finally failed. Trust no one who tells you your father abandoned us. He didn't. He was forced away...
Her vision blurred.
Forced away?
Her father had supposedly died before she was born.
That was the story her mother had repeated throughout her childhood.
Ethan quietly slid another folder across the table.
Inside was an old newspaper clipping.
A photograph.
Three young medical researchers standing together outside a university laboratory.
Emma immediately recognized her mother.
Standing beside her...
...was Ethan's father.
And next to them stood another man.
Emma froze.
"I know him."
Ethan looked up.
"You do?"
"He was at my mother's funeral."
"He told everyone he was her cousin."
Ethan's expression darkened.
"He wasn't her cousin."
"He was my father's business partner."
Silence filled the room.
At that exact moment, Ethan's head of security rushed inside.
"Sir."
"We have a problem."
Everyone stood.
"Our forensic lab finished comparing Emma's DNA."
Emma frowned.
"What DNA?"
"The hair left on Mr. Blackwood's coat after you hugged him."
She stared in confusion.
The security chief swallowed hard.
"It wasn't supposed to happen."
"But the lab automatically compared unknown DNA against our protected database."
Ethan slowly looked toward Emma.
"What did they find?"
The answer chilled the room.
"A forty-nine-point-eight percent genetic match..."
The guard hesitated.
"...to someone already in the Blackwood family."
Emma's knees nearly gave out.
"There has to be a mistake."
The security chief shook his head.
"There wasn't."
Someone inside the Blackwood family...
...was biologically related to Emma.
And nobody knew why.
Hours later...
Across the city...
A silver-haired man watched the laboratory report burn inside a fireplace.
May you like
He whispered only six words before walking away.
"She should have died first."
