CHAPTER 8 — "One DNA Test Ended a War That Had Lasted Three Generations."
The media exploded once news of Benjamin's claim leaked.
Financial markets reacted instantly.
Shares connected to Lawrence & Co. dropped.
Investors feared years of legal battles.
Commentators debated one question:
Was Benjamin Cross actually a Lawrence?
Victoria refused every interview.
Instead, she met privately with the company's legal team.
"If he's telling the truth," one attorney said carefully,
"the courts could freeze portions of the family trust until ownership questions are resolved."
Victoria stared through the window.
"I don't care about the money."
The lawyers looked surprised.
"I care about the truth."
Forty-eight hours later...
Victoria personally requested an independent DNA examination.
Benjamin accepted immediately.
"I've waited forty years for this."
The testing process was supervised by federal authorities, attorneys from both sides, and court-appointed genetic experts.
Neither family could influence the results.
Seven days later...
Everyone gathered inside a Manhattan federal courtroom.
Journalists filled every seat.
Television cameras waited outside.
The lead geneticist entered carrying a sealed envelope.
No one breathed.
The judge opened the report.
He adjusted his glasses.
Then slowly looked toward Benjamin.
"The results confirm..."
Benjamin closed his eyes.
"...that you are biologically related to the Lawrence family."
Gasps echoed throughout the courtroom.
But the judge continued.
"You are not..."
Benjamin's eyes opened.
"...the son of Edward Lawrence."
Silence.
The courtroom became so quiet that reporters stopped typing.
The judge continued reading.
"You are Edward Lawrence's nephew."
Benjamin frowned.
"What?"
The geneticist explained.
"Your biological father was Edward's younger brother, Samuel Lawrence."
Victoria stared in disbelief.
Samuel.
The adventurous younger brother who had disappeared overseas before Victoria was born.
The man the family believed had died without children.
Benjamin collapsed into his chair.
Everything he had believed for decades...
Was wrong.
He wasn't the forgotten son.
He was the forgotten nephew.
Edward had never stolen his inheritance.
He had never even known Benjamin existed.
Benjamin whispered to himself,
"My mother lied..."
May you like
Forty years of hatred...
Built upon a single lie.
