Chapter 5: The DNA Test Nobody Was Meant to See
Harrison Black couldn't breathe.
The photograph slipped from his fingers and landed face-up on the polished office floor.
"The boy isn't your only son, Harrison."
Eight words.
Eight words powerful enough to destroy everything he believed about his past.
Ethan slowly picked up the photo.
His small voice broke the silence.
"I told Mom they would find us one day."
Harrison looked at him.
"What did she mean... 'your only son'?"
Ethan lowered his eyes.
"I don't know."
"But Mom cried every time she looked at another picture."
"What picture?"
"The one she never let me touch."
Before Harrison could ask another question, his phone rang.
Private Number.
He answered immediately.
"Who is this?"
Only silence.
Then...
A little boy's voice.
"Dad..."
The call ended.
Harrison stood frozen.
His heart pounded so violently it hurt.
That voice...
It sounded almost exactly like Ethan.
Except...
Older.
His phone vibrated again.
A text message appeared.
CHECK YOUR SAFE.
Harrison frowned.
Nobody knew about the hidden biometric safe behind the painting in his office.
Nobody...
Except Nathan.
He rushed to the wall, pressed his thumb against the scanner, and the painting slid aside.
The safe door unlocked with a soft click.
Inside should have been stock certificates...
Private contracts...
Family heirlooms...
Instead...
There was only one plain white envelope.
Across the front, someone had written:
FOR HARRISON ONLY
His hands shook as he opened it.
Inside was a DNA laboratory report.
He stared at the first page.
Then the second.
Then the final conclusion.
His knees nearly gave out.
Probability of paternity: 99.9999%
Father:
Harrison Black
Child:
Ethan Hayes
Harrison looked toward the boy.
Tears filled his eyes.
Without thinking, he dropped to one knee.
"Ethan..."
"I'm your father."
The little boy didn't smile.
He didn't cry.
He simply asked the question he'd carried his entire life.
"Then..."
"...why didn't you come for me?"
Harrison had no answer.
Every year.
Every birthday.
Every Christmas.
He had believed his wife and unborn child were gone forever.
Someone had stolen eight years from both of them.
And now...
He knew exactly who had benefited.
Nathan Black.
His own brother.
Suddenly—
The office television turned on by itself.
Static.
Then a live video feed appeared.
A luxury penthouse.
A woman tied to a chair.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
But alive.
"Eleanor..." Harrison whispered.
She slowly lifted her head.
The camera zoomed in on her tear-filled eyes.
"Harrison..."
"If you're seeing this..."
"...it's already too late."
A masked man stepped into the frame.
He rested a pistol against Eleanor's temple.
"Listen carefully, Mr. Black."
"You have twenty-four hours."
"Bring the flash drive."
"Bring the boy."
"And come alone."
"If you call the police..."
"...your wife dies."
The screen went black.
Ethan collapsed into Harrison's arms, sobbing for the first time.
"Please..."
"Save Mom."
Harrison held his son tightly.
For years, he had ruled boardrooms.
Built an empire.
Defeated billionaires.
But none of that mattered now.
Because this was no longer a fight for money.
It was a fight for his family.
He slowly reached into the bottom drawer of his desk.
Hidden beneath stacks of documents was something he had sworn never to touch again.
A black leather case.
Inside...
A customized Glock pistol.
His old military service badge.
And a faded photograph of himself and Nathan as children.
Harrison closed the case.
His expression became colder than anyone in the room had ever seen.
He whispered just one sentence.
"If my brother started this war..."
"...I'll be the one to finish it."
Outside the office window...
On the rooftop of the building across the street...
A sniper adjusted his scope.
The red laser settled directly...
May you like
On Ethan's forehead.
End of Chapter 5...
