CHAPTER 6 — The DNA That Changed Everything
The chairman suddenly ripped the watch from his wrist and threw it toward the window.
It never made it.
A federal agent caught it in midair.
The room exploded into chaos.
Daniel watched in disbelief as forensic technicians carefully opened the watch's hidden compartment.
Inside was something no one expected.
Not money.
Not diamonds.
A tiny piece of dried fabric.
Dark brown stains still marked its edges.
One technician whispered,
"It appears to be human blood."
The chairman collapsed into his chair.
For the first time, he said nothing.
Hours later...
The DNA results arrived faster than anyone imagined because Sterling Global owned one of the country's most advanced forensic laboratories.
The lead investigator walked back into the boardroom holding a single envelope.
Daniel's hands trembled as it was opened.
The room became deathly quiet.
"The blood belongs to..."
Everyone leaned forward.
"...Richard Sterling."
Daniel's late father.
A wave of horror swept across the executives.
But the investigator wasn't finished.
"There is a second DNA profile."
Daniel looked up.
"A second person?"
The investigator nodded slowly.
"It belongs to..."
He turned toward the homeless old man.
"...you."
The room froze.
Daniel stared at him in disbelief.
His voice barely escaped his lips.
"How is that possible?"
The old man closed his eyes, tears streaming down his weathered face.
Then he whispered the truth he had buried for twenty-five years.
"I wasn't just your father's bodyguard..."
A long silence filled the room.
Finally, he looked directly into Daniel's eyes.
"I was the man who raised you during the first three years of your life..."
"...because your real father knew he would soon be hunted."
Daniel's world shattered.
Everything he had believed about his childhood was a lie.
And then, just as no one thought the day could become more unbelievable...
One of the federal agents received an urgent phone call.
He looked up, stunned.
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"They've found a hidden underground room beneath the chairman's old warehouse..."
"...and there's evidence someone may have been kept alive there for months."
