Chapter 2 - THE DNA TEST THAT SHATTERED THE EMPIRE — A Match of Blood and Betrayal
Billy stood ground, his mind racing. Bio-tags? Medical facility? What had Mercer Global been doing to these children?
"I don't know what you're talking about," Billy lied, keeping his eyes locked on Richard's. "I'm a retired teacher, Richard. I don't keep track of your runaway assets."
Richard sighed, a theatrical sound of disappointment. He gestured to one of his guards, who stepped inside, carrying a sleek, metallic briefcase. The guard popped the latches, revealing a portable rapid-sequencing DNA scanner.
"Let's not play games," Richard said. "We found trace skin cells and hair follicles in the box outside. We know they were there. And we know they are in this house. But more importantly, William... do you know who those girls are?"
Billy stayed silent, but his eyes darted toward the dark hallway.
"Five years ago, before your unfortunate... health crisis," Richard continued, pacing the room, "you deposited a highly secure biological sample at our Swiss repository. You wanted to ensure the Mercer lineage survived in case your illness took you. After you 'died' and vanished, the board authorized the use of that genetic material. We needed a direct heir to unlock the family's triple-encrypted Swiss trust—a trust worth forty billion dollars, which can only be accessed by a biological match of the founding line."
The air left Billy's lungs.
"You cloned me?" Billy whispered, horror washing over him.
"Not you," Richard smiled, a grotesque, triumphant grin. "We used your genetic material, yes, but we crossed it with the DNA of your late wife, Eleanor. Those girls aren't random orphans, William. They are your biological daughters. Born in a lab, raised under surveillance, designed for one purpose: to sign over the Mercer trust to the board on their sixth birthday."
Billy’s world spun. Maisie and Tessa. They weren't just abandoned children. They were his flesh and blood. His daughters. The daughters he and Eleanor had dreamed of having before she died in a tragic car accident ten years ago.
"But something went wrong," Richard said, his tone turning dark. "A rogue scientist decided to 'save' them. He smuggled them out of the lab, ran, and ended up dead in a ditch two miles from here. He left them in that box, hoping they would freeze to death so we couldn't use them. But they survived. And of all the houses, of all the streets in this miserable town... they ended up in your hands. Destiny is a funny thing, isn't it?"
From the hallway, a small gasp shattered the silence.
The guard with the briefcase immediately drew a silenced pistol from his holster, pointing it toward the kitchen.
"No!" Billy lunged forward, grabbing the guard's wrist and slamming it against the doorframe. The gun fired, the silenced pfft burying a bullet into the drywall.
Despite his supposed health issues, Billy’s old military training kicked in. He swept the guard's legs, sending the massive man crashing to the floor. Billy grabbed the discarded pistol, rolling to his feet, and aimed it directly at Richard Vance’s chest.
"Get out of my house," Billy growled, his voice trembling with raw, fatherly fury. "Get out before I put a bullet through your expensive coat."
Richard didn't flinch. He simply raised his hands, a mock gesture of surrender.
"You can shoot me, William. But my men outside have orders. If I don't walk out of this door in two minutes, they burn this house to the ground with everyone inside it."
Suddenly, Maisie stepped out from the shadows of the hallway. She was holding Tessa's hand tightly. Tessa was crying silently, but Maisie’s eyes were cold, fixed on Richard.
"We aren't going with you," Maisie said, her voice impossibly strong for a five-year-old. "You're the man from the white room. You hurt people."
Richard looked at Maisie, then at Billy, who stood between them with a gun.
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"You have twenty-four hours, William," Richard said softly, backing toward the front door. "Enjoy your reunion. Tomorrow, the Mercer estate belongs to us, one way or another. And if we have to kill you and take their bodies to do it, we will."
Richard opened the door, stepped out into the freezing night, and closed it behind him. A moment later, the limousine roared to life and sped away into the blizzard, leaving Billy alone with his daughters.
