Chapter 1

As the last of the recording faded out, the banquet hall went so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

A few seconds later, whispers broke out from every corner of the room.

"A golden retriever's sample? What does that mean?"

"It means the baby isn't Mr. Danforth's. It's a dog's?"

"My God, this is better than a soap opera."

Luis Danforth's face flushed red, then went pale. The "ironclad proof" he'd been holding over his head a moment ago now looked like a hot coal in his hands.

Cathlene Richards was the first to recover, letting out a shriek.

"Layla, you're lying! You faked that recording! You're trying to hurt my baby!

"Luis, don't listen to her. She's just jealous of us. She wants to destroy us!"

Luis's mother, Marilyn Danforth, stormed onto the stage and jabbed a finger in my face.

"Layla, you vicious woman! That's our family's precious grandson, and you'd stoop this low to slander him! Someone tell me, is there a woman alive with a crueler heart than this?"

Luis's eyes were full of disgust and blame.

"Layla, haven't you caused enough of a scene? Apologize. Now."

Apologize?

"Mom, don't rush to judgment yet."

I picked up the remote and pointed it at the screen behind me.

It lit up instantly, displaying a Biological Sample Genetic Identification Report.

On the left was the DNA sequence from Cathlene's paternity report. On the right was the DNA sequence of my golden retriever, Lucky.

Beneath the two sequences, a line of bold red text spelled out the conclusion: Sample match rate 99.99 percent. Confirmed to be from the same individual.

At the very bottom of the report was Lucky's ID photo, tongue lolling out in his usual goofy grin.

The entire room fell dead silent.

Then someone, unable to hold it in, let out a snort of laughter.

Within seconds, the whole crowd was shaking with laughter they couldn't quite suppress.

"Mom, do you believe in science, or do you believe whatever comes out of her mouth?"

Marilyn's face went from red to purple. She looked like she wanted to sink straight through the floor.

Luis grabbed the now-swaying Cathlene and dragged her toward the backstage lounge. The door slammed shut behind them.

I already knew what would come next. Cathlene would sob and say, "Luis, I didn't mean to. I know the Heusons have power and connections, and I was afraid Layla would tamper with the results. I only did it to protect our baby."

The excuse was full of holes, but Luis would decide I was the one being unreasonable, the one who'd humiliated him and the entire Danforth family in front of everyone.

Sure enough, within minutes his voice roared out from backstage. "Layla! Get over here!"

I stood on the stage, looking out at all the eyes eager for a show, and raised the microphone.

"Everyone, thank you for coming to celebrate my son's first birthday.

"While I have you all here, I'd also like you to witness something.

"I, Layla Heuson, am done with Luis Danforth, starting today. We go our separate ways, and we owe each other nothing."