Chapter 4

Luis's pride lay in pieces.

To prove he'd been right all along, he needed one more piece of "ironclad proof" to nail me to the wall of shame.

At the Danforth family estate, I sat on the couch across from Luis. Beside him sat Cathlene, holding her baby, and next to her sat my mother-in-law.

"Layla, this time, I drew the sample from the baby myself. I personally delivered it to the lab and watched every step of the process. The results are in. You have no choice but to accept him."

The moment he finished speaking, Cathlene started sobbing quietly.

"Layla, I know you hate me, but the baby is innocent..."

My mother-in-law let out a cold snort.

"Layla, don't push your luck. Either you accept this child, or you get out of the Danforth family, and you won't be taking the one you gave birth to with you either."

I picked up the tea beside me and blew gently at the leaves floating on top.

"What's the rush? Why don't we open the report first?"

My calm unsettled Luis.

He tore open the envelope and pulled out the pages inside.

"Open your eyes and look closely..."

The words died in his throat. Every trace of smugness drained from his face.

His eyes stayed locked on the conclusion at the bottom of the last page.

[Testing confirms that Mr. Luis Danforth can be excluded as the biological father of the male infant in question.]

"That's impossible!"

Cathlene's voice turned shrill.

"This has to be fake! Layla, it was you! You tampered with it!"

Luis whipped his head around and grabbed Cathlene by the throat.

"Talk! What is going on here? Whose child is this, really?"

Cathlene's face flushed red as she choked, kicking and flailing.

I walked over to stand in front of them.

"Luis, did you forget something? After the birthday banquet, you fired the housekeeper who cleaned your study, citing 'hygiene concerns.' The one Cathlene had bribed."

Luis's grip on Cathlene's throat loosened. He looked at me, confused.

Cathlene's face, on the other hand, had gone ash white.

"After you fired her, I brought in a professional team. Every item in your study, your bedroom, and your bathroom that could have carried a trace of your DNA was quietly swapped out and destroyed.

"The toothbrush you threw away every day, the cup you'd used, the loose hairs on your comb, even skin flakes you never noticed.

"So, Luis, did you really think handling the sample yourself this time made it foolproof?

"Cathlene, you went to all that trouble trying to swap the sample again, but what you got your hands on was never his DNA to begin with.

"Whose bastard are you actually carrying, that you're trying to pass off as a Danforth?"