CHAPTER FOUR: THE DNA VERDICT

The ballroom was in ruins.

Broken glass crunched beneath the shoes of terrified guests as security officers rushed from one corner to another.

Police sirens wailed outside.

Sophia stood frozen, still staring at the black playing card Damien held in his hand.

“The Crimson Crown…”

The name sent a chill through the room.

Damien slipped the card into his pocket.

His voice became calm again.

“I was hoping they hadn’t discovered you yet.”

Sophia looked at him, confused.

“You knew they would come?”

“I prayed they wouldn’t.”

Before she could ask another question—

Beep.

The DNA analyzer chimed.

Everyone turned.

The countdown had reached zero.

The technician swallowed nervously before lifting the tablet connected to the analyzer.

He stared at the screen.

His eyes widened.

“No…”

Another technician rushed over.

“What happened?”

The first technician slowly turned the screen toward Damien.

“Sir…”

“The result is positive.”

The ballroom fell silent.

“The probability of biological relationship is…”

He paused, unable to hide his amazement.

“99.9999%.”

“You are indeed…”

“Miss Sophia Amelia Kingsley.”

The words echoed through the hall like thunder.

For several seconds, no one spoke.

Then…

The reporters outside the ballroom, having learned of the shocking development, rushed toward the entrance.

Camera flashes exploded like lightning.

“The missing Kingsley heiress has been found!”

“This is the biggest news of the decade!”

“Move! Let us through!”

Security struggled to hold them back.

Sophia’s hands trembled.

“This… this can’t be real.”

Damien walked toward her and gently handed her another document.

“This is your parents’ will.”

She opened it.

At the bottom of the final page were two signatures.

Alexander Kingsley.

Isabella Kingsley.

Tears blurred her vision.

“I remember…”

She whispered.

“I’ve seen this handwriting before.”

A forgotten memory flashed through her mind.

A woman humming a lullaby.

A warm embrace.

A gold necklace shaped like a phoenix.

A man’s laughter.

Then…

Darkness.

Screaming.

Fire.

A pair of hands pulling her away.

Sophia gasped and nearly collapsed.

Damien caught her before she hit the floor.

“Easy.”

“Your memories are returning.”

Across the ballroom…

Ethan stood motionless.

“No…”

“This isn’t possible.”

His lawyer leaned toward him.

“Mr. Sterling…”

“If this is true…”

“You should know something.”

“What?”

“The Sterling Group’s largest investor is…”

He glanced nervously at Damien.

“Blackwood Global Holdings.”

Ethan frowned.

“So?”

The lawyer swallowed hard.

“If Mr. Blackwood withdraws his investment…”

“Our company could lose nearly half its market value within days.”

For the first time in years…

Fear entered Ethan’s eyes.

Vanessa refused to accept what was happening.

She snatched the DNA report from the technician.

“This is fake!”

“It has to be fake!”

She tore the papers into pieces and threw them into the air.

“You people are all liars!”

The ballroom became deathly quiet.

One of Damien’s senior legal advisers calmly stepped forward.

“You have just destroyed an official legal document.”

Vanessa laughed.

“So what?”

The lawyer smiled faintly.

“There are already twelve certified copies.”

Vanessa’s smile disappeared.

Damien turned to Sophia.

“Miss Kingsley…”

“Your family estate has been waiting for your return.”

“I’ve arranged everything.”

A chauffeur stepped inside.

“Sir.”

“The helicopter is ready.”

Sophia blinked.

“Helicopter?”

Damien nodded.

“The Kingsley Estate isn’t in this city.”

“It’s on a private island.”

Gasps rippled through the remaining guests.

“A private island?”

“How rich were the Kingsleys?”

No one answered.

As Sophia prepared to leave, Ethan suddenly stepped in front of her.

His voice was softer than before.

“Sophia…”

She looked at him without expression.

“I…”

For the first time since meeting him…

Ethan couldn’t find the words.

He remembered the countless nights she stayed awake helping him finish business proposals.

The meals she skipped so he could save money during the early years.

The way she believed in him when everyone else laughed.

Regret struck him like a knife.

“I’m sorry.”

Sophia remained silent.

Then she calmly removed the simple silver wedding ring from her finger.

She placed it in Ethan’s palm.

“You once said…”

“…you never wanted the right to call me your wife.”

She closed his fingers around the ring.

“Today…”

“You got exactly what you wanted.”

She walked past him without looking back.

Ethan turned to watch her leave.

Something inside him broke.

Outside…

The morning sun reflected off a sleek black helicopter waiting nearby.

Its door opened automatically.

Just as Sophia was about to step inside—

A little girl, no older than six, suddenly broke through the police barricade.

She ran straight toward Sophia.

“Big sister!”

Everyone stared.

Sophia frowned.

The child hugged her tightly.

“I finally found you…”

Before anyone could react, the little girl slipped a folded note into Sophia’s hand.

Then she whispered just four words.

“Don’t trust Damien Blackwood.”

The child disappeared into the crowd before security could stop her.

Sophia slowly unfolded the note.

Her face drained of color.

Written in elegant handwriting were the words:

“Your father didn’t die the day you were told… and the man beside you knows why.”

End of Chapter 4