Chapter 19: The DNA Report

The rain had stopped shortly before midnight.

Nakuru lay beneath a blanket of darkness, its streets glistening under streetlights and passing headlights.

Inside Alison's office, nobody was thinking about sleep.

Not after the photographs.

Not after the threat.

Not after Joel Aliet's death.

Patricia sat motionless on the couch, staring at the images of Glen and Faith.

The pictures had been taken only hours earlier.

Someone had followed them.

Someone had watched them.

Someone knew where they studied.

For the first time since this nightmare began, Patricia wasn't thinking about Obadiah.

Or Rose.

Or Fiona.

Or the flash drive.

She was thinking about her children.

Her babies.

And that terrified her more than anything else.

A soft knock interrupted the silence.

Alison immediately tensed.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

Both women recognized the voice.

Obadiah Waore.

Alison walked cautiously to the door and checked through the security camera.

The billionaire stood alone.

No bodyguards.

No driver.

No assistants.

Just an old man carrying a sealed envelope.

Alison opened the door.

"What are you doing here?"

Obadiah stepped inside.

His face looked pale.

Exhausted.

Almost shaken.

Patricia noticed immediately.

Something had happened.

Something significant.

The billionaire's eyes landed on her.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then he slowly raised the envelope.

"The DNA results are back."

The room fell silent.

Every heartbeat seemed amplified.

Patricia slowly stood.

Suddenly unable to breathe.

This was it.

The answer.

The truth.

Or another lie.

Obadiah handed her the envelope.

His hands were trembling.

Patricia noticed.

So did Alison.

Whatever was inside had affected him deeply.

Very deeply.

"Open it," he said quietly.

Patricia stared at the envelope.

Then at Obadiah.

Then back at the envelope.

Finally, she opened it.

The report contained several pages.

Scientific data.

Laboratory findings.

Genetic markers.

Information she barely understood.

Her eyes moved to the conclusion section.

Then stopped.

Her heart stopped with them.

She read it once.

Then twice.

Then a third time.

The words remained unchanged.

Probability of paternity: 99.998%.

Patricia looked up.

Confused.

Terrified.

"What does this mean?"

Nobody answered immediately.

Finally, Alison took the report.

Her eyes widened.

Then widened further.

"Oh! my God."

Patricia felt her stomach drop.

"What?"

Alison looked at Obadiah.

Then back at Patricia.

Then she whispered:

"It means he's not your grandfather."

The room became deathly silent.

Patricia's pulse exploded.

"What?"

The lawyer swallowed.

Then spoke the words that shattered the world.

"Obadiah Waore is your biological father."

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Nobody spoke.

The revelation hung in the room like a bomb waiting to explode.

Patricia stared at the billionaire.

The billionaire stared at her.

Father.

Daughter.

The words felt unreal.

Impossible.

Twenty-six years of life suddenly stood on unstable ground.

"No."

Patricia shook her head.

"No."

Her voice cracked.

"That's impossible."

Obadiah closed his eyes.

"I know."

"You said Rose was your daughter."

"Because that's what I believed."

Patricia stepped backward.

The room suddenly felt too small.

Too crowded.

Too hot.

"Explain."

The word emerged like a demand.

Not a request.

An order.

Obadiah sat slowly.

For a moment, he looked every bit his age.

Not a billionaire.

Not a powerful businessman.

Just a tired old man haunted by the past.

"Twenty-seven years ago, I made a terrible mistake."

Far across town, Fiona Lawama was receiving another phone call.

The moment she answered, she knew something was wrong.

The caller sounded terrified.

"He's escaped."

Fiona's expression darkened.

"Who?"

"Alex."

Silence.

Then:

"What do you mean he's escaped?"

"We lost him."

The line went quiet.

Dangerously quiet.

Because everyone involved knew what that meant.

Alex knew too much.

Far too much.

And if he reached Patricia before they did...

Everything would collapse.

Back inside Alison's office, Obadiah continued.

"I was married."

Patricia listened.

Barely.

Her entire body felt numb.

"My wife and I were having problems."

He laughed bitterly.

"More problems than either of us admitted."

The old man looked toward the window.

Toward the dark Nakuru skyline.

"Then I met a woman."

Patricia's heartbeat quickened.

The pieces were beginning to move.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

"What woman?"

Obadiah's expression softened.

A mixture of pain and regret.

"Her name was Grace Akinyi."

The name meant nothing to Patricia.

Yet somehow it felt important.

Very important.

"I loved her."

The confession surprised everyone.

"I truly loved her."

The billionaire's voice cracked slightly.

"But I was a coward."

Patricia remained silent.

"I promised her many things."

His eyes darkened.

"Promises I never kept."

A terrible feeling settled over the room.

Because Patricia already suspected where this story was heading.

Then Obadiah confirmed it.

"Grace became pregnant."

The room froze.

Patricia's hands clenched.

"And the child?"

Obadiah slowly looked at her.

Directly at her.

The answer didn't need words.

At the same moment, several kilometers away, Glen Midila sat awake in bed.

Sleep refused to come.

The twelve-year-old had spent the evening pretending everything was normal.

Pretending he hadn't noticed his mother's fear.

Pretending he hadn't seen the strange men near the school gate.

Pretending he hadn't overheard conversations about hospitals and shootings.

But children noticed more than adults realized.

Much more.

He quietly got out of bed.

Walked to the window.

And froze.

A black SUV sat across the road.

Its lights were off.

Its windows heavily tinted.

The same SUV he had noticed near school.

The same one.

His pulse quickened.

Then the rear window slowly lowered.

A man inside raised a camera.

And pointed it directly at the house.

Glen's blood ran cold.

Because suddenly he understood.

Someone was watching them.

Back at Alison's office, Patricia struggled to remain standing.

"You knew?"

The question came out barely above a whisper.

Obadiah lowered his head.

"No."

Patricia laughed bitterly.

The sound surprised even her.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I didn't know."

The old man looked genuinely devastated.

"When Grace disappeared, I searched for her."

His voice shook.

"For years."

Patricia stared at him.

Trying to determine whether he was lying.

She couldn't.

"I was told she died."

The billionaire swallowed.

"Then I was told the baby died too."

Silence.

Painful silence.

"And Rose?"

Patricia finally asked.

Obadiah's expression changed immediately.

Fear.

For the first time, actual fear.

The reaction didn't go unnoticed.

"What about Rose?"

The old billionaire looked directly into her eyes.

Then spoke the words that made everyone in the room go cold.

"Rose was never my daughter."

Patricia froze.

Alison froze.

The entire room froze.

Because once again, everything they believed had been wrong.

And somewhere in Nakuru, Alex Midila was running for his life carrying a secret capable of destroying empires.