Chapter 9: The Blood Test
The police arrived twenty minutes later.
Sarah was taken to the hospital.
The clinic was searched.
There was no sign of Emily or Lily.
No cameras.
No fingerprints.
No useful evidence.
It was as if the girls had vanished into the walls.
Vanessa sat in the emergency room hallway beside Marcus.
For the first time all night, neither of them spoke.
Then Sarah woke.
Vanessa rushed into the room.
“Where are they?””
Sarah looked at her.
“Who?””
“Emily and Lily.””
Sarah closed her eyes.
“I don't know.””
“You have to know something.””
“I know what they told me.””
“Who?””
“Charles.””
Vanessa frowned.
“Marcus's father?””
Sarah nodded.
“He said one of the girls carried his blood.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“What does that mean?””
Sarah looked at him.
“Your father was obsessed with genetics.””
Marcus's expression tightened.
“He believed bloodlines determined loyalty.””
Vanessa sat beside Sarah.
“Tell me everything.””
Sarah swallowed.
“Years ago, Charles discovered that Daniel had a daughter with another woman.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
Sarah nodded.
“Lily wasn't his only child.””
Vanessa felt a chill.
“Another child?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Sarah looked toward Marcus.
“Your father never told me.””
Marcus whispered, “Then why did he say one daughter belongs to Daniel?””
“Because Daniel's genetic material was used.””
Vanessa suddenly remembered the clinic.
The embryos.
The records.
The babies.
“What if Emily is Daniel's biological daughter?””
Sarah shook her head.
“Then why would Charles switch her?””
“To hide the inheritance,” Marcus said.
Sarah nodded.
“Exactly.””
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
“You knew about the inheritance?””
“No.””
“You're lying.””
“I swear.””
Sarah interrupted.
“Marcus may not have known.””
Vanessa looked at her.
Sarah continued.
“Charles kept everything from him too.””
Marcus's eyes lowered.
“What did my father want?””
Sarah took a breath.
“Control.””
“Of what?””
“The company.””
Vanessa stared.
“What company?””
Marcus answered quietly.
“Johnson Holdings.””
Sarah nodded.
“Daniel owned forty percent.””
“And if Daniel died?””
“The shares went to his biological descendants.””
Vanessa understood.
“That's why he needed Daniel's child.””
“Yes.””
“Then why take the other baby?””
Sarah hesitated.
“Because Charles didn't know which baby carried Daniel's DNA.””
Marcus looked at her.
“So he switched them.””
“Yes.””
“And raised the wrong child?””
“Not exactly.””
Sarah's eyes moved to Vanessa.
“He didn't raise either one.””
Vanessa's heart stopped.
“What?””
“Charles gave both babies to different families.””
Marcus stared.
“Then Emily—”
“Was given to you later.””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“How?””
Sarah closed her eyes.
“Charles arranged the adoption.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't adopt Emily.””
“I know.””
“I gave birth to her.””
Sarah looked at her.
“Did you?””
The question silenced the room.
Vanessa remembered the delivery.
The pain.
The anesthesia.
Marcus holding her hand.
The nurse saying, Congratulations, it's a girl.
But she had never seen the baby's face.
Not clearly.
She had been too exhausted.
Vanessa whispered, “Who was the woman who brought Emily to me?””
Sarah's voice dropped.
“Me.””
Vanessa stared.
“You?””
“I switched the bracelets.””
Marcus's face went white.
“You were the nurse.””
“Yes.””
“Then which baby did Vanessa give birth to?””
Sarah began crying.
“I don't know.””
Vanessa stood.
“You don't know?””
“Charles ordered me to switch them before the doctors completed the records.””
“Why?””
“Because he needed time to determine which child carried Daniel's DNA.””
Marcus gripped the edge of the bed.
“And then?””
“By the time the results came back, both babies were gone.””
Vanessa's voice trembled.
“Where?””
Sarah looked at her.
“One went to a family in Ohio.””
Vanessa held her breath.
“And the other?””
“California.””
Marcus whispered, “Emily?””
Sarah shook her head.
“We don't know which one was which.””
Vanessa felt tears stream down her face.
“Then how do we find out?””
Sarah looked at her.
“DNA.””
Marcus immediately pulled out his phone.
“Emily's medical records.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“She had a blood test last year.””
Marcus searched through his files.
“I have it.””
He opened the report.
Vanessa stared at the screen.
Then she noticed something.
A laboratory code.
She recognized it.
It was the same clinic code printed on the old hospital bracelet.
“Marcus.””
He looked at her.
“This isn't Emily's original test.””
“What?””
“The lab is connected to your father's clinic.””
Sarah went pale.
“No.””
Vanessa's heart pounded.
“What?””
Sarah whispered, “Then Charles changed the results.””
Marcus stared at the report.
“That's impossible.””
Sarah shook her head.
“Not for him.””
Vanessa looked at the door.
A doctor stood outside holding an envelope.
“Mrs. Johnson?””
Vanessa approached.
“Yes?””
The doctor handed her the envelope.
“This was left for you.””
She opened it.
Inside was a fresh DNA report.
Two names appeared.
*Emily Johnson.*
*Lily Reed.*
Vanessa's eyes moved to the final line.
*Biological relationship: 99.98% — SIBLINGS.*
Her breath caught.
Marcus stared over her shoulder.
“That's impossible.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Not if they're both ours.””
Marcus's face went blank.
Then Vanessa saw the final note beneath the result.
*Maternal relationship confirmed: Vanessa Johnson.*
She couldn't breathe.
Both girls were her daughters.
But one question remained.
May you like
If both girls were hers—
*who was their biological father?*
