Chapter 9: The Last Test
Derek stared at the envelope.
He couldn't bring himself to open it.
Marcus took it from him.
“You wanted the truth.””
Derek swallowed.
“I don't know if I do anymore.””
Aaliyah stood beside Marcus.
“Open it.””
Derek looked at her.
“You're sure?””
“No.””
She wiped her eyes.
“But I'm tired of everyone deciding what I can handle.””
Marcus tore the envelope open.
Inside was a typed letter.
No signature.
No date.
Just a confession.
*Derek, you were told the surviving child was yours. That was a lie. The child was Marcus's.*
Derek closed his eyes.
Marcus continued reading.
**Renee gave birth to a girl. Claire gave birth to a girl. Both fathers were known.
Both families were vulnerable. I arranged the exchange because Marcus could not be allowed to inherit what belonged to our family.**
Marcus stopped.
“Inherit what?””
Derek took the letter.
He read the next paragraph.
His face went white.
“What?””
Marcus looked at him.
Derek handed the paper over.
*The Hale bloodline carries a hereditary condition that makes one particular genetic marker valuable to a pharmaceutical research program. Marcus's biological mother agreed to preserve the lineage through him. His daughter was therefore more valuable than money.*
Aaliyah frowned.
“What does that even mean?””
Marcus shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Derek read further.
*Claire's daughter was exchanged because her father would never look for her. Derek was manipulated into believing the surviving child was his. Renee was threatened into silence. Elaine was removed from Marcus's life because she discovered the truth.*
Elaine, standing near the storage entrance, began crying.
“I knew something was wrong.””
Marcus looked at her.
“What did you discover?””
“That your father had another family.””
Marcus stared.
“My father?””
Elaine nodded.
“He had been funding medical research under a false company.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“What company?””
Elaine gave him a name.
Marcus recognized it immediately.
A corporation his father had owned.
A company that had disappeared years earlier after a federal investigation.
“What did they research?””
“Genetics.””
Silence.
Aaliyah looked at Marcus.
“So I was hidden because of my DNA?””
“That appears to be what he believed.””
Maya shook her head.
“That sounds insane.””
“It does.””
Derek pointed to the letter.
“There has to be more.””
They searched the boxes.
Minutes passed.
Then Aaliyah found a small black notebook.
She opened it.
Every page contained names.
Dates.
Hospital records.
DNA markers.
Payments.
At the center of one page was a handwritten diagram.
Two women.
Two babies.
Two fathers.
Lines connecting them.
Marcus's name was circled.
So was Aaliyah's.
Maya's name had a question mark beside it.
Derek stared.
“Why is Maya marked unknown?””
Marcus turned the page.
There was a final entry.
*Aaliyah — confirmed Marcus Hale.*
Then:
*Maya — father unknown.*
Derek looked at Marcus.
“So Maya really isn't mine.””
“No.””
“But then whose daughter is she?””
Marcus kept reading.
The answer was written below.
*Father: Unknown.*
Underneath it, in red ink:
*Do not test.*
Maya's face went pale.
“Why?””
Marcus looked at her.
“I don't know.””
“Then test me.””
Everyone turned.
Maya stood straight.
“If everyone has been lying because they're afraid of what my DNA says, then test me.””
Derek shook his head.
“You don't know what that could uncover.””
Maya looked at him.
“Neither do you.””
Aaliyah nodded.
“She deserves the truth.””
Marcus pulled out his phone.
“I know a laboratory that can process the samples independently.””
Renee stepped into the storage unit.
“No.””
Marcus turned.
“You don't get to say no anymore.””
Her eyes filled.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You've been protecting me from my own life.””
Renee shook her head.
“You don't understand what your father was capable of.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“I understand enough.””
He looked at Aaliyah.
“I lost eighteen years with my daughter.””
Then at Maya.
“I don't know who her father is.””
Then at Derek.
“And you lost eighteen years believing a child wasn't yours.””
He looked at Renee.
“We're done living inside your secrets.””
Renee lowered her eyes.
“Then you need to know the last secret.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
Renee reached into her coat.
She pulled out an old hospital bracelet.
The plastic was yellowed with age.
Two words were printed across it.
*BABY HALE.*
Marcus stared.
“Where did you get that?””
“Your father gave it to me.””
“When?””
“The night Aaliyah was born.””
Marcus took it.
There was a handwritten number on the back.
Not a room number.
Not a patient number.
A phone number.
Marcus dialed.
The line rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then a man's voice answered.
“Hello?””
Marcus couldn't speak.
The voice continued.
“Who is this?””
Marcus finally said,
“My name is Marcus Hale.””
The line went silent.
Then the man whispered,
“I've been waiting eighteen years for you to call.””
Marcus looked at Renee.
She had gone white.
“Who is this?”” Marcus demanded.
The man took a breath.
“I was your father's lawyer.””
Marcus's grip tightened around the phone.
“My father's dead.””
“I know.””
“Then why are you still waiting?””
“Because he left instructions.””
“What instructions?””
The man was silent for several seconds.
Then he said,
“He told me that if you ever discovered the truth about Aaliyah…”
Marcus's heart pounded.
“…I was to give you the name of your biological mother.””
Marcus froze.
Aaliyah looked at him.
Maya stepped closer.
Derek stopped breathing.
Marcus whispered,
“Who is she?””
The lawyer answered.
“Renee.””
Marcus stared at Renee.
The lawyer continued.
“Your father never told you because Renee isn't just the mother of Aaliyah.””
Marcus's face drained of color.
“She is your mother, too.””
Renee burst into tears.
And Marcus suddenly understood why she had spent eighteen years terrified of the truth.
The woman he thought had become his wife by chance had been searching for him long before they ever met.
May you like
She hadn't entered his life because she loved him.
She had entered it because she already knew exactly who he was.
