Chapter 8 - The First Real Test
Daniel sat in the hospital hallway while Noah slept inside.
The laboratory director emailed him the archived information.
The sample had been submitted under Noah’s hospital ID days after his birth.
Paternity probability:
99.99%.
Same father.
Same result.
Daniel stared at the date.
Claire had been alive.
She had done exactly what she promised.
She had tested Noah.
Daniel whispered:
“She knew.”
Then he saw who requested the certified duplicate.
Margaret Carter.
Three days after Claire’s funeral.
Daniel's hands began trembling.
Margaret had obtained the genuine result.
Then Daniel had received the false one.
There was no misunderstanding anymore.
No mistake.
His mother knew Noah was his son.
She had looked Daniel in the eyes while he was grieving and told him otherwise.
She had watched Daniel struggle to bond with his newborn.
She had watched him question Claire after her death.
All because Noah’s existence threatened her control of the trust.
Rebecca came to the hospital.
Daniel showed her everything.
She read the records and said:
“This changes the case.”
“How?”
“This isn't just evidence of forged estate documents anymore. If Margaret knowingly replaced a valid DNA report, we can establish intent.”
Daniel looked through the glass at Noah.
“I spent months wondering if Claire lied to me.”
Rebecca’s voice softened.
“That's what Margaret wanted.”
Daniel looked away.
The betrayal was almost unbearable.
But guilt wouldn't help Noah.
“What happens now?”
“We preserve everything. The forged tests, Claire's recording, trust documents, laboratory logs, bank records.”
“And Lucas?”
Rebecca nodded.
“We find out whether Lucas Carter exists.”
The answer came faster than expected.
The address on Lucas’s guardianship records belonged to an abandoned farmhouse.
The birth certificate number belonged to another child.
The Social Security number was invalid.
Lucas Carter was not a hidden heir.
He was a paper child.
A legal ghost created for one purpose.
To receive Noah’s inheritance.
But someone had signed as Lucas’s mother.
And unlike Lucas, she was very real.
Her name was Evelyn Shaw.
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Daniel recognized it immediately.
Margaret's personal assistant of twenty-seven years.
