Chapter 18 - The Truth That Destroyed the Family|
Daniel refused to reveal which test was false.
He claimed Richard had altered the records years earlier, switching names, dates, and genetic samples until no one could trust the official family history.
Detective Ruiz ordered him to remain in the room while she verified the documents. Richard tried to leave, but officers blocked the door.
For the first time, the man who had controlled the Blackwood family looked genuinely trapped.
“You don't understand what will happen if the truth comes out,” Richard said.
“Then explain it,” I replied.
He looked at Daniel.
“Tell her what happened to the other child.”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“The other child was taken from the clinic before the records could be corrected. I was told the baby had died.”
“Who told you?”
“Richard.”
Richard's jaw tightened.
“And you believed me because you wanted to disappear. You were tired of being hunted, Daniel. You abandoned the family and left everyone else to deal with the consequences.”
“I left to keep the children alive.”
“You left because you were afraid.”
The accusation silenced the room.
Daniel looked older than he had a moment earlier.
“I was afraid,” he admitted. “And people paid for it.”
He explained that after the clinic fire, he had lived under several identities, moving between cities and relying on a handful of people who believed Richard would kill anyone who helped him. He had returned only after learning that someone was using Ethan's marriage and Vanessa's pregnancy to reopen the old succession dispute.
“Why didn't you come to me?” Ethan asked.
“Because I didn't know whether you were safe. Richard had raised you. He had access to your life, your friends, your security, and every business you controlled.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I thought the lie would keep you alive.”
“And what about Claire?”
Daniel looked at me.
“I knew your father had taken you in. I thought you were safer with him.”
“Did you ever try to contact me?”
“No.”
The answer was brutally simple.
I stood.
“You don't get to call that protection. You let me build my life around a lie, and now you expect me to accept you because a laboratory says we're related.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“You're right.”
That surprised me more than any excuse would have.
Detective Ruiz returned with a preliminary report. One of the genetic samples had been contaminated, and the other had been submitted under an identity that belonged to a dead patient.
Neither test could be trusted.
Richard smiled.
“Then you have nothing.”
Ruiz placed a final document on the table.
“Not quite. We recovered the clinic's original patient ledger. It lists the name of the nurse who switched the labels.”
Richard's smile vanished.
May you like
The nurse's name was followed by a note written in red ink.
PAID BY RICHARD BLACKWOOD.
