Chapter 4 - A Test That Shouldn’t Exist
Daniel called Olivia’s obstetrician before anyone left the library.
Dr. Rachel Kim answered after two rings.
She had been Olivia’s doctor since the pregnancy began.
When Daniel explained the situation, the doctor’s tone changed immediately.
“We did not order any paternity testing.”
Olivia closed her eyes.
Daniel asked, “Could someone have done it using her blood?”
“Noninvasive prenatal paternity testing can be done with maternal blood and a sample from the alleged father.”
“I never gave a sample.”
There was a pause.
Dr. Kim said, “Then either the result is fabricated, or someone obtained DNA without your consent.”
The room went cold.
Daniel looked at his mother.
Margaret did not move.
Vanessa looked sick.
Olivia whispered, “The extra blood vial.”
Dr. Kim heard her.
“What extra vial?”
“At my six-week follow-up.”
“There should have been no extra vial beyond the standard panel.”
Olivia sat down.
She remembered the nurse.
Blonde hair.
Purple-framed glasses.
A name badge turned backward.
At the time, Olivia had been nauseated and tired.
She had not questioned anything.
Daniel ended the call and immediately contacted the clinic’s compliance office.
Henry called his attorney.
Within an hour, the family gathering had become an investigation.
Most relatives left quietly.
Nobody touched the food.
Vanessa sat on the far end of the library sofa with her arms wrapped around herself.
Daniel stood near the window.
“Tell me everything.”
Vanessa looked at Margaret.
Daniel snapped, “Stop looking at her.”
His sister flinched.
“Tell me.”
Vanessa finally spoke.
“Mom said someone contacted her.”
“When?”
“Two months ago.”
“Who?”
“She said it was someone who worked with Olivia’s old boyfriend.”
Olivia frowned.
“My old boyfriend?”
“Ryan Cole.”
Daniel knew the name.
Olivia had dated Ryan for three years before meeting Daniel.
They had broken up nearly five years earlier.
Ryan now lived in Oregon.
They had not spoken since.
Vanessa continued.
“The person said Olivia was still seeing him.”
“That’s a lie,” Olivia said.
“I know that now.”
Daniel stared at his sister.
“Now?”
Vanessa looked down.
“At first, there were pictures.”
“What pictures?”
Vanessa opened her phone.
She showed him three photographs.
Olivia walking out of a downtown restaurant.
A man beside her.
His face partly hidden.
Another photograph showed them beside a parking garage.
A third showed the man touching Olivia’s shoulder.
Daniel stared.
Olivia did too.
Then she laughed in disbelief.
“That’s my cousin.”
Vanessa looked up.
“What?”
“Michael Grant. My father’s sister’s son.”
Daniel looked again.
He had met Michael once at a funeral.
The resemblance to Ryan from a distance was plausible.
Margaret had either been deceived.
Or she had chosen to be.
Olivia said, “Michael helped me set up the baby trust because he’s an estate lawyer.”
Daniel looked at his mother.
“Did you verify any of this?”
Margaret’s lips pressed together.
“The source seemed credible.”
“Who was the source?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel almost shouted.
“Then how was it credible?”
Margaret looked offended by the question.
Because certainty had always been her armor.
Henry spoke quietly.
“You wanted to believe it.”
Margaret turned toward him.
“That is not fair.”
“It is exactly fair.”
She stood.
“I was protecting my son.”
Olivia rose too.
“No. You were building a case against me.”
Margaret faced her.
“You changed him.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“What does that mean?”
“Before Olivia, you called every day. You came to Sunday dinners. You asked my opinion.”
Daniel stared at her.
“And now?”
“Now she controls everything.”
Olivia felt the truth surfacing.
Not the fake affair.
Not the test.
The actual wound.
Margaret believed losing control of Daniel meant losing Daniel.
The pregnancy had made that fear worse.
Vanessa’s phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
Her face drained.
“What?” Daniel asked.
She handed him the phone.
Unknown number.
One message.
You were supposed to make her fall.
Everyone stared at it.
Olivia’s skin went cold.
Vanessa whispered, “I didn’t.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
“I swear.”
The message came again.
If the baby survives, everything changes.
This was no longer about family jealousy.
May you like
Someone wanted Olivia hurt.
And apparently, someone had expected Vanessa to do more than frighten her.
