Chapter 14 - The Blood Test
I did not sleep.
At six in the morning, I woke Ethan.
“We're going.”
He sat up.
“Where?”
“For the test.”
He understood immediately.
I hated that relief crossed his face.
Not because he wanted to prove Noah was his.
Because he wanted to know what had been done to us.
Dad joined us downstairs.
“I arranged the facility.”
“Already?”
“I didn't sleep either.”
He handed me a sealed envelope.
“What's that?”
“Your father's DNA profile.”
I stared.
“You already had one?”
“Military records.”
“You kept it?”
“Yes.”
I didn't ask why.
I was too afraid of the answer.
The facility was under an ordinary medical building.
No sign.
No waiting room.
No receptionist.
A doctor met us at the elevator.
She looked at Dad.
“General Moretti.”
Then at me.
“Camila.”
My stomach tightened.
“How do you know my name?”
She looked uncomfortable.
“Your father called ahead.”
Dad didn't say anything.
The doctor led us into a secure room.
Noah was tested first.
Then Ethan.
Then me.
The doctor sealed every sample in front of us.
“I want independent verification.”
Dad nodded.
“Two labs.”
“Three,” I said.
He looked at me.
“Three.”
We waited.
Waiting was worse than danger.
In danger, I could move.
I could fight.
Waiting left me alone with my thoughts.
Ethan sat across from me.
“Whatever it says…”
I didn't look at him.
“What?”
“We'll deal with it.”
“That's not what you were going to say.”
He lowered his head.
“No.”
“What were you going to say?”
“I was going to say I'll love him either way.”
I finally looked at him.
He swallowed.
“But I know that doesn't fix anything.”
“No.”
“I also know you don't trust me.”
“Not yet.”
“I deserve that.”
I stared at him.
“Do you love me?”
His eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Then why did you keep choosing your mother?”
“I thought choosing her meant protecting you from her.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
He rubbed his face.
“I spent my whole life believing she was difficult, controlling, sometimes cruel, but ultimately trying to keep the family together.”
“And she?”
“She made sure I couldn't survive without her.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“She controlled money.”
“Your money?”
“Yes.”
“Your accounts?”
“Yes.”
I stared.
“You told me you were broke.”
“I was.”
“You had no idea about Carter Ridge?”
“No.”
She'd built an entire false reality around her son.
Ethan's phone rang.
He answered.
It was Robert.
His face changed.
“What?”
I watched him stand.
“What happened?”
He looked at me.
“Leah found something in Diane's old files.”
“What?”
“She found a list.”
“Of what?”
“People Diane believed were connected to your father.”
I felt cold.
“Names?”
“Seven.”
“Who?”
He started reading.
“Michael Moretti.”
Dad closed his eyes.
“Richard Vale.”
He continued.
“Nathan Reed.”
My breathing stopped.
“Voss.”
Another pause.
“Diane Moretti.”
Ethan looked up.
“And…”
He hesitated.
“Your mother's name.”
“My mother's?”
I stood.
“My biological mother?”
Dad looked away.
I stared at him.
“You have a file on my mother?”
He didn't answer.
“Dad.”
“She died.”
“I know.”
“When I was little.”
“Yes.”
“Then why is she on Diane's list?”
Dad looked at Ethan.
“Because your mother wasn't who you think she was.”
I felt my entire body go numb.
“My mother was a secretary.”
“No.”
“She was.”
“No.”
“Then what was she?”
Dad's answer came quietly.
“An intelligence analyst.”
I stared.
“How did she die?”
He didn't answer.
I whispered, “Dad.”
“She was killed.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“By who?”
“We never proved it.”
“But you knew?”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe she died in an accident.”
“I didn't know what to tell you.”
“You knew she was murdered?”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
I laughed through tears.
“Everybody says that.”
The doctor entered.
“We have preliminary results.”
All three of us turned.
She looked at me.
“We're still waiting for the external confirmation, but the first result is unusual.”
“What?”
She handed me a tablet.
“Your maternity relationship is consistent.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“The DNA confirms your relationship to your father.”
I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
Then she continued.
“But there is an anomaly.”
“What anomaly?”
“The sample connected to your mother isn't matching the archived record.”
I stared.
“My mother's record?”
“Yes.”
“The DNA profile on file is not genetically related to you.”
Silence.
I felt dizzy.
“But she was my mother.”
“I don't understand,” the doctor said.
“She raised me.”
“That isn't the same as genetic maternity.”
I looked at Dad.
He looked destroyed.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“What did they do to me?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
The doctor continued.
“There is more.”
She pulled up Noah's results.
“Your son is biologically Ethan's.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Relief washed over his face.
Then the doctor looked at me.
“But there is a secondary genetic marker we cannot explain.”
“What marker?”
“A rare inherited sequence.”
“From whom?”
She hesitated.
“From you.”
“That doesn't sound unusual.”
“It is when the marker appears in only one archived lineage.”
“Which lineage?”
She looked at Dad.
“General Moretti's classified medical file.”
Dad stood so quickly his chair struck the wall.
“No.”
The doctor looked confused.
“You know this sequence?”
He stared at her.
“I've seen it.”
“Where?”
“In a file.”
“What file?”
He looked at me.
“The C-12 records.”
My skin prickled.
“What is the sequence?”
Dad whispered:
“It was the identifier used to track children who had been genetically screened for exposure to a classified program.”
Ethan stared.
“Exposure to what?”
Dad didn't answer.
The doctor stepped backward.
Then her computer screen went black.
The lights shut off.
A second later, the facility doors locked.
Dad moved toward us.
“Everyone back.”
A voice came through the intercom.
“You should have left the blood alone.”
I froze.
Dad looked toward the ceiling.
“Richard?”
The voice laughed softly.
“No, Michael.”
May you like
Then it said my name.
“Hello, Camila.”
