Chapter 8 - THE DNAThe hospital sealed Dr. Reed's apartment.
The official cause of death was still unknown.
But everyone knew it wasn't natural.
He had been investigating the DNA found in my twins.
And now he was dead.
I couldn't stop thinking about his final words.
The twins had foreign DNA.
Not mine.
Not Flynn's.
Someone else.
The police handed the case to a genetic specialist.
Three hours later, Detective Mason arrived.
He looked serious.
“We ran the sample against the national database.”
“And?”
“No match.”
I felt disappointed.
Then he added:
“But we found something else.”
He put a report on the table.
“The DNA belongs to a male relative of the Vance family.”
Flynn stiffened.
“Which relative?”
“That's the problem.”
“There are dozens.”
“No.”
Mason looked at him.
“Only three.”
He placed photographs on the table.
Richard Cole.
Marcus Vale.
And Flynn.
Flynn stared.
“You said it wasn't mine.”
“The marker isn't an exact match.”
“Then who?”
Mason pointed to Richard.
“Your biological father.”
I felt confused.
“How could Richard's DNA be inside the babies?”
Mason answered:
“Because the sample wasn't from the babies.”
Silence.
“It came from the umbilical tissue.”
Flynn looked sick.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does if someone implanted material before the pregnancy.”
I stared.
“You're saying someone altered the pregnancy?”
“Yes.”
My knees weakened.
“Why?”
Mason's eyes met mine.
“Because the twins weren't meant to be children.”
He slid over another document.
“They were genetic samples.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Someone wanted Richard Cole's DNA.”
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
Flynn suddenly stood.
“I need air.”
He walked out.
I followed him.
In the hallway, I grabbed his arm.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then why aren't you surprised?”
He looked at me.
“Because there is something I haven't told you.”
I waited.
“My mother was part of a medical study.”
My heart stopped.
“What study?”
“Genetic inheritance.”
I remembered Marcus saying the twins inherited something.
Flynn continued.
“Richard believed his bloodline carried resistance to certain diseases.”
“That sounds insane.”
“It was.”
“Then why would anyone care?”
“Because if the research was real…”
He stopped.
“What?”
“Our bloodline could be worth billions.”
I stared at him.
Billions.
Suddenly everything made sense.
The company.
The hidden will.
The murdered doctor.
The twins.
This wasn't just about inheritance.
Someone wanted the genetic secret inside my children.
Then my phone rang.
It was Evelyn.
“Mabel.”
“What?”
“Come to the courthouse.”
“Why?”
“I found the original marriage records.”
My stomach tightened.
“What about them?”
“There is a witness signature.”
“Whose?”
Her voice dropped.
“Selina Cole.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She signed as a witness at your wedding.”
“Yes.”
“She wrote something on the document.”
“What?”
“A message.”
My blood ran cold.
“What message?”
Evelyn whispered:
He married you because you were already pregnant.
I stopped breathing.
“I wasn't.”
“I know.”
“Then what does that mean?”
“We don't know.”
She continued:
“But there's more.”
“What?”
“The marriage license was filed eight weeks before your wedding.”
I felt numb.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“Who filed it?”
Silence.
Then Evelyn said:
“Flynn.”
I turned.
Flynn was standing behind me.
His face was pale.
I raised the phone.
“Did you file our marriage certificate before we were married?”
He looked at me.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Flynn didn't answer.
Because someone else did.
Someone who knew I would marry him long before I ever met him.
Someone who had been arranging my life from the beginning.
Then a second message arrived.
YOU WERE NEVER CHOSEN BY FLYNN.
May you like
The next line appeared.
YOU WERE CHOSEN BY THE VANCE FAMILY.
