Chapter 10: The Blood Test
For several seconds after the tape stopped, nobody moved.
The storage unit seemed to shrink around us.
Michael stared at the cassette player.
Then at me.
Then back at the machine.
“My father said I'm not his son.””
His voice was barely a whisper.
I couldn't answer.
Daniel looked at me carefully.
“Evelyn, did you know?””
“No.””
Michael turned toward me.
“Mom.””
“I swear to you, I didn't.””
“You never knew?””
“No.””
He stepped away.
His face had gone pale.
“You raised me for thirty-eight years.””
“Yes.””
“And you never wondered?””
“I never had a reason to.””
David picked up the cassette.
“There may be more.””
He rewound it.
The final seconds played again.
Robert's breathing.
Static.
Then his voice.
“Michael isn't my son.””
The recording ended.
Michael laughed once.
It wasn't a happy sound.
“So who is my father?””
Nobody answered.
Daniel looked at Arthur's name on the documents.
Arthur's face came to my mind.
I shook my head.
“No.””
Daniel said quietly, “We don't know.””
Michael looked at me.
“Then we find out.””
He walked out of the storage unit.
I followed.
“Michael.””
He stopped.
“You need to believe me.””
He turned.
“I believe you didn't know.””
That hurt more than if he'd accused me.
“Then what's wrong?””
“I don't know who I am.””
“You're my son.””
“But maybe I'm not Dad's.””
“You don't have to be.””
He looked away.
“I spent my whole life trying to become the man he was.””
His eyes filled.
“What if I was chasing the wrong man?””
I reached for him.
He allowed me to hold his hand.
Then his phone rang.
Sabrina.
He answered.
“Hello?””
Her voice came through the speaker.
“Michael, you need to come back.””
“Why?””
“The police found something in the house.””
“What?””
“A hidden room.””
I looked at David.
“What kind of hidden room?””
Sabrina hesitated.
“Your father's office.””
Michael immediately straightened.
“We're coming.””
The house looked different when we returned.
Police tape crossed the front door.
Officers moved through the rooms.
Sabrina stood in the hallway.
She ran toward Michael.
“Are you okay?””
He nodded.
“What did they find?””
She pointed upstairs.
“Behind the bookshelf.””
We followed her into Robert's old office.
The shelves had been moved.
Behind them was a narrow door.
Inside was a room no bigger than a walk-in closet.
There were no windows.
Only filing cabinets.
And a metal table.
An officer opened one drawer.
Inside were dozens of sealed envelopes.
Each had a name.
Arthur.
Claudia.
Daniel.
Sabrina's father.
And finally—
Michael.
He reached for the envelope.
I caught his wrist.
“Wait.””
He looked at me.
“Why?””
“Because your father wanted me to find the truth, not destroy myself looking for it.””
Michael slowly pulled the envelope free.
His name was written in Robert's handwriting.
Inside was a single sheet.
*DNA PATERNITY TEST*
*Subject: Michael Reed*
*Biological Father: Unknown*
*Biological Mother: Evelyn Reed*
Michael stared at the page.
Then he noticed another line.
*Test commissioned: 1988.*
He looked at me.
“I was tested before I was born.””
I frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.””
David took the paper.
“1988 was the year you were born.””
Michael looked toward the officer.
“Can you find out who ordered this?””
The officer shook his head.
“No need.””
He pointed toward another cabinet.
“There's a receipt.””
David opened it.
The laboratory name had been stamped across the top.
Beneath it was the person who had submitted the sample.
*Claudia Bell.*
Michael's face hardened.
“Aunt Claudia knew.””
I whispered, “She knew something.””
The officer's radio crackled.
He listened.
Then his expression changed.
“Detective?””
“Yes?””
“We found another room.””
“Where?””
“Under the garage.””
He looked at us.
“And there's someone inside.””
Michael stepped forward.
“Who?””
The detective hesitated.
“It's a man.””
“What's his name?””
May you like
The detective looked at the identification card lying beside the body.
“Nathan Bell.””
