Chapter 5: The DNA Test Hidden in My Father's Estate
"The original DNA test?""
I repeated Vanessa's words.
My mother went completely still.
Emily looked between us.
"What DNA test?""
Nobody answered.
Then Ethan spoke through the door.
"Sarah, don't listen to Emily. She has no idea what she's looking at.""
I stepped closer.
"Then come inside and explain it.""
There was silence.
For the first time since arriving at the salon, Ethan didn't have an immediate answer.
My mother sat down again.
"Your father ordered a DNA test in 1998.""
I turned toward her.
"Between him and Rebecca's daughter?""
Mom nodded.
"Yes.""
"And what did it say?""
She covered her face.
"I never saw the original result.""
"Mom!""
"Patricia told me it confirmed the child was his. Your father believed her.""
I stared.
"Why would Patricia have the results?""
"She was handling some of your father's paperwork at the time.""
I remembered Patricia at family dinners, always making herself useful.
She had organized my father's medical appointments, managed his insurance documents, and helped with his estate.
She had even recommended the lawyer who handled his will.
I suddenly wondered how much of my family's life she'd been quietly controlling.
Emily opened another folder.
"There's a DNA report here.""
She clicked.
A laboratory document appeared.
The subject names were partially obscured, but the date was visible.
November 1998.
The tested individuals were Robert Miller and a female child identified only as R.C.
The result was clearly marked:
*PATERNITY EXCLUDED.*
I stared at the words.
"What?""
My mother leaned forward.
"That's not possible.""
Emily enlarged the document.
"There's a second page.""
The second page contained a handwritten note.
Results delivered to Patricia Collins, authorized representative.
My throat tightened.
"Patricia knew.""
My mother began shaking her head.
"She told your father the test confirmed the child was his.""
"Why?""
"I don't know.""
I looked at the screen.
"If Dad wasn't Rebecca's daughter's father, why would he put Noah in the trust?""
Emily scrolled through the remaining files.
"There are several versions of the trust amendment.""
The first was dated three years before my father's death.
The second was dated six months later.
The third was signed two weeks before he died.
Each contained different beneficiary language.
I compared them.
The earliest version named me as the sole beneficiary of the lakehouse.
The second included a conditional provision for Rebecca's descendants.
The final version included Noah by name.
But there was something strange.
The signature on the final document looked different.
Not obviously forged.
Just... wrong.
I enlarged it.
"Emily, can you compare this with the signature on Dad's original will?""
She opened the documents side by side.
My father's signature on the will had a distinctive loop in the letter R.
The signature on the amendment didn't.
My mother leaned closer.
"Robert always signed his name with that little curve.""
I looked at Emily.
"Can you find out who uploaded this file?""
She checked the document metadata.
The screen showed a date and a user account.
PATRICIA.COLLINS.
My aunt had uploaded the amendment herself.
I felt a wave of anger so strong I could barely speak.
"She forged Dad's trust document.""
"Possibly," Emily said carefully.
"But I can't prove that from the file alone.""
I nodded.
"Then we'll get someone who can.""
I called my father's estate attorney, Martin Hayes.
He answered on the fourth ring.
"Sarah? I wasn't expecting your call.""
"Mr. Hayes, I need you to look at something urgently.""
"What happened?""
"Someone is attempting to transfer my father's lakehouse. There are documents with my signature that I never signed, and I think one of the trust amendments may have been forged.""
His tone changed immediately.
"Do not sign anything. Do not hand over any original documents. Where are you?""
I told him.
He went quiet.
"Sarah, I need you to understand something. Your father left very specific instructions regarding that property.""
"What instructions?""
"I cannot discuss the details until I verify your identity and review the documents. But there should be a sealed letter in his estate file.""
"What's in it?""
"I don't know. Your father asked me to open it only if someone attempted to alter the trust.""
I looked at the computer.
"Someone has.""
"Then I'll come to you.""
Before he ended the call, I asked one more question.
"Did my father ever tell you about Rebecca Collins?""
There was a long pause.
"Yes.""
"And was she his daughter?""
"No.""
My mother closed her eyes.
Mr. Hayes continued.
"Robert believed Patricia had misrepresented the DNA results. He spent years trying to establish the truth.""
"Then why did he leave anything to her family?""
"Because he eventually discovered something about Rebecca's daughter that changed his understanding of the situation.""
"What?""
"I'd rather explain when I'm with you.""
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
My mother whispered, "Your father tried to tell me.""
I turned toward her.
"What did he say?""
"Before he died, he asked me to forgive him for believing Patricia.""
I swallowed.
"Did he know Ethan?""
Mom nodded.
"He met Ethan twice before the wedding.""
My stomach dropped.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because your father was already very sick. He didn't want to upset you.""
I looked at the screen again.
The photograph of Ethan, Vanessa, and Noah remained open.
Then I noticed something in the background.
A framed photograph on the lakehouse mantel.
It showed my father standing beside a young woman.
I zoomed in.
The woman was Rebecca Collins.
But between them stood a little girl.
The same little girl from the old family photograph Emily had just found.
She was wearing a red dress.
And around her neck was a silver necklace.
I recognized it immediately.
It was the necklace my father had given me on my sixteenth birthday.
The necklace he'd always said belonged to our family.
I looked at my mother.
"Why does Rebecca's daughter have my necklace?""
Mom stared at the image.
Her face drained of color.
"Because...""
She couldn't finish.
Then the office door handle began turning.
Someone had found a key.
May you like
Ethan's voice came through the opening.
"Sarah, it's time you learned who your father really was.""
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