Chapter 8: The DNA Test My Mother Never Trusted
My father stared at the laboratory report.
“I'm Daniel's father.””
He said it like he was trying to convince himself.
Rebecca nodded.
“That's what Claire believed.””
“Then why was there another test?””
“Because the first result didn't make sense.””
Dad looked at the date.
“Two weeks before she died?””
“Yes.””
I took the report from him.
There were several technical notes I didn't understand, but one sentence stood out.
Sample integrity cannot be independently verified.
“Someone changed the test?”” I asked.
Rebecca nodded.
“Claire suspected it.””
Dad walked toward the window.
For eleven years, he had believed his family had been taken from him by illness and bad luck.
Now every memory seemed contaminated by questions.
“Why would someone want me to believe Daniel wasn't mine?””
Rebecca answered quietly.
“Because if Daniel was your son, you would have legal rights. You could challenge the transfer.””
Daniel Brooks opened his laptop.
“That's possible, but we need the original laboratory records. A handwritten note doesn't establish that anyone altered the results.””
Dad turned around.
“Can you get them?””
“I can request them through the investigators.””
Madison was sitting on the staircase, holding her phone.
She had barely spoken since Vanessa disappeared.
“There's something else,” she said.
Dad looked at her.
“What?””
“Mom had a second phone.””
Rebecca frowned.
“Where?””
“In her bedroom. Inside the bottom of her jewelry cabinet.””
Dad immediately stood.
“Why didn't you tell us?””
“Because I didn't know what was on it.””
“Have you seen it?””
Madison nodded.
“Once. Last Christmas. Mom was listening to a recording.””
“What recording?””
“She said it was an old conversation between Claire and Alan.””
Rebecca went pale.
“An old conversation?””
Madison nodded.
“I heard Claire's voice.””
I stepped closer.
“What did she say?””
Madison closed her eyes.
“She said, 'If anything happens to me, Michael must know that the baby wasn't the only thing they changed.''”
Dad looked at Rebecca.
“What else could they have changed?””
Rebecca didn't answer.
Madison continued.
“Then a man's voice said, 'You promised you would never tell him.''”
Daniel closed his laptop.
“We need that phone.””
We went upstairs together.
Vanessa's bedroom looked untouched except for the open wardrobe and several empty jewelry boxes. Her expensive perfumes still lined the dresser.
Madison knelt beside the cabinet.
She removed a small velvet tray and pushed a hidden latch.
A narrow compartment opened.
Inside was an old black phone.
Dad picked it up.
“Do you know the password?””
Madison nodded.
“Mom used the day she married you.””
Dad entered the date.
The screen unlocked.
There were dozens of files, photographs, and voice recordings.
One recording was dated eleven years earlier.
October 18.
The night before my brother was transferred.
Daniel connected the phone to his laptop and opened the audio file.
A woman's voice filled the room.
My mother's.
“Alan, you need to tell Michael.””
A man's voice answered.
“Claire, this isn't the time.””
“He's Daniel's father. He has a right to know.””
“I know what the test says.””
“Then why did you change it?””
Silence.
Then Alan spoke.
“Because someone paid me to make sure the result stayed inconclusive.””
My father gripped the edge of the dresser.
“Who?””
Mom's voice became louder.
“Vanessa knows. She knows everything.””
The recording crackled.
Then came a sound like a chair scraping across the floor.
Alan spoke again.
“You don't understand what you're dealing with.””
“I understand perfectly. You and Vanessa have been moving money through the medical trust. You've been using Daniel's records to cover the transfers.””
Dad looked at Daniel.
“Medical trust?””
Daniel was already typing.
The recording continued.
Claire's voice was shaking.
“If you don't correct the records, I'll report both of you.””
Alan replied coldly.
“You'll destroy your family.””
“No. You've already done that.””
Then another voice interrupted.
Vanessa.
“You should have stayed out of this, Claire.””
I stopped breathing.
Mom said something I couldn't make out.
Then Vanessa spoke again.
“Michael will never believe you. He knows what kind of woman you were before you married him.””
A loud crash followed.
Then the recording ended.
Dad stared at the phone.
“Play it again.””
Daniel did.
This time, I noticed something in the background.
A hospital announcement.
The name of a ward.
And a time.
9:42 p.m.
The exact time Vanessa had signed the visitor log.
Rebecca covered her mouth.
“She was there.””
Dad looked furious.
“Then she was there when Claire confronted Alan.””
Daniel stopped the recording.
“There's more.””
He opened another file.
This one was a video.
It showed a hospital corridor.
The picture was grainy, but the date and time were visible.
October 19, 2:16 a.m.
A nurse pushed a small hospital bassinet toward an elevator.
A woman walked beside her.
The camera captured her face.
Vanessa.
I felt my legs weaken.
“She took him?””
Daniel enlarged the image.
Vanessa was holding a folder.
The nurse looked nervous.
Then a second person appeared.
A man wearing a dark jacket.
He leaned toward Vanessa and handed her something.
Dad stepped closer to the screen.
“Who is that?””
Rebecca stared.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
“That's not Alan.””
Daniel enlarged the man's face again.
Dad shook his head.
“I know him.””
I turned toward my father.
“Who?””
He looked as though he'd seen a ghost.
“Richard Hayes.””
Rebecca's eyes widened.
“My husband?””
Dad nodded.
“Your husband was at the hospital?””
Rebecca stumbled backward.
“No. Richard told me he was in London that week.””
The video continued.
Richard handed Vanessa a sealed envelope.
She passed him the bassinet.
Then both disappeared through the elevator doors.
Rebecca began shaking.
“Why would my husband take Claire's baby?””
Daniel paused the recording.
“There's only one way to find out.””
Rebecca reached for her phone.
“I need to call him.””
Dad stopped her.
“Wait.””
“Michael, that's my husband.””
“And he may be involved in the disappearance of my son.””
Rebecca looked at the frozen image.
Then her phone began ringing.
The caller ID showed Richard Hayes.
She answered on speaker.
“Richard?””
His voice sounded calm.
“Rebecca, sweetheart. Are you home?””
She stared at the screen.
“No. I'm at Michael's.””
There was a long silence.
Then Richard asked:
“Did you find the video?””
Rebecca's face went white.
Dad leaned toward the phone.
“Richard, where is my son?””
The line went silent.
May you like
Then Richard said something that made everyone freeze.
“Michael, your son is alive. But if you want him to stay that way, you need to stop looking.””
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