Chapter 9: The DNA Report
I read the page three times.
It still made no sense.
“This is fake.””
Linda smiled.
Daniel grabbed my phone.
His face drained.
“What the hell is this?””
“You tell me,” I said.
He stared at his mother.
Linda looked almost triumphant.
“Now you understand why Sarah’s precious family isn’t so perfect.””
I snatched my phone back.
The report listed an alleged biological relationship between Emma and a man named Andrew Mitchell.
I had never heard that name.
“Who is Andrew?””
Linda’s confidence flickered.
Daniel looked equally confused.
Then Dad rushed into the lobby with Claire and two detectives.
He saw the report.
And stopped.
That was enough.
“You know him.””
Dad closed his eyes.
“Sarah.””
“Who is Andrew Mitchell?””
One detective stepped toward Linda.
“Mrs. Whitmore, put the bag down.””
She ignored him.
“Ask your father.””
I turned toward Dad.
“Who is he?””
Dad looked older than he had an hour earlier.
“Andrew was my brother.””
Was.
“What happened to him?””
“He died before you were born.””
I stared at the DNA report.
“Then how could he possibly be connected to Emma?””
“He can’t.””
Linda laughed.
“Unless Robert lied again.””
Claire took my phone.
She studied the report.
“Sarah, this document is suspicious.””
“How?””
“There’s no chain-of-custody information. No collection dates. And the laboratory name is incomplete.””
Linda’s smile disappeared.
Claire continued.
“This looks like a fabricated summary.””
Daniel turned on his mother.
“You made this?””
“I didn’t make anything.””
“Who did?””
Silence.
“Martin?””
Linda clutched the bag.
“Martin found records Robert buried.””
Dad stepped forward.
“My brother died in 1984.””
Linda’s face hardened.
“You expect everyone to believe you?””
Dad pulled out his phone.
“Death certificate. Newspaper obituary. Cemetery record. Pick one.””
For the first time, Linda seemed uncertain.
Then the hotel doors opened.
Martin Hale walked inside.
He stopped when he saw the police.
Linda whispered, “You said you checked.””
Martin looked at her.
“You weren’t supposed to send that yet.””
My stomach turned.
The detective immediately moved between them.
“Mr. Hale?””
Martin backed toward the door.
“Don’t.””
He stopped.
Linda stared at him.
“You lied to me.””
Martin gave a tired shrug.
“I gave you what you needed.””
“You said Andrew was alive.””
“I said Robert hid information about him.””
Dad stepped forward.
“You forged the DNA report.””
Martin smiled faintly.
“Still quick, Robert.””
Linda looked stunned.
“You told me Emma wasn’t Daniel’s.””
“And you believed me because you wanted to.””
The words landed harder than any accusation.
Linda turned toward me.
For once, she had nothing to say.
I looked at Martin.
“Why my daughter?””
He studied me.
“Because Linda needed motivation.””
“For what?””
“To get access to your trust.””
Daniel whispered, “Mom?””
Linda shook her head.
“No.””
Martin continued.
“I told her if Emma wasn’t biologically Daniel’s, she might be able to challenge certain family transfers.””
Claire almost laughed.
“That makes no legal sense.””
“I know.””
Linda stared at him.
“You knew?””
“Of course.””
“You used me.””
Martin’s expression was almost bored.
“Yes.””
The symmetry was brutal.
Linda had used Daniel.
Martin had used Linda.
And somewhere beneath all of them were Emma and me.
People they had treated like accounts instead of human beings.
Police took the bag.
Claire immediately found my mother’s sealed letter inside.
She handed it to me.
My hands trembled.
Twenty-three years.
Mom’s handwriting.
My name.
Dad stood several feet away.
He didn’t ask me to wait.
He didn’t ask to read it first.
“Open it,” he said.
So I did.
The paper inside was yellowed.
Three handwritten pages.
I began reading.
My dearest Sarah,
If you are reading this, then something I hoped would stay buried has found you.
My eyes blurred.
I continued.
Mom explained Martin.
The stolen records.
The false accounts.
The threats.
But halfway down the second page, everything changed.
There was another name.
Linda Mercer.
Linda’s maiden name.
I looked up.
“You knew my mother.””
Linda’s face went white.
Daniel stared at her.
“What?””
I read aloud.
“Linda Mercer contacted me today. She says Martin has been lying to her and wants to help us expose him.””
Dad whispered, “What?””
Even he hadn’t known.
I kept reading.
Mom wrote that Linda had agreed to testify.
That she had evidence.
That she was frightened.
Then, three days before meeting with Dad’s attorney, Linda disappeared.
“She was helping Mom?””
Nobody spoke.
I turned the page.
The final paragraph made my hands shake.
Mom had written:
If Linda ever comes back, Robert must know she has the ledger. Martin kept records of every payment, every false account, every person who helped him.
I looked at Linda.
“Where is the ledger?””
She stared at me.
“I destroyed it.””
Martin laughed.
Everyone turned.
“No, you didn’t.””
Linda’s face changed.
Martin smiled.
“You never could throw away something valuable.””
The detective stepped closer.
“Where is it?””
Linda said nothing.
Then Daniel suddenly whispered, “The pie.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
His eyes widened.
“Mom’s kitchen.””
He looked at me.
“The cabinet beside the recycling bin. She has a hidden compartment behind it.””
I remembered arriving for Christmas.
My homemade pie.
Linda taking it from my hands.
Setting it on the side counter.
Beside the recycling.
Daniel was already moving toward the door.
“She keeps important papers there.””
Linda shouted.
“Daniel, don’t!””
He stopped.
We all did.
Her panic was immediate.
Real.
Daniel slowly turned toward his mother.
“What’s in that cabinet?””
Linda’s lips trembled.
Nothing came out.
Martin answered for her.
“The one thing that proves Linda didn’t just know about the fraud.””
May you like
He smiled at her.
“She helped me continue it.””
