PART 2: THE DNA TEST
“He found the boy.”
The woman in the black SUV ended the call and drove away into the rain.
She never noticed Rosie standing near the diner window.
Watching.
Listening.
Memorizing.
Rosie had survived sixty-eight years by paying attention to things other people ignored.
And something about that woman immediately felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Inside the diner, however, none of us knew danger had just arrived.
Because our entire world had narrowed to one impossible moment.
A father holding the son he never knew existed.
Theo sat comfortably beside Ethan in Booth Seven.
The little traitor had somehow decided that the billionaire was his best friend within twenty minutes.
“Do you know dinosaurs?” Theo asked.
Ethan smiled.
“A few.”
“A few?”
Theo looked offended.
“You can't know only a few dinosaurs.”
“Why not?”
“Because there are hundreds.”
Ethan nodded seriously.
“That sounds like a problem.”
Theo laughed.
The sound hit Ethan like a physical force.
I could see it in his face.
Every smile.
Every word.
Every tiny expression.
He was trying desperately to absorb six years of memories in a single afternoon.
And he hated every second he had missed.
I stood behind the counter pretending to refill coffee cups while secretly watching them.
Watching the resemblance become impossible to ignore.
Even strangers were noticing.
An elderly customer whispered something to his wife.
The wife glanced toward Ethan and Theo.
Then her eyes widened.
The similarities were undeniable.
I felt sick.
Not because I regretted Theo.
Never that.
Because for the first time in six years, I truly understood what I had taken from Ethan.
A first word.
A first step.
A first birthday.
A first day of school.
Thousands of moments.
Gone forever.
The lunch crowd eventually disappeared.
Rain continued falling outside.
The diner grew quieter.
And reality finally caught up with us.
Ethan approached me near the counter.
Theo was coloring dinosaurs nearby.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Ethan quietly said,
“We need a DNA test.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
He studied my face.
“You aren't going to fight me?”
“No.”
His expression softened.
“Thank you.”
I looked away.
Because gratitude was harder to handle than anger.
“If he's yours,” I said quietly, “you deserve proof.”
A painful smile crossed his face.
“If?”
I swallowed.
We both knew.
The DNA test wasn't really for certainty.
It was for paperwork.
For courts.
For lawyers.
For reality.
Still, it had to happen.
Ethan reached into his pocket and handed me a business card.
Simple.
Black.
Expensive.
The name alone represented billions.
Ethan Brooks.
Chairman and CEO.
Brooks Global Holdings.
“I'll arrange everything.”
I took the card.
Our fingers touched briefly.
The contact felt strangely familiar.
Dangerously familiar.
Like touching a memory I had spent years trying to bury.
That evening, after closing time, Ethan offered to drive us home.
I immediately refused.
“No.”
“Emily—”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Too sharply.
His eyes narrowed.
“You still don't trust me.”
The truth hurt because it was partially correct.
The problem wasn't trust.
The problem was history.
The problem was remembering how much I once loved him.
Because love was far more dangerous than hatred.
Hatred creates distance.
Love destroys it.
“I'll take Theo home myself.”
Ethan looked toward the little boy.
Theo looked devastated.
“You're not coming?”
The disappointment in his voice almost made me change my mind.
Almost.
Ethan crouched beside him.
“Not tonight, buddy.”
Theo thought carefully.
Then held up a pink dinosaur sticker.
“You can have this.”
Ethan blinked.
“A dinosaur sticker?”
“It's my favorite one.”
The billionaire looked as though someone had handed him the crown jewels.
Slowly, he accepted it.
“I'll keep it.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Theo smiled.
Satisfied.
Then he grabbed my hand.
“Bye, Mr. Eye Twin.”
Ethan laughed.
The nickname would have been ridiculous coming from anyone else.
But from Theo?
It somehow became perfect.
“Goodbye, Theo.”
As we left, I made the mistake of looking back.
Ethan was still standing there.
Watching us.
The same way he used to watch me years ago.
Like losing sight of us was physically painful.
The drive home felt longer than usual.
Mostly because my mind refused to stop racing.
Questions.
Memories.
Regrets.
Everything was colliding.
Theo eventually fell asleep in the back seat.
His dinosaur backpack rested against his chest.
I glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
And felt fear.
Real fear.
Not fear of Ethan.
Fear of what came next.
Because once the DNA test confirmed the truth, everything would change.
Custody.
Lawyers.
Courts.
Media.
My quiet little life would disappear forever.
When we finally arrived home, I carried Theo inside.
Our apartment was tiny.
Two bedrooms.
Old furniture.
Peeling paint.
Nothing impressive.
But it was ours.
Safe.
Simple.
Hidden.
Or at least it had been.
I tucked Theo into bed.
Kissed his forehead.
Then sat alone in the living room.
Unable to sleep.
Around midnight, my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
Instead, I answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then breathing.
Slow.
Steady.
Deliberate.
My stomach tightened.
“Who is this?”
A woman's voice finally responded.
“Six years.”
Every muscle in my body froze.
No.
It couldn't be.
“Who is this?”
The woman laughed softly.
“You really don't recognize me?”
My blood turned to ice.
Because suddenly I did.
Victoria.
I hadn't heard that voice in six years.
Yet I recognized it instantly.
“How—”
“Congratulations,” she interrupted.
“Your little reunion was adorable.”
I stopped breathing.
“How do you know about that?”
More laughter.
Cold laughter.
The kind that never reaches the eyes.
“Because I've been watching.”
The room spun.
Watching?
Watching us?
For how long?
“What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
“That's a lie.”
“Fine.”
She paused.
Then her voice sharpened.
“I want what belongs to me.”
I gripped the phone tighter.
“You stole twenty million dollars.”
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
Confidently.
Almost angrily.
“I took payment.”
My heart pounded.
“Payment for what?”
Silence.
Long silence.
Then—
“For destroying your marriage.”
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Unable to move.
Unable to think.
Unable to breathe.
The next morning, I barely functioned.
Rosie immediately noticed.
“You look terrible.”
“Thanks.”
“You know what I mean.”
I did.
I looked exhausted.
Because I hadn't slept.
Not even a minute.
I told Rosie everything.
The phone call.
The threat.
Victoria.
Every detail.
By the time I finished, Rosie looked deeply troubled.
“That woman is dangerous.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Rosie shook her head.
“You don't.”
Something about her tone caught my attention.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Rosie hesitated.
Then sighed.
“The woman in the SUV yesterday.”
I stared at her.
“What woman?”
And suddenly everything changed.
Because Rosie described her perfectly.
The sunglasses.
The expensive coat.
The black SUV.
The phone call.
Every detail.
My stomach dropped.
Victoria.
She wasn't gone.
She wasn't hiding.
She was here.
Close.
Very close.
And somehow she already knew Ethan had found Theo.
Hours later, Ethan arrived at the clinic.
The DNA appointment had been scheduled immediately.
Of course it had.
Billionaires don't wait.
Theo happily swung his legs in the waiting room.
Completely unaware of the life-changing significance of the day.
“Do they have dinosaur doctors?” he asked.
“Probably.”
“Good.”
The nurse finally called us inside.
The test itself took only minutes.
A simple cheek swab.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing painful.
Yet somehow it felt enormous.
Permanent.
Final.
When it ended, the technician smiled politely.
“Results within twenty-four hours.”
Twenty-four hours.
One day.
One day until a legal document confirmed what our hearts already knew.
As we exited the clinic, Ethan stopped beside his car.
“Emily.”
His voice sounded serious.
I immediately knew something was wrong.
“What happened?”
His expression darkened.
“My security team found something.”
Fear crawled up my spine.
“What?”
He handed me a photograph.
The moment I saw it, my blood turned cold.
Theo.
Walking to school.
Taken from across the street.
Recent.
Very recent.
Someone had been watching my son.
My hands started shaking.
“Who took this?”
“We don't know yet.”
The answer terrified me even more.
Because Ethan Brooks always knew things.
The fact that he didn't know this meant whoever was involved was good.
Very good.
“There's more.”
I looked up.
His face had gone pale.
“Emily...”
My heart pounded.
“What?”
He handed over a second photograph.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
Every single picture showed Theo.
Different locations.
Different days.
Different angles.
Months of surveillance.
Someone had been tracking my child.
For months.
Maybe longer.
I could barely breathe.
“Why?”
The question emerged as a whisper.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“I don't know.”
But I could see it.
The fear in his eyes.
The same fear growing inside me.
Because deep down, both of us were thinking the same thing.
This wasn't random.
This wasn't curiosity.
This wasn't coincidence.
Someone wanted Theo.
And someone had wanted him long before Ethan discovered he existed.
That night, neither of us slept.
At exactly 8:17 a.m. the following morning, Ethan's phone rang.
The DNA results were ready.
The three of us sat together in his office.
Twenty-eight floors above Manhattan.
Theo was busy building a dinosaur kingdom from office supplies.
Meanwhile, Ethan and I stared at the sealed envelope.
The air felt impossibly heavy.
Finally, Ethan opened it.
His eyes scanned the page.
Once.
Twice.
Then he closed them.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
I didn't need to ask.
I already knew.
But he handed me the document anyway.
Probability of paternity:
99.9999%.
Father: Ethan Brooks.
My vision blurred.
For six years, Theo had only belonged to me.
Now the world officially knew he belonged to both of us.
I looked toward our son.
Our beautiful little boy.
And for one brief moment, everything felt okay.
Safe.
Hopeful.
Possible.
Then Ethan's office door exploded open.
A security guard rushed inside.
Panic covered his face.
“Mr. Brooks!”
Ethan immediately stood.
“What happened?”
The guard looked horrified.
“The school called.”
Every drop of blood left my body.
“Theo's school?”
The guard nodded.
Then delivered six words that shattered our world.
May you like
“Someone tried to take him yesterday.”
And suddenly the DNA test became the least important thing in the room.
