Chapter 9 - The DNA Test That Changed Everything
The obvious reaction was panic.
Adrian’s reaction was worse.
He became methodical.
Every employee at his estate was confined temporarily to separate areas.
Phones collected.
Security logs examined.
Bianca argued.
“You can’t treat everyone like criminals.”
“One of them may be.”
“Some have worked here ten years.”
“Sofia was married to me eight.”
That silenced her.
I stayed with Luca in the nursery.
He sat on the carpet hitting two wooden blocks together.
Completely unaware that half the adults in his life were being investigated.
I watched him.
Then looked at Sofia’s photograph on my phone.
The resemblance between us remained unsettling.
Yet now it felt less frightening.
More intimate.
I wondered if Luca noticed.
Maybe not consciously.
But infants knew faces.
Voices.
Smells.
Patterns.
When I smiled, perhaps something in him remembered safety.
He crawled toward me.
I lifted him.
“You’re causing a lot of trouble, mister.”
He laughed.
It was the first time I had heard him laugh.
My heart broke a little.
Adrian entered.
He stopped when he heard the sound.
Luca laughed again.
Adrian’s expression softened.
“He hasn’t done that much since…”
He didn’t finish.
“Sofia?”
He nodded.
I handed Luca to him.
This time the baby went willingly.
Progress.
Adrian kissed his forehead.
Then looked at me.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“One employee accessed the basement camera network three weeks before Sofia died.”
“Who?”
“The nanny.”
My stomach tightened.
“Luca’s nanny?”
“No. Previous one.”
“What happened to her?”
“She disappeared after the accident.”
“That seems subtle.”
“I was grieving.”
“So everybody used that.”
His face hardened.
“Yes.”
Her name was Evelyn Ward.
Sofia had hired her during pregnancy.
She resigned the morning after Sofia died.
No forwarding address.
Payments from a shell company linked to Dante appeared in her account.
Adrian’s guilt became visible.
“I let her near my son.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have.”
“You’re not omniscient.”
“People around me expect me to be.”
“I don’t.”
He looked at me.
“That’s becoming increasingly unusual.”
The investigation continued.
Meanwhile, Detective Harris called.
Caleb Morris had been released.
“What?”
“Insufficient evidence to hold him beyond the break-in charges pending court.”
“He tried burning documents.”
“He claims panic.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I agree.”
Her voice lowered.
“But someone paid a very expensive attorney.”
“Vincent?”
“We can’t prove it.”
Of course.
Then she asked me something unexpected.
“Ms. Valdez, are you willing to take a formal DNA test?”
“Yes.”
The original lab report proved Sofia and Elena were twins, but modern DNA could legally confirm my identity against Sofia’s stored medical sample and Luca.
We agreed.
The results arrived two days later.
Probability Sofia and I were identical twins: greater than 99.99%.
Biological aunt relationship to Luca: greater than 99.99%.
The truth was official.
Legal.
Irrefutable.
I sat in Adrian’s library holding the report.
“I’m his aunt.”
Adrian sat opposite.
“Yes.”
“I’ve never been anyone’s aunt.”
“Congratulations.”
“That sounded sarcastic.”
“It wasn’t.”
“It did.”
He smiled slightly.
Then I noticed another envelope.
“What’s that?”
He didn’t answer.
“Adrian.”
“Sofia’s will.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Your identity triggers a clause.”
“What clause?”
He handed me the document.
IF MY SISTER ELENA VALENTI IS EVER FOUND ALIVE, ALL PERSONAL INTEREST I HOLD IN VALENTI HERITAGE ASSETS SHALL PASS EQUALLY TO HER AND MY SON.
I stared.
“What assets?”
Adrian leaned back.
“Apparently more than anyone realized.”
The original harbor deed had been fraudulently transferred.
If invalidated, ownership would revert to Marco’s heirs.
Sofia and me.
Since Sofia died, Luca inherited her share.
Potential value?
Two hundred and eighty million dollars.
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was absurd.
“I owe $1,400 in rent.”
Adrian’s mouth twitched.
“Noted.”
“And you’re telling me I might own half of waterfront property worth hundreds of millions?”
“Potentially.”
“This is stupid.”
“Legally complicated.”
“No. Stupid.”
I stood.
“I don’t want it.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You haven’t seen the tax implications.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“I didn’t look for Sofia because of money.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want anyone thinking—”
“Elina.”
“What?”
“You’re arguing with a man who owns several companies about whether money makes you morally suspicious.”
I stopped.
“You’re bad at comforting people.”
“I know.”
He continued.
“Sofia wanted you protected.”
I looked at the will.
“She wrote this before finding me?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She always believed you might be alive.”
My throat tightened.
“She left me something before she knew me.”
“She left you a place.”
I looked toward the nursery.
Luca’s laugh drifted faintly down the hallway.
A place.
That mattered more than money.
Then Adrian’s lawyer arrived.
He brought another surprise.
The will included a handwritten addendum dated four days before Sofia died.
It wasn’t about property.
It was about Luca.
If Adrian was unable to care for him and Elena Valenti had been identified, Sofia requested that Elena be considered as guardian before any extended relative.
My eyes blurred.
“She trusted me with her child before meeting me?”
Adrian looked equally stunned.
“She watched you.”
“That’s not knowing me.”
“Maybe it was enough for her.”
I cried.
Again.
I was becoming tired of crying.
Then something else occurred to me.
“Who knew about this addendum?”
The lawyer checked.
“Sofia. Her attorney. The witness.”
“Who witnessed?”
He read the signature.
Evelyn Ward.
The former nanny.
Adrian stood.
The same woman connected to Dante knew Sofia planned to place Luca under my protection.
That created motive.
If I was found alive, I inherited property.
I became Luca’s legal fallback.
And potentially a threat to anyone trying to control his inheritance.
This wasn’t only about twenty-eight-year-old crimes.
It was about current money.
Current power.
Current custody.
Adrian’s phone rang.
Security.
They had located Evelyn.
Alive.
Working under another name in Connecticut.
Within six hours, Adrian and Detective Harris coordinated an interview.
Evelyn agreed to speak after learning Dante had apparently abandoned her.
Her recorded statement changed everything.
“I never wanted Sofia dead,” she said.
“Then why spy on her?” Harris asked.
“Dante paid me.”
“For what?”
“Schedules. Meetings. Files.”
“Did you tell him about Elena?”
“Yes.”
My skin crawled.
“When?”
“When Sofia found her online.”
“And what did Dante do?”
Evelyn began crying.
“He panicked.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena surviving meant the harbor transfer could be challenged.”
“Did he order Sofia killed?”
Evelyn shook her head violently.
“No.”
“Who did?”
“He ordered someone to scare her.”
“Who?”
Evelyn stared at the table.
“Caleb.”
The man from Orelio.
“What happened?”
“He followed Sofia from the harbor.”
“And?”
“He was supposed to force her off the road long enough to stop her.”
Adrian went pale.
“Force her off the road?”
“Yes.”
“Did he hit her car?”
Evelyn cried.
“I don’t know.”
Harris leaned forward.
“Evelyn.”
“Yes.”
The word came out broken.
“Yes. He hit her.”
Adrian stood so fast the chair fell.
I grabbed his arm.
The recording continued.
“Sofia lost control.”
Evelyn covered her face.
“Caleb called Dante afterward. He said it wasn’t supposed to happen.”
My stomach turned.
Sofia’s death wasn’t planned murder.
But it was caused intentionally.
Dante ordered intimidation.
Caleb rammed her car.
She crashed.
A distinction that meant nothing to grief.
Then Detective Harris asked:
“Where is Dante now?”
Evelyn looked toward the camera.
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
“He said if everything collapsed, there was one person he would take.”
Adrian froze.
“Who?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Luca.”
Every adult in the room turned toward the nursery monitor.
The crib was empty.
My heart stopped.
Then a nanny entered the frame.
“Mr. Moretti?”
Her face was terrified.
“I thought Bianca had him.”
Adrian ran.
We reached the nursery.
Empty.
Window open.
Security alarm disabled.
A note on the crib.
YOU TOOK MY FUTURE.
May you like
I TOOK YOURS.
Luca was gone.
