Chapter 12 - Two Fathers, One Truth
No one spoke for several seconds.
Eliza looked at the report.
Then at Mark.
Then at Dr. Foster.
“You tested twice.”
“Yes.”
“And both excluded Mark.”
“Yes.”
“So what changed?”
“We discovered the DNA reference sample labeled as Mark’s did not belong to him.”
Eliza sat down.
Someone had substituted Mark’s genetic profile.
The embryo story remained real.
Eliza had undergone an unauthorized transfer.
But there was another possibility.
The embryo transfer might have failed.
And Eliza could have conceived naturally with Mark afterward.
The dates overlapped by less than forty-eight hours.
Only fetal DNA could resolve it conclusively.
Eliza laughed helplessly.
“Of course.”
Dominic frowned.
“What?”
“My life finally gives me two possible answers instead of zero.”
Testing was performed.
Forty-eight hours later, the result arrived.
Mark sat beside Eliza.
Sofia sat across from them.
Gabriel stood behind her.
Dominic remained near the window.
Dr. Foster opened the report.
“The fetus is genetically related to Eliza Reynolds.”
Everyone waited.
“And the biological father…”
Eliza held Mark’s hand.
“Is Mark Tanner.”
Mark stopped breathing.
Eliza began crying.
Sofia closed her eyes.
Gabriel lowered his head.
Relief mixed with grief.
The stolen embryo had not implanted.
Eliza’s pregnancy had occurred naturally.
Her baby was Mark’s.
Mark covered his face.
“I’m the father.”
Eliza laughed through tears.
“Yes.”
He looked at her as if he had been handed his life back.
“I’m the father.”
“Yes, idiot.”
He kissed her hand.
Not her lips.
He knew he had not earned that yet.
Across the room, Sofia quietly cried.
Eliza went to her.
“I’m sorry.”
Sofia shook her head.
“No. Don’t be.”
“The embryo—”
“Was already lost before any of us knew.”
Gabriel held Sofia.
For them, it was a grief eight years delayed.
But it was also closure.
Their stolen child had not become another stolen life.
The story should have become simpler.
Instead, the test uncovered one more secret.
Mark’s biological DNA matched someone in the federal database.
A man named Michael Tancredi.
Convicted financial broker.
Deceased.
The database listed Michael’s father.
Anthony Tancredi.
A name Dominic recognized.
“He worked for my father.”
Mark stared.
“My father told me he was an electrician.”
“He was,” Dominic said. “And an accountant for people who couldn’t keep legal books.”
Mark had unknowingly been connected to the Castellano organization from birth.
That explained why Crown recruited him.
He was not randomly chosen to watch Eliza.
He had inherited access.
Everyone in the story seemed tied together before they ever met.
Eliza looked at Mark.
“Do you have any other secret relatives?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Please keep it that way.”
He almost smiled.
Then Catherine called.
She had found evidence that Victoria was not the final leader of Crown.
There was a board.
Seven people.
Victoria controlled only two seats.
One belonged to Martin Graves.
Three were unknown.
And one—
belonged to someone inside federal law enforcement.
If Eliza testified publicly, Crown would attempt to destroy her credibility.
The attack began the next morning.
An edited video appeared online.
It showed Eliza entering Dominic’s estate.
Another clip showed Dominic touching her arm.
A third showed them on a balcony late at night.
Headlines suggested an affair.
PREGNANT HEIRESS AND MAFIA BOSS: SECRET ROMANCE?
Mark stared at the news.
Eliza braced.
He laughed.
“What?”
“You look miserable in every photo.”
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
Mark continued.
“If you two are having an affair, you’re doing it badly.”
Eliza laughed for the first time in days.
The internet frenzy intensified.
Instead of hiding, Eliza did something nobody expected.
She invited reporters to an official press conference.
Dominic objected.
Mark objected.
Luca objected.
Her lawyers objected.
Eliza went anyway.
A reporter shouted:
“Ms. Reynolds, are you romantically involved with Dominic Castellano?”
“No.”
Another:
“Is Mark Tanner the father?”
“Yes.”
Mark watched from backstage.
Another reporter yelled:
“Why should anyone believe you?”
Eliza stepped closer to the microphones.
“You shouldn’t believe me because I ask you to.”
The room quieted.
“You should believe documents, evidence, investigators, and facts that can be independently checked.”
She looked into the cameras.
“And that is exactly what Crown fears.”
The clip exploded online.
Then one reporter stood.
Older man.
Gray suit.
He asked:
“Ms. Reynolds, why haven’t you disclosed your connection to Anthony Tancredi?”
Eliza frowned.
“I don’t have one.”
The man smiled.
“Your boyfriend does.”
Mark stepped forward backstage.
The reporter continued:
“And did Mark Tanner tell you Anthony Tancredi is still alive?”
Mark froze.
Dominic saw.
“You knew?”
Mark whispered:
“No.”
The reporter removed his glasses.
Mark stared at him.
Something in his face changed.
Recognition.
The man smiled.
“Hello, son.”
Chaos erupted.
May you like
Mark’s dead father had just introduced himself on live television.
---
