Chapter 6 - THE DNA TEST
The twins did not care about corporate corruption.
They cared about whether Luca liked pancakes.
Emma asked me that the morning after Graham’s confession.
“Why?”
“Because dads are supposed to like pancakes.”
I stared at her.
“Who told you that?”
“Eli.”
From the kitchen table, Eli shrugged.
“Most dads probably do.”
Children could reduce seven years of grief into breakfast logic.
I sat down beside them.
“Luca would like to meet you.”
Emma’s face brightened.
Eli’s did not.
“Does he want to be our dad now?”
“I think he wants the chance to know you.”
“Because he saw us?”
“Yes.”
“What if we didn’t look like him?”
The question stunned me.
I reached across the table.
“None of this is because of how you look.”
“But that’s how he knew.”
I had no good answer.
Later that afternoon, Luca called.
“I want a DNA test.”
I had expected it.
The words still hurt.
“You need proof.”
“I need certainty for them.”
“Them?”
“If I enter their lives, I will never leave because a rumor changes.”
He paused.
“I will not make another decision about family based on assumptions.”
That was fair.
Painfully fair.
We arranged a private test through an independent clinic.
No Moretti doctors.
No company laboratories.
No people connected to Evelyn.
Luca insisted on that.
The twins thought the cheek swabs were funny.
Emma crossed her eyes while the nurse collected hers.
Eli asked if DNA could tell him whether he would become tall.
For twenty-four hours, life almost felt normal.
Then Moretti Global’s legal department called me.
A lawyer named Richard Cole introduced himself.
“We need to discuss preservation of Mr. Moretti’s parental rights.”
My blood turned cold.
“What?”
“Given the potential paternity situation, there are legal considerations regarding custody, financial support, inheritance, and privacy.”
I stood.
“Who authorized you to call me?”
“Mrs. Moretti requested that we begin protecting the family’s interests.”
Mrs. Moretti.
Evelyn.
I hung up.
Then I called Luca.
He answered immediately.
“What happened?”
“Your wife sent lawyers after me.”
Silence.
“What?”
I repeated the conversation.
Luca’s voice became terrifyingly calm.
“I did not authorize that.”
“They said they’re protecting your family.”
“They are not my lawyers anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m going to Moretti Global.”
Twenty minutes later, three senior attorneys were called into Luca’s office.
Evelyn was already there.
She had apparently believed Luca would appreciate her initiative.
She was wrong.
“You contacted Nia without my approval.”
Evelyn remained seated.
“I protected you.”
“From what?”
“A potential custody disaster.”
“They are children.”
“They are heirs to a multibillion-dollar estate.”
Luca’s voice dropped.
“They are my children.”
“We do not know that yet.”
The door opened.
Luca’s private attorney entered holding an envelope.
Everyone looked at him.
“The independent DNA results arrived.”
Luca did not take his eyes from Evelyn.
“Say it.”
The attorney hesitated.
Then spoke.
“Probability of paternity exceeds 99.99 percent.”
Nobody moved.
Luca closed his eyes.
Six years of birthdays disappeared behind his eyelids.
Six Christmas mornings.
Six first days of school.
First words.
First steps.
Fevers.
Nightmares.
Everything.
When he opened his eyes, Evelyn was staring at the floor.
Luca removed his wedding ring.
He placed it on the conference table.
May you like
Then he looked at his wife.
“Get out of my company.”
