Chapter 12 - Ryan’s Last Secret
I refused to believe it.
Not again.
Ryan had nearly died because of Danielle.
He had warned me.
He had apologized.
But when federal agents searched his financial records, they found a company registered in Delaware.
Carter Genomic Holdings.
Created eleven months earlier.
Ryan was listed as the sole owner.
I walked into his hospital room holding the documents.
He knew immediately.
“Claire.”
“Tell me.”
He looked at the pages.
Then closed his eyes.
“It isn’t what you think.”
“I’m getting very tired of hearing that sentence.”
“I created the company because Danielle told me the research could be valuable.”
“When?”
“Before I knew what M-17 really was.”
“You bought the files?”
“No.”
“Vittorio says you did.”
“Vittorio is lying.”
“Are you?”
Ryan looked at me for a long time.
Then said, “Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“At the beginning, yes.”
I stared.
“I knew your medical profile was unusual.”
“How?”
“Danielle told me.”
“And you saw dollar signs.”
His face crumbled.
“Yes.”
I turned away.
“Claire, please.”
“You didn’t just abandon us.”
“I know.”
“You built a company around my DNA.”
“I never planned to hurt you.”
“You always say that after hurting me.”
He began crying.
Actual tears.
I felt nothing.
Not satisfaction.
Not pity.
Just exhaustion.
“There’s one more thing,” he whispered.
I turned.
“What?”
“The DNA test.”
“What about it?”
“Harlow showed me two reports.”
I froze.
“The first said I wasn’t Sophie’s father.”
“And the second?”
“He told me it was inconclusive.”
“Did you see it?”
“For five seconds.”
Ryan swallowed.
“It had Luka’s name on it.”
My skin prickled.
“That’s why I believed you cheated.”
“You thought I secretly slept with a tattooed stranger I had never met?”
“I thought you knew him.”
“You could have asked me.”
“I was angry.”
“You walked out with your mistress.”
He looked down.
“I know.”
I opened the door.
“Claire.”
I stopped.
Ryan’s voice cracked.
“I loved you.”
I looked over my shoulder.
“No.”
His face broke.
“You loved what I gave you.”
I walked out.
In the hallway, Luka waited with two DNA envelopes.
One from the federal lab.
One from an independent laboratory.
I stared at them.
“Is it true?”
He nodded slowly.
“They tested Sophie against me.”
My heart hammered.
“And?”
“I didn’t open them.”
“Why?”
“Because you should decide.”
My hands trembled.
Ryan suddenly appeared behind us, dragging his IV stand.
“Claire.”
A nurse called after him.
He ignored her.
“Don’t.”
I looked at him.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t open it.”
His face was white.
“Why?”
“Because if Luka is her biological father…”
His voice cracked.
“…then everything I did becomes real.”
I stared at him.
“It already is.”
“No.”
He shook his head desperately.
“If I was wrong—if Sophie really wasn’t mine because of what they did—then I threw away my family over a lie.”
I looked down at the envelope.
Ryan whispered:
“Please.”
May you like
And for the first time since he abandoned me, my husband dropped to his knees.
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