Chapter 12 - THE TRUTH MY MOTHER BURIED
We opened the envelope.
Gabriel Moretti was not my biological father.
He had been my mother's husband.
He had loved me.
He had planned to raise me.
But genetically, we were unrelated.
The report contained another comparison.
EMMA HALE / CHARLES CALLOWAY.
I couldn't breathe.
PATERNAL PROBABILITY: 99.98%.
Derek dropped into a chair.
“No.”
Luka looked like someone had punched him.
Charles Calloway was my biological father.
Which made Derek my half-brother.
I ran to the bathroom and vomited.
Derek stood outside.
“Emma…”
“Don't.”
“We didn't know.”
“DON'T.”
Years of marriage flashed through my mind.
Every touch.
Every kiss.
Every attempt to have a child.
All orchestrated by Charles.
Except now something didn't fit.
Why would Charles send his son to marry his daughter?
Luka found the answer.
“He didn't know.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“Charles didn't know you were his daughter when he sent Derek.”
“He thought Gabriel was your father.”
“Then when did he discover it?”
“The IVF process.”
My blood went cold.
Genetic testing.
That was when Charles learned.
And suddenly everything after that made sense.
Our embryo transfer had been delayed.
Records disappeared.
Doctors changed.
Charles began calling Derek more often.
Then I became pregnant.
He had discovered the horrifying truth.
And instead of telling us…
He had turned Grace into another experiment.
Brittany found the final piece.
A video recorded by my mother.
Elena appeared on screen.
She looked exhausted.
Charles assaulted me after a research gala.
The room became silent.
I never told Gabriel.
I couldn't.
Tears filled my eyes.
When I discovered I was pregnant, I prayed the baby was Gabriel's.
Years later, testing proved she wasn't.
Thomas helped me hide the truth.
Emma must never become part of the Calloway family.
My chest broke.
My mother had tried to protect me from the exact future that happened anyway.
The video continued.
If Charles ever discovers Emma is his biological daughter, he will understand something even more dangerous.
Her genetic correction didn't come from him.
It came from me.
And therefore any future child must inherit through Emma.
Grace.
That was why Grace mattered.
Not because of her father.
Because of me.
A phone rang.
My phone.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Evelyn.
Grace was crying in the background.
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“I swear to God—”
“Bring the envelopes.”
“Where?”
“The original Moretti laboratory.”
Luka stiffened.
“That building burned.”
Evelyn heard him.
“No, Luka.”
“Only the upper floors burned.”
“The laboratory beneath it is still there.”
She paused.
“And Emma?”
“Yes?”
“Bring Derek.”
Derek looked at me.
“Why?”
Evelyn laughed softly.
May you like
“Because before this ends, he deserves to know why Charles chose him.”
The call ended.
