Chapter 11: The Second Father
The second DNA report was fake.
Rosa knew it.
Ethan believed her.
The court did not have the luxury of belief.
Until the conflicting reports could be investigated, a judge temporarily suspended changes to the Caldwell trust.
Charles’s attorneys publicly accused Rosa of shopping for the richest possible father.
The supposed biological father was identified as Dr. Adrian Keller, Rosa’s former Columbia research supervisor.
Adrian had vanished from academic life three years earlier.
No current address.
No public employment.
No recent tax records.
It looked as though he had been created to be impossible to question.
Then Adrian appeared voluntarily at the courthouse.
He was forty-five, exhausted, and visibly terrified.
He told the judge he had never had a romantic relationship with Rosa.
He also denied providing DNA.
Outside the courtroom, he asked to speak privately with Ethan and Rosa.
“Richard Caldwell ruined my career,” Adrian said. “He threatened to expose fabricated misconduct unless I signed documents claiming Rosa stole research.”
Rosa stared at him.
“You let them expel me.”
“I was afraid.”
“You destroyed my future because you were afraid?”
“Yes.”
His honesty made the answer worse.
Adrian removed a flash drive from his pocket.
“I kept copies of everything.”
The drive contained original research files proving Rosa had developed a promising early-stage diagnostic technique for detecting certain pediatric metabolic disorders.
Her work had later been patented by a Caldwell-funded biotechnology company.
Ethan looked at the documents in horror.
“My father stole her research.”
Adrian nodded.
“The patent is worth nearly two hundred million dollars.”
Rosa could barely speak.
“My work?”
“Yes.”
The conspiracy had never been only about separating Rosa from Ethan.
Richard Caldwell had also wanted her research.
Her pregnancy had made her easier to discredit.
Charles Haynes had discovered the theft years later and used it to blackmail Margaret.
Now Charles wanted control of both the Caldwell trust and the patent.
Adrian agreed to testify.
That night, however, his hotel room was set on fire.
He escaped through a bathroom window but suffered severe burns.
Before paramedics took him away, he told Marcus one thing.
“Charles isn’t acting alone.”
“Who is helping him?”
Adrian struggled to breathe.
“Someone inside Caldwell Holdings.”
Ethan immediately reviewed the company’s executive access logs.
Only one person had opened the sealed patent files in the past year.
Samuel Price.
Ethan’s attorney.
The man handling Lily’s legal recognition.
The man who knew every secure location.
The man who had helped move Lily to the private clinic.
Ethan looked at the access record and felt betrayal settle into his bones.
At that exact moment, Rosa called from the clinic.
May you like
Her voice was panicked.
“Ethan, Lily is gone.”
