CHAPTER 10 — THE DNA TEST
For six years, Daniel had never questioned that Sofia was his daughter.
Neither had I.
There had been no one else.
I demanded to see the test.
Daniel claimed Margaret arranged it secretly using hair taken from Sofia’s brush. His own sample came from a razor.
The report showed a zero-percent probability of paternity.
My attorneys obtained a copy from Margaret’s files.
The laboratory listed on the report was real, but the identification numbers had been altered.
My father wanted the test repeated immediately.
I hesitated.
Not because I doubted myself.
Because I knew Sofia’s world had already been shattered enough.
We used a private accredited laboratory and explained to her only that the doctors needed cheek swabs for a family medical record.
The results arrived four days later.
Daniel was Sofia’s biological father.
Margaret’s report had been forged.
The fake DNA test was another tool of control. She planned to use it against Daniel if he ever refused to cooperate.
If he defended me, she would tell him Sofia was not his child.
If he exposed the fraud, she would humiliate him publicly.
When prosecutors confronted Daniel with the genuine result, he broke.
He agreed to cooperate.
He admitted giving Margaret access to our financial documents. He admitted signing the false affidavit. He admitted lying about the conference so he would not be present when the family pressured me.
But he insisted he never expected violence.
The prosecution offered no guarantee of leniency.
Still, Daniel began talking.
He revealed that Margaret had transferred millions from the Hale company into shell accounts controlled by Martin Keane. The missing funds had caused the company’s collapse.
Travis believed Sofia’s trust would buy him a luxury house.
In reality, Margaret intended to use most of the money to flee.
She had reserved a private flight leaving the morning after Christmas.
She planned to abandon her sons and blame the fraud on Daniel.
Travis learned the truth during an interview with detectives.
His loyalty to his mother disappeared immediately.
Within hours, he also agreed to cooperate.
Margaret’s family empire began consuming itself.
Relatives who had defended her changed their statements.
Employees surrendered records.
Martin Keane attempted to leave the country but was arrested at the airport.
Then the edited Christmas video appeared online.
It began with me shouting at Margaret after she demanded Sofia’s password.
It cut away before Travis lifted the golf club.
The caption identified me as the violent daughter of an underworld billionaire who had attacked an elderly woman during Christmas dinner.
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By morning, millions of people had watched it.
And outside Sofia’s school, reporters were waiting.
