Chapter 5 - THE TEST THAT LIED
Rebecca was questioned but released after claiming a clerical misunderstanding. Marcus denied instructing her to collect Lily. Yet the forged authorization and false counselor statement gave Maya enough evidence to request a formal investigation.
Emma expected Marcus to retreat.
Instead, he doubled down.
He moved the piano from Adrian's house into a private storage facility and told Ethan that Emma had tried to take it away. Ethan, confused and grieving, sent Lily a cruel voice message accusing her of being selfish.
Lily listened once, then deleted it without replying.
"I don't hate him," she told Emma. "I just want Daddy to remember me."
Those words shattered Emma more than anger would have.
Adrian began questioning the DNA result. The private laboratory Marcus used had no hospital affiliation and operated from a rented suite outside the city. Maya obtained a court order requiring a new test through an accredited facility.
Marcus objected violently.
"You wanted certainty," Emma said during mediation. "Why are you afraid of another test?"
"Because you've already poisoned everyone against me."
The accredited test was performed under observation. Three days later, Maya gathered Emma and Adrian in her office.
"Marcus is not Ethan's biological father," she said.
Adrian closed his eyes.
Emma felt relief, followed immediately by dread. "Then the first result was false."
Maya nodded. "And someone paid for it."
Bank records revealed a transfer from a consulting company linked to Rebecca. The payment had been made two days before the first laboratory issued its report.
But Rebecca had not acted alone.
The transfer originated from a joint account controlled by Adrian's late wife, Natalie, and a silent partner whose initials were M.B.
Marcus Bennett.
Emma stared at the page. "He paid for the lie himself?"
Maya shook her head. "Not necessarily. The transaction occurred after Natalie died. Someone used Marcus's credentials."
That night, Emma received another anonymous message.
This time it included security footage from the private laboratory.
May you like
The video showed Rebecca entering with a sealed envelope.
Twenty minutes later, Marcus entered through a rear door.
