CHAPTER 6: The First Results

Daniel had a DNA test done. Margaret insisted everything go through the family’s legal channels to “protect their reputation.” Daniel outwardly agreed, but inwardly he began to distrust any process bearing the Cross name.

While waiting for the results, Noah stayed at the mansion. He learned to walk quietly in the wide hallway, learned to thank the servants, learned to hide leftover bread in his coat pocket. Mrs. Alvarez, the old housekeeper, noticed but didn’t scold him. She simply placed another box of bread in his room and said, “Here, you don’t need to save up for hunger.”
Daniel took Noah to buy clothes. In the brightly lit store, he chose only the cheapest shirt. When Daniel asked him what color he liked, Noah remained silent for a long time.

“I don’t know. Mom usually chooses the more durable ones.”

That evening, Daniel taught Noah how to tie a bow tie in front of the mirror so he could visit Emily. Two faces appeared side by side: the same eyebrows, the same sadness in the corners of their eyes. Daniel couldn’t deny that familiar feeling.

Then the first result came: not related by blood.
Margaret placed the paper on the table as if putting an end to it. Noah heard it from the hallway. He didn’t cry, he just went back to his room and packed his old shirt into a bag.

“I’m sorry,” he said to Daniel. “Mom must have misremembered.”

Daniel knelt down. “No. The adults did something wrong. And you don’t have to apologize for existing.”

That night, Marcus checked the cameras. Someone had entered the room containing the test samples before they were sent: Margaret’s personal assistant.