Chapter 552 - 148 Blood Reveals Truth

Chapter 552: Chapter 148 Blood Reveals Truth

Lila’s POV

Sunday afternoon had slipped away, and I still hadn’t returned to reading Alice’s private journal. Yesterday, Daniel had convinced me to set aside my search for answers about my true parentage while my Sullivan family associates visited, knowing they’d be departing for their respective territories by evening. He’d secured all the evidence—surveillance photos, intercepted communications, the journal—and locked them in his personal safe, promising we’d have a peaceful Sunday away from family politics.

But peace wasn’t in the cards for us in this world of underground nobility.

Zoe had contacted me yesterday after I’d assured her I was managing the shock of possibly being switched at birth reasonably well. She’d insisted on visiting today, partly to check on me and partly to assess Katarina’s condition. Jude and Sybilla joined us for lunch, with Sybilla quickly charming my father with her sharp wit and ability to navigate family diplomatic conversations. By mid-afternoon, Zoe and Finn arrived, and just as we settled into the secured living room, the encrypted intercom chimed. Daniel excused himself to answer it.

"Everyone, I’d like you to meet Detective Gideon, the investigator who’s been helping us navigate the corruption in our case," Daniel announced, returning with a tall, visibly exhausted man in his early adulthood. He methodically introduced each of us, careful not to reveal too much about our family connections.

"I apologize for intruding on your Sunday gathering," Gideon said, settling into the offered armchair with the wariness of someone who’d spent years dealing with powerful families. "I was heading back to the precinct and wanted to update you on what transpired during Aria’s interrogation."

Gideon detailed his interaction with the corrupt private nurse, painting a picture of a truly despicable woman who’d been selling her services to the highest bidders for many years. When he mentioned her financial connection to Claire and displayed the offshore account number she’d reluctantly provided, my father sank back against the leather sofa cushions.

"Dear God," he whispered, his face pale with the realization of what his second wife might have done. "What kind of monster did I bring into our family?"

His devastation was justified. None of us had words of comfort that could ease the weight of potentially being deceived for so many years.

"I always said that woman had the soul of a federal informant!" Katarina proclaimed with such dramatic conviction that nervous laughter rippled through the tension-filled room.

"What else did you uncover during the interrogation, Detective?" Daniel steered us back to the investigation at hand.

"She confirmed the other woman whose delivery she attended that same night did indeed give birth to twins," Gideon said, consulting his encrypted notes. "But that’s where her cooperation ended. She claimed she left that woman’s estate and proceeded directly to your family’s private medical facility."

"So she departed the first location with one of the infants," Daniel concluded, his voice carrying the grim certainty of someone who’d seen too many family betrayals.

"That appears most likely, but she refused to confirm the switch or reveal what happened to that child. She was equally uncooperative about the events at your family’s compound. Once her high-priced attorney arrived—clearly funded by someone with serious money—she shut down completely. I attempted to extract information from her legal counsel, but he’s a familiar face in our circles. The detective mentioned he’s a local attorney who specializes in making problems disappear for wealthy clients," Gideon explained carefully. "Aria did hint that speaking the truth would cost her a current income stream from someone who still pays for her silence."

"Then I could be the daughter of the woman who delivered twins that night," I said quietly, my heart heavy with the implications for another grieving mother.

"That’s entirely possible, Lila, but I’ve been considering another scenario during my hours at the station," Gideon leaned forward, his expression thoughtful in the way of someone who’d solved complex family conspiracies before.

I moved to the edge of the sofa, desperate to hear his professional assessment.

"Always another layer to peel back in these family matters," Daniel observed with dark humor.

"This theory is actually more straightforward," Gideon insisted. "If Claire wasn’t actually pregnant, she needed an infant to secure her position in your family. Perhaps Aria took the first woman’s child to deliver to Claire."

"That would align perfectly with our evidence," Daniel nodded, his investigator’s mind already connecting the pieces.

"But consider this complication—what if your father had requested DNA verification? A negative result would have destroyed Claire’s entire scheme," Gideon raised a compelling point. "Sir, did you ever discuss paternity testing?"

"Actually, yes," my father’s eyes widened with sudden understanding. "During my final visit to Claire before Lila’s birth, when I delivered the monthly payments and checked on the pregnancy’s progress. She was particularly manipulative that day—demanding I leave my first wife for her, even suggesting Alice had been unfaithful and any child might not be mine..." His voice trailed off as the implications hit him. "It can’t be possible."

"My theory fits every piece of evidence we have," Gideon said with satisfaction. "With her medical bag and credentials, she could have easily concealed an infant. The private medical staff wasn’t present during the actual delivery. Aria could have performed the switch—the child who died might have been the other woman’s daughter, while you raised her surviving twin."

Hope bloomed within me like sunrise after the longest night. This explanation made perfect sense and would mean another mother hadn’t lost both her children. I looked at my father, who squeezed my hand with the protective strength I’d always known.

"This has to be the truth!" Beckett exclaimed, beginning to pace with the contained energy of someone accustomed to taking action.

"You could arrange DNA testing," Finn suggested suddenly. "Lila and Beckett—it would definitively show whether you share the same mother."

"We need to do this immediately, Lila," Beckett turned to Daniel with the urgency of someone who’d spent years wondering about family secrets. "How quickly can we arrange secure testing?"

"Is this type of testing reliable, Finn? I’ve heard sibling analysis can be inconclusive," Daniel questioned with professional caution.

"That’s accurate for standard sibling tests that analyze various genetic markers including X and Y chromosomes," Finn explained with the precision of someone raised in a medical family. "But mitochondrial DNA testing is exceptionally reliable because it’s inherited exclusively from the mother and remains identical in all her children."

"Your medical knowledge continues to impress me," Jude shook his head in admiration.

"When your family dinners revolve around forensic discussions and medical mysteries, you absorb considerable knowledge," Finn replied. "I can contact my uncle to collect samples today if you’d prefer not to wait."

"Yes, please!" Beckett and I responded simultaneously, our voices carrying identical hope.

"We should have pursued this approach from the beginning," Daniel reflected. "But if Lila proves to be Alice’s daughter, we owe the complete truth to that poor woman who’s suffered for years believing no one would believe her story."

"You’re absolutely right," my father agreed solemnly. "Perhaps it’s finally time to bring buried family secrets into the light."

Later that evening, Dr. Taylor arrived with a discrete medical technician to collect our samples in the privacy of Daniel’s secure apartment. My father insisted on being tested as well, determined to provide me with absolute certainty about my paternity. As my blood filled the sterile vial, hope and determination surged through my veins.

"When will we have results, doctor?" I asked, trying to contain my anxiety.

"The paternity test between you and your father will yield results in approximately two weeks," Dr. Taylor explained with professional calm. "However, the sibling test will require roughly a month and a half. Each analysis demands different laboratory procedures and timeframes that unfortunately cannot be expedited."

My spirits sank at the prospect of such extended waiting.

"But darling," my father reassured me with gentle conviction, "if you are my daughter, there are only two possible mothers—either Claire, which seems increasingly unlikely, or my beloved first wife, Alice."

"Two weeks," I repeated to myself, already counting each hour until truth would finally emerge.

As evening descended over the city, our guests departed, leaving just Daniel, Sybilla, and me in the secure sanctuary of his apartment. Despite my physical exhaustion from the emotional revelations, restlessness consumed me—I needed to finish reading Alice’s journal and discover Justin’s paternity. After Sybilla retired to her guest room, I asked Daniel to retrieve the journal from his safe.

"Wouldn’t you prefer to rest and continue tomorrow, little one?" he suggested gently, concern evident in his dark eyes.

"I can’t wait another day to discover who Justin’s father really was!" I insisted, bringing that familiar protective smile to his face as he moved toward his private office to retrieve the journal that held our family’s final secrets.