The DNA Test
Chapter 08 - The DNA Test
Julian wanted a private DNA test.
Emma agreed for one reason.
Her mother deserved to know the truth before it was too late.
The results took four days.
During those four days, Emma’s life collapsed.
The viral video reached millions of views.
She was recognized at a pharmacy.
Someone posted her apartment building online.
A tabloid offered her ten thousand dollars to accuse Julian Mercer of abandoning her.
She refused.
Julian offered money.
She refused that too.
“What do you need?” he asked.
“My job back.”
He looked surprised.
“I can do that.”
“No special title. No office. No pretending I’m suddenly qualified for something because of a blood test.”
Julian nodded.
“Fair.”
“And clear my name publicly.”
His expression changed.
“That should already have happened.”
It had not.
The hotel’s legal team had delayed the statement, worried that admitting the bracelet had been planted would create liability.
Julian fired the head of legal communications that afternoon.
Then he stood in front of cameras.
“Emma Reed did not steal anything. Evidence was planted in her locker. The Halston Grand failed to protect one of its employees, and I failed as its owner by allowing legal concerns to come before her dignity.”
The corrected video spread even faster than the first.
For the first time, public sympathy shifted.
That evening, Julian and Emma sat in Laura’s hospital room when the DNA results arrived.
Julian opened the envelope.
Probability of paternity: 99.998%.
He stared at the page.
Emma stared at him.
Laura began to cry.
Julian crossed the room slowly.
He did not hug Emma.
He did not assume he had the right.
He simply said, “I am so sorry I missed your whole life.”
Emma’s voice cracked.
“You didn’t know.”
“No.”
He looked at Laura.
May you like
“But someone did.”
And across town, Richard Mercer was calling an emergency meeting of the family foundation.
