Chapter 1 - The Mastermind
My father stood in the doorway, his presence sucking the remaining air from the stifling hospital room.
The baby, my sweet Rose, immediately quieted at the low, familiar hum of his voice.
He did not look at my mother, nor did he look at my sister Madison, who was still clutching that ridiculous DNA kit.
His eyes locked entirely on Tyler.
“You really thought you could get away with it, didn’t you?” my father asked, his voice deceptively calm.
Tyler stumbled backward, knocking into the plastic bassinet.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Arthur,” Tyler stammered, his face draining of all color.
My father took a slow, deliberate step into the room.
“The sperm donor,” my father said, turning his gaze to me.
“I found out last week, sweetheart.”
“Found out what, Dad?” I whispered, clutching Rose tighter to my chest.
The nurse was still standing by the computer, looking like she wanted to call security but was too paralyzed by the unfolding drama.
“Your mother and Tyler made a deal,” my father explained, his voice breaking with suppressed rage.
“Tyler is sterile, and he has known it for six years.”
I felt the floor drop out from beneath me.
“He didn’t want to lose you, or more accurately, he didn’t want to lose your trust fund.”
Madison scoffed loudly.
“That’s insane, Dad!”
“Shut up, Madison,” my father snapped, silencing her instantly.
“Your mother found out about Tyler’s sterility.”
“Instead of telling you, she used it to blackmail him.”
“She wanted a baby for Madison, since Madison ruined her own chances at adoption.”
I looked at the woman who had birthed me, feeling absolutely nothing but ice-cold revulsion.
“So who is the father?” I asked, my voice shaking violently.
My father looked at the floor, a tear slipping down his weathered cheek.
“Your mother forged documents to use a sample from Julian.”
Julian.
My late fiancé, who had passed away in a tragic accident five years ago, whose parents had preserved his samples in the hope that one day I might still want his child.
May you like
“I am so sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” my father wept.
“But Rose is yours, and she is Julian’s.”
