“I think we need to check. Can you organize a re-test at a different lab? One where no one knows the names involved?”
“I can do that. I’ll drive the samples there myself this time.”
“Do it. But first, I need new samples.”
The next day, Mike went back to Hope’s. She looked worse; the stress was taking its toll.
“I didn’t expect to see you again,” she said.
“I have a feeling something went wrong with the test. I want to do it again.”
“Mike, don’t do this to yourself. Maybe I was wrong? Maybe I’m just confused?”
“Who else could it be?”
“I don’t know. After we broke up, I was a mess… I was depressed… maybe there’s something I don’t remember?”
“Hope, look at me. Are you sure Daisy isn’t mine?”
She looked him in the eye. “I was sure. Until that paper said otherwise.”
“Hope, what if someone wants us to believe that?”
The second test was done at a high-security lab across town. Dr. Harrison personally delivered the samples and waited for the results.
“Mike,” he said over the phone later that day, “I have the news.”
“And?”
“It’s positive. 99.97% probability.”
Mike felt his heart hammer against his ribs.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Daisy is your daughter.”
“And the first test?”
“A total fake. Steve, the courier, confessed. Someone paid him fifteen thousand dollars to swap the samples.”
“Who paid him?”
“A woman. Blonde, late twenties. She used a fake name, but Steve described her perfectly.”
Mike already knew who it was.
“Mark, thank you. You have no idea what this means.”
“Congratulations, Mike. You’ve got a great kid.”
The next thirty minutes were a blur as Mike drove to Hope’s apartment. He was thinking about what he would say to Stephanie. Or rather, how she would try to explain herself.
Daisy met him at the door, her face lighting up.
“Mom said you probably wouldn’t come back.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I promised I’d look after you.”
“But you’re not my dad.”
“Actually, I was wrong,” Mike said, kneeling down. “I am your dad. For real.”
“Really?”
“Really. The first test was a mistake.”
“And the second one?”
“The second one proved you’re my daughter. The best daughter in the world.”
Daisy threw her arms around his neck.
“Daddy! Daddy! Mom, did you hear? I have a daddy!”
Hope stood in the doorway, tears streaming down her face.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Don’t thank me. I just found the truth. Now, I have to talk to the person who spent eight years hiding it.”
“Mike, be careful. If Stephanie is capable of this, she’s dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine. Hope, Daisy… pack your things.”
“Why?”
“You’re moving into my house. For good.”
The final confrontation with the woman who had stolen eight years of his life was overdue. Mike was ready.
“So you know,” Stephanie said when he walked into the house.
She was sitting in the living room with a glass of wine, looking calm, but he noticed her hand was shaking.
“Know what?”
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