Chapter 17 - The Ashford LieThe last envelope contained two DNA reports.
One for Mila.
One for Derek.
At first, I did not understand.
Then I saw the names.
Mila Bennett.
Potential paternal match: Luka Matteo Moretti — 99.42% probability.
The room blurred.
I sat down hard in the rocking chair.
Luka did not move.
He looked like a man receiving a sentence he had expected but still could not bear.
Mila was his.
Biologically.
Not through love.
Not through choice.
Through theft.
Through manipulation.
Through a dead man’s research and a living family’s greed.
I touched my daughter’s blanket.
Luka whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I looked at him sharply.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Did you suspect?”
“Yes.”
“Did you consent to any of this?”
His face twisted.
“No.”
Then my anger shifted.
Not away.
But into shape.
Mila and I were not the only ones violated.
Luka’s body had been used too. His stolen samples. His mother’s stolen history. His bloodline treated like property by people who called themselves civilized.
I looked back at the report.
Mila was biologically Luka’s child.
But I was her mother.
That was the only truth strong enough to stand in the room.
Then I read the second report.
Derek Ashford.
Alleged father: Arthur William Ashford.
Paternity exclusion.
I frowned.
“What does this mean?”
Luka’s voice was quiet.
“Arthur is not Derek’s biological father.”
I kept reading.
Potential paternal match: Thomas Ashford.
Senator Thomas Ashford.
Arthur’s brother.
My breath caught.
“Derek is Senator Ashford’s son?”
“Yes.”
“Does Derek know?”
Luka’s expression hardened.
“Yes.”
The pieces fell into place so violently I felt sick.
Arthur had raised his brother’s child as his heir.
Derek’s entire identity was a lie.
His place in the family.
His inheritance.
His legitimacy.
His loyalty.
Everything.
But why would that make him beg?
Luka answered before I asked.
“Arthur’s empire depends on blood succession. Trusts. Shares. Board seats. Foundations. If Derek is not Arthur’s legal biological heir under certain family documents, control shifts.”
“To whom?”
“To the next verified Ashford bloodline.”
“Senator Ashford?”
“No.”
Luka looked at Mila.
My heart stopped.
“No.”
“The M-17 placement contract tied future control to the child born from your pregnancy if Derek failed paternity verification.”
I stood.
“They made my baby their backup heir?”
“Yes.”
The room spun.
Derek had not just wanted Mila for medical access.
He needed her to preserve his place.
If she disappeared into Ashford custody, they could control her identity, her blood, her inheritance, her entire future.
If the report became public, Derek lost everything.
Arthur lost leverage.
Senator Ashford was exposed.
And Mila became the center of a war.
I placed the report on the table.
“No one uses this to claim anything in her name.”
Luka nodded.
“Agreed.”
The nursery door opened.
Anna stood there in pajamas, hair messy, eyes wide.
“You opened it.”
I nodded.
She looked at Luka.
“You’re the father?”
His jaw tightened.
“Biologically.”
Anna absorbed that.
Then said, “Wow. This family tree is a crime scene.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
A real laugh.
Small.
Broken.
Necessary.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A video call request.
Luka reached for it.
I pulled back.
“No.”
I answered.
Derek appeared on screen from a hospital bed, face bruised, shoulder bandaged, eyes wild.
“You opened it,” he said.
I said nothing.
His voice cracked.
“Claire, listen to me. Do not release that report.”
There it was.
Begging.
Not for forgiveness.
Not for Mila.
For himself.
“Why?” I asked.
He swallowed.
May you like
Behind him, machines beeped.
“Because if you do,” he whispered, “my father will kill me.”
