Chapter 13 - The Paternity Secret
Elijah demanded a DNA test.
Toby was too ill for unnecessary procedures, but the hospital had blood already collected.
Naomi tried to separate herself emotionally.
She failed.
Elijah sat alone in a consultation room waiting for the result.
When it arrived, he opened it with trembling hands.
Probability of paternity: 0%.
He stared at the page.
Toby was not his biological son.
Cassandra admitted the truth through her attorney.
Toby’s biological father was Leonard Shaw.
The affair began before Cassandra married Elijah.
Leonard ended the relationship when she became pregnant.
Cassandra chose Elijah because he offered wealth, status, and security.
Leonard later returned when SN-14 faced cancellation.
He used the paternity secret to control her.
If she refused to help, he threatened to tell Elijah and seek custody.
Elijah dropped the paper.
Everything around him shifted.
Naomi entered.
He looked at her like a man drowning.
“He’s not mine.”
She answered immediately.
“He called for you when he woke up.”
Elijah looked toward Toby’s room.
“That does not change the test.”
“No. But the test does not erase four years.”
He sat down.
“I don’t know what I am to him.”
“You are the man he believes is his father.”
“After everything I’ve done?”
“Children do not stop loving on schedule.”
Toby woke and asked for Elijah.
Elijah stood outside the door for almost a minute.
Then he entered.
Toby lifted one weak hand.
“Dad.”
Elijah took it.
Across town, Leonard learned federal agents had discovered the paternity secret.
May you like
He sent Cassandra one final message.
If I cannot have my son, no one will.
