Chapter 3 - The Test
Hannah agreed to the DNA test for one reason.
She wanted Dominic Vale out of her life.
Three hours later, she sat in a private library inside his Upper East Side townhouse, staring at a cotton swab as if it were a loaded gun.
"This is insane," she said.
Dr. Elaine Reeves, a silver-haired geneticist who looked too calm for the room, sealed Hannah's sample into a tube.
"Insane doesn't mean impossible."
"I was never pregnant."
"That is a very important fact," Dr. Reeves said. "But it doesn't change what the DNA can tell us."
Dominic stood by the fireplace with his arms folded.
The triplets were asleep upstairs.
Or at least Hannah hoped they were.
Every time one of them cried, her body reacted before her mind did.
That frightened her.
Vincent entered with a folder. "We found Daniel Mercer's name in Sofia's private phone records. Eight calls in the month before she disappeared."
Hannah looked at him. "My father had cancer. He could barely walk by then."
"Two of the calls lasted over twenty minutes," Vincent said.
Dominic took the folder.
"Why didn't I know about these?"
Vincent's mouth tightened. "Because they were deleted from the account history. We recovered them from an archived carrier subpoena."
"Who requested the subpoena?"
"Your family attorney. Sebastian Vale."
Dominic went still.
Hannah caught the name. "Vale?"
"My uncle," Dominic said.
He did not explain further.
At eleven forty-three, Dr. Reeves received the preliminary result.
She read it once.
Then again.
Her professional expression cracked.
Dominic stepped closer. "Say it."
Dr. Reeves looked at Hannah.
"The children are biologically related to you at a level consistent with maternity."
Hannah laughed once.
It was not a happy sound.
"No."
"The probability is above 99.9 percent on the markers tested."
"No. I have never had a child. I have never been pregnant. I would know."
Dominic stared at her as if she had just risen from a grave.
Hannah shoved back from the table.
"Run it again."
"I will," Dr. Reeves said. "But there is another explanation."
Nobody moved.
"If Sofia and Hannah were identical twins, a standard parentage panel could have difficulty distinguishing them."
Hannah pressed both hands to the table.
"I don't have a twin."
Dr. Reeves met her eyes.
"Your DNA is telling us that you might."
A sharp sound came from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
Rosa Alvarez, the girls' longtime nanny, stood there holding a glass of water.
The glass had slipped from her hand.
Her face was white.
"Rosa?" Dominic said.
Rosa stared at Hannah.
May you like
Then she whispered the name like a prayer.
"Sofia."
