Chapter 19
The lab waiting room was white and cold and sterile, the neutral abstract art on the walls only adding to the stark feeling of the place. It smelled of antiseptic and everything seemed meticulously clean. I’d done my research to find the best DNA lab in Chicago that provided expedited test results, and now I was sitting here waiting for those results that would either confirm or deny a permanent connection to the woman sitting to the left of me. Eight days had passed since I’d thrown the dinner party for my family—the night Luka had put the seed of doubt in my head about Max’s true father.
When I’d confronted Anja with the possibility that Max might not be my son, she had been surprisingly quick to agree to the DNA test. We’d decided not to mention it to my father until we got the results back. It would keep things cleaner, avoid sowing further discord.
Since a cheek swab was all that was required, Anja had gone with Max to the lab last week to submit their DNA samples first, telling him it was just a doctor’s appointment. Anja thought it would be less suspicious if Max didn’t see me there too, so I’d gone to the lab later that day to submit my DNA. Even with the expedited testing, we still had to wait a few days for the results. So here we all were now, minus Max, holding our breath in this waiting room.
Anja was currently sitting on one side of me, her hands folded tightly in her lap, while Tori sat on my other side, her fingers entwined with mine.
I was so grateful she was here.
No matter what the results were, I needed Tori by my side. Needed to know we’d be facing this together.
It was a little awkward, the three of us, but it was better this way. Better we all got the news together. Anja was handling the whole thing with shocking grace and composure; except for some tears when I first asked for the test, she’d been supportive of the process throughout. She said it would be best to know for sure before introducing me formally to Max as his father.
Tori had been incredible all along. I knew she was anxious—I could tell from the way her knee was jumping underneath our linked hands—but she was still doing her best to be brave. She had barely stopped fidgeting since we got there, and truthfully I was just as nervous.
“How much longer, do you think?” Tori asked, in a hushed tone.
We were the only people in the waiting room, but the stillness of the place, the harsh whiteness of it all, made it seem like whispering was required.
“I’m sure it’ll be soon,” I murmured, stroking the back of her hand with my thumb.
Sitting around waiting was stressful, but in some ways, dealing with the Max paternity issue had been a welcome distraction from what was currently going on with the federal investigation into my father and KZ Modeling. Tori had spent the last week getting back on track at UChicago, taking the opportunity to slip the last few pieces of incriminating information to Gavin between classes, and the latest news from his brother was that a raid would happen soon.
But it couldn’t come soon enough. Frank had told me to be patient, but I was not a man known for my patience. Especially when it came to getting things done. I wanted my father arrested. I wanted his company destroyed and I wanted him out of the picture.
And I wanted it now.
Glancing over at my wife, I examined her beautiful profile. There were dark circles under her eyes—she was brave and strong, but she hadn’t been sleeping well. Even the combined distraction of her studies and the marathon sex at home wasn’t enough to chase the worry away.
Right now she was biting her bottom lip, and I squeezed her hand. Looking over, she gave me a smile, and I was even more comforted by her presence and support.
That was another reason I was eager for the feds to put my father behind bars. I knew that he was furious that his attempt to drive me and Tori apart had failed, and despite my family dinner speech, I still wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t do something awful in order to get what he wanted. He was a man who didn’t like to be told no, and it was impossible to not worry about Tori whenever she left my sight. Days during the week were a nightmare. I found myself texting her constantly just to make sure she was okay, and at class where she was supposed to be.
“Do you have any of that gum?” Anja asked, leaning over me to talk to Tori.
“I think so!” Tori lit up and started digging around inside her bag.
The most surprising thing had been the way that Anja and Tori had found a way to bond during this whole process. With a little squeal of triumph, Tori pulled out a fat pack of the pink and green watermelon-mint bubblegum that both of them were equally obsessed with.
“That stuff is foul,” I said. “Watermelon and mint do not go together.”
“Then why is it so hard to find?” Tori pointed out, passing the pack to Anja.
“Because nobody wants it,” I said.
Anja laughed.
“It’s becauseeverybodywants it, so they can’t keep it in stock anywhere,” Tori argued.
Soon enough I was enveloped in the scent of the gum, while Anja and Tori chewed away happily on either side of me. I feigned disgust, but I didn’t actually mind. If anything, I was amused. It was just like Tori to make friends with Anja. The two of them could have been enemies, but instead, whenever the three of us were together, Anja and Tori often got so chatty that I found myself leaving the room and letting them get caught up talking about books and ethnic food and random old movies I’d never heard of.
“I finally watchedSpirits of the Deadlast night, after Max went to bed,” Anja told Tori.
“And?” Tori prodded, on the edge of her seat.
“Very good. Just like you said.”
