Page 30 of Secret Dynasty

“Maybe I should…” I don’t know why the laboratory had sent a letter to me. I’d put Eliza’s address on the forms. Now I was on the spot. I could open the envelope in front of Tod or I could try to bluff over its contents. Truthfully, I didn’t know what was inside.

“Open it,” he demanded. “I want to see your face.”

I could feel my pulse in my fingers as I broke the seal. The room grew hotter as I withdrew two pieces of paper. I unfolded the top one.

Attn: Kerrigan Belmond,

Per request, please find a copy of your receipt.

It was a receipt. They’d sent a copy to the billing address I’d entered for my card. But my relief was short-lived when I read the following sentences.

A copy of your test results has been included for your files.

I didn’t look up. I couldn’t find the strength to lift my head. But I felt Tod’s wary gaze on me as I sifted the sheets and read the second sheet of paper.

There were two columns for each sample followed by numbers and words that meant nothing to me. The only thing that stood out was that each line was exactly the same. My heart stopped when they reached the final lines.

Probability of match: 100%

Based on the DNA samples provided, our laboratory has confirmed they came from the same individual.

The paper fluttered to the ground, my hands unable to hold its weight. I stared at where it had fallen. Everything felt numb.

“You really didn’t know,” Tod finally broke the silence.

A tear rolled down my cheek. I didn’t look up even as more fat, hot drops followed.

“Perhaps we should call Dr. Simmons,” he suggested.

I shook my head. There was too much to process, but I wasn’t ready to face the therapist again. Everything he’d said was true. I searched for an explanation for the results.

“How do I know you didn’t tamper with them?” I asked in a shaky voice.

“Do you really think I’m so desperate to fool you that I would lie to my own daughter?” Sadness echoed in his voice, and I turned my gaze up to face him. He stared back at me, his face etched in worry. It was the face of a father.

My father.

Why didn’t I recognize it?

“I don’t know what you’re capable of,” I admitted to him in a small voice.

“Everything I’ve done is for you.” He swallowed, turning his head to try to hide the tears shimmering in his own eyes.

I couldn’t remember my past. If the results were to be believed, I was Kerrigan. But no matter how hard I sifted through my memories, I couldn’t find her there. There was something else, though. Something that turned my blood to ice.

Nothing.

No childhood. No schools. Just flashes of moments without context, too chopped up to make sense of. The first concrete moment I could recall was riding on a train and deciding to get off at a stop marked West Bexby.

I couldn’t remember any more of me—of Kate. But I couldn’t remember Kerrigan either. Questions swam into my head, each demanding to be answered, before being replaced by a new, more pressing concern. But one kept swirling around and forcing its way to the front of my mind.

“If that’s true, if you’re only thinking of me, why are you making me marry Spencer?”

“It’s complicated,” he said, his eyes darting away

“What’s new?” I muttered.

“Kerrigan, please, you need to trust me.”