Chapter 2 - THE TEST MARGARET NEVER MEANT TO RUNMargaret denied everything.
Immediately.
“The lab made a mistake.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You ordered the lab.”
“They mixed samples.”
“Then why are you panicking?”
“I’m not.”
She was.
Everyone could see it.
My father-in-law, Richard, had died six years earlier.
He had been the patriarch of Harrington Foods, a national packaged-food company founded by his grandfather.
The family trust was old.
Complicated.
And obsessed with biological succession.
I knew that much.
Ethan did too.
He was one of three Harrington children.
His older sister, Amelia.
His younger brother, Grant.
Margaret had spent decades talking about bloodline like medieval royalty.
Harrington blood.
Harrington heirs.
Harrington legacy.
Now a DNA report suggested her eldest son by birth certificate might not even be biologically related to her.
Ethan called the laboratory from the porch.
The report was legitimate.
But the grandparentage comparison had not been part of Margaret’s original request.
That was the strange part.
The lab technician explained.
Margaret had submitted three samples.
Lily.
Ethan.
And herself.
She had apparently wanted to prove not only non-paternity, but non-Harrington lineage through her side.
Except Lily matched Ethan exactly as a biological child should.
And Ethan did not match Margaret as her biological son.
There was no clerical error evident in the chain of custody.
Margaret sat down.
“I want another test.”
Ethan stared at her.
“So do I.”
Then he turned to me.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For letting her say that in front of Lily.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have stopped her faster.”
That mattered.
Then Lily looked at him.
“Daddy?”
He knelt.
“Yes.”
“Are you my daddy?”
His face broke.
He took her hands.
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Even if Grandma says no?”
He swallowed.
“Especially if Grandma says no.”
Then Lily asked:
May you like
“Is Grandma your mommy?”
Nobody knew what to say.
