Chapter 2: Zero Percent
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The white balloons bobbed gently above them in the afternoon breeze.
Kiara stared at the DNA report.
Then at Andre.
Then back at the number printed in black.
*0%.*
Her voice barely came out.
“So you knew?””
Andre looked at Rochelle.
“I knew before I came here.””
Kiara's eyes widened.
“You knew you weren't my father?””
Andre nodded once.
“And you still let me call you Dad?””
“I came because you deserved to hear it from me.””
Kiara laughed once.
It wasn't a happy sound.
“You let me hug you.””
“I didn't ask you to.””
“That makes it better?””
“No.””
Andre looked down.
“It doesn't.””
Darnell finally stepped forward.
“Give me the report.””
Kiara pulled it against her chest.
“No.””
“Kiara—”
“No!””
The sharpness of her voice made several relatives look away.
Darnell stopped.
She stared at him through wet eyes.
“You knew too, didn't you?””
Darnell's jaw tightened.
“No.””
“Then why do you look like that?””
“Because I just found out that your mother and Andre have been keeping something from you.””
Kiara shook her head.
“Mom said you weren't my biological father.””
Darnell's eyes flicked toward Rochelle.
“She said that?””
Kiara nodded.
“She told me last night.””
Rochelle closed her eyes.
Darnell's voice dropped.
“What exactly did she tell you?””
Kiara looked at her mother.
Rochelle didn't answer.
“Mom?””
“I said we needed to talk somewhere private.””
“No.”” Kiara held up the report.
“We are not leaving until somebody tells me the truth.””
A relative near the dessert table whispered something to another.
Rochelle heard it.
She turned sharply.
“Everyone, please give us a minute.””
Nobody moved.
Darnell looked around at the crowd.
“Go inside,” he said.
An older woman shook her head.
“This is family.””
Darnell's expression hardened.
“Then act like it and give her some space.””
Slowly, people backed away.
Phones lowered.
Conversations stopped.
But nobody actually left.
Kiara looked down at the report again.
“Who ordered this?””
Andre answered.
“I did.””
“When?””
“Three weeks ago.””
“Why?””
Andre hesitated.
Rochelle whispered, “Andre.””
He looked at her.
“You don't get to stop this anymore.””
Rochelle's face tightened.
Kiara stepped closer.
“Why did you take the test?””
Andre rubbed his palm over his mouth.
“Because I received a letter.””
“What letter?””
“I can't show you.””
“Why?””
“Because I destroyed it.””
Kiara stared at him.
“What did it say?””
Andre looked directly into her eyes.
“It said your birth certificate wasn't telling the whole story.””
Darnell's face went pale.
“That's impossible.””
Andre turned toward him.
“Is it?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did Rochelle change Kiara's birth records when she was three?””
Rochelle flinched.
Kiara slowly turned.
“What?””
Darnell stared at Rochelle.
“You changed her records?””
Rochelle shook her head.
“It wasn't like that.””
“Then explain it.””
“I was protecting her.””
“From what?””
Rochelle's eyes filled with tears.
“From the truth.””
Kiara stepped backward.
She looked at Darnell.
“You really didn't know?””
Darnell shook his head.
“No.””
She looked at Andre.
“And you?””
“I thought I was your father until I saw the test.””
Kiara pressed the report against her gown.
“Then who is?””
Nobody answered.
The question hung beneath the graduation arch.
Rochelle looked at Darnell.
Darnell looked at Andre.
Andre looked at Rochelle.
Kiara's breathing quickened.
“Mom.””
Rochelle finally whispered, “Kiara, there is something you need to understand.””
“What?””
“The man who raised you wasn't your biological father.””
Kiara nodded bitterly.
“I know.””
“And Andre isn't your biological father.””
“I know that too.””
Rochelle's voice broke.
“But neither of them was supposed to be the man standing beside you today.””
Kiara frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Rochelle reached into her purse.
Her hand disappeared beneath a folded scarf.
Then she pulled out a second document.
This one was older.
Yellowed at the edges.
Darnell stared at it.
“Rochelle,” he said, “where did you get that?””
She looked at him.
“You know exactly where.””
Kiara reached for it.
Rochelle pulled it back.
“No.””
“Give it to me.””
“I can't.””
“You've already ruined my graduation. You don't get to decide what I can know anymore.””
Rochelle's hand began to shake.
Then a voice came from behind the crowd.
“She's right.””
Everyone turned.
An elderly woman stepped forward, clutching a small black purse.
Darnell stared at her.
His face drained of color.
“Miss Evelyn?””
The woman looked at Kiara.
“I've kept that secret for twenty-two years.””
Kiara's stomach dropped.
“Why?””
Miss Evelyn looked at Rochelle.
“Because your mother made me promise.””
Rochelle whispered, “Please don't.””
Miss Evelyn slowly opened her purse.
Inside was a photograph.
She pulled it out.
Then she looked directly at Kiara.
“The man in this picture is your biological father.””
Kiara reached for the photograph.
But before she could see the face, Miss Evelyn turned it over.
May you like
Written across the back were four words.
*DO NOT TRUST DARNELL.*
