Chapter 5 - THE DNA VERIFICATION
Luca could not accept her dismissal.
That night, sitting alone in his private study long after midnight, he pulled out a sealed manila file.
He hadn't relied on circumstantial evidence alone.
During the gala, when Nia momentarily left her champagne glass unattended on a high cocktail table, Luca’s security consultant had discreetly recovered it.
Along with a discarded paper straw used by Leo earlier that afternoon when Luca had managed to intercept them for thirty seconds outside a bookstore.
The paternity test was conducted by an independent lab in Zurich.
No corporate tampering.
No Marcus Vance interference.
Just raw, immutable science.
Luca opened the envelope with hands that felt heavier than lead.
He flipped straight to the final page.
Paternity Probability: 99.9998%.
The words blurred before his eyes.
They were his children.
Leo and Maya weren't just kids who looked like him; they carried his exact bloodline.
He had two children.
Five years of his life had passed while they grew, laughed, learned to walk, and spoke their first words—all without him knowing they existed.
And the fault lay entirely at his own feet.
He slammed his fist onto the desk, knocking over an inkwell that spilled dark blue across a pristine white ledger.
He didn't care.
He grabbed his phone and speed-dialed Marcus Vance.
It rang twice before Marcus answered, his voice smooth and professional despite the late hour.
“Mr. Moretti? Is everything alright?”
“Get to the penthouse,” Luca commanded, his voice shaking with suppressed fury.
“Now.”
“Sir? It’s two in the morning—”
“If you are not in my study in twenty minutes, Marcus, I will personally ensure you never work in this city—or any other—again.”
The line went dead with a click.
Twenty-two minutes later, Marcus walked into the study, adjusting his silk tie with a nervous smile.
“Luca? What’s this about? Has something happened with the Shanghai acquisition?”
Luca remained seated behind his desk, the Zurich lab report lying face down in front of him.
The room was dark except for a single brass desk lamp casting a harsh yellow glow over Luca’s face.
“Close the door, Marcus,” Luca said softly.
Marcus hesitated, then clicked the heavy oak door shut.
“What’s going on?”
Luca slowly pushed the lab report across the mahogany surface.
“Do you know what this is, Marcus?”
Marcus glanced down at the paper.
He didn't touch it.
His face remained remarkably composed, though a tiny bead of sweat formed at his temple.
“It looks like a lab report, sir.”
“It’s a paternity test,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
“Comparing my DNA with two five-year-old children.”
“Children who happen to be my son and daughter.”
Marcus swallowed hard.
“I... I wasn't aware you had children, Mr. Moretti.”
“Of course you weren't,” Luca stood up slowly, rounding the desk like a wolf stalking a trapped rabbit.
“Because five years ago, you were the one whispering in my ear that my wife was lying about her fertility.”
“You were the one who handled my annual health screenings.”
“You were the one who ensured my lab results were quietly swapped with a sterile donor's file.”
Marcus stepped back, his back hitting the locked door.
“That’s an insane accusation, Luca!”
“You have no proof—”
“I have the clinic’s internal audit log from yesterday afternoon,” Luca interrupted, pulling another file from the drawer.
“Signed by the chief administrator you bribed.”
“And I have your bank records showing twenty thousand dollar wire transfers to an offshore account in the Cayman Islands under your mother’s maiden name.”
The color drained completely from Marcus’s face.
“Luca... let’s be reasonable,” Marcus stammered, raising his hands defensively.
“We built Moretti Global together.”
“I did what I thought was best for the company!”
“You destroyed my family to protect a stock portfolio?” Luca roared.
He grabbed Marcus by the collar of his expensive shirt, slamming him against the wood paneling.
“You stole five years of my children’s lives from me!”
“You’re fired,” Luca snarled, his face inches from Marcus’s terrified eyes.
“And by sunrise, my legal team will ensure you are facing federal indictment for corporate fraud, forgery, and extortion.”
May you like
“You’ll spend the rest of your life in a federal penitentiary.”
Marcus slumped against the door as Luca released him, sliding down to the rug in whimpering defeat.
