Chapter 0295
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Valerie stared intently at the envelope Maximus had just placed beside her. The man standing before her exuded a cold aura, and she watched as he loosened his tie with those long fingers. He looked at her and gestured toward the envelope with his hand before saying:
“Mary, open that envelope, please…”
Valerie, with no other choice, opened it and pulled out a lab report. Her eyes widened more than ever before, and in that moment, she understood the weight pressing on her chest. The report had a bold title: “DNA Test Report, and beneath it, in regular font and bolded letters, it read: 99.99% compatible.
She quickly wanted to divert attention, but her trembling hands and stricken expression gave her away. In her mind, Peter’s words echoed: “Only you and I will know she’s not my daughter. No one else needs to find out.” How wrong he’d been!
“I don’t understand what this is!” Valerie blurted out, the first words escaping her lips.
Maximus’s annoyance was evident.
“What don’t you understand? Tell me, and I’ll explain!”
“What is this report? Why a DNA test for Serenity?
“It’s very simple, Mary. I want to ensure your daughter gets her rightful inheritance, but to do that, I need to comply with a clause–and that requires a DNA test to confirm she’s the baby you were carrying when you left.”
Valerie felt a sharp pang in her stomach before replying:
“How dare you do this without my permission? How did you even get a sample?”
Maximus, trying to cover for Serenity, responded:
“You know me; I have my ways. So don’t act so surprised.”
“What you did is illegal. I could sue you! You can’t just do this without my consent–she’s my daughter!” Valerie shot back angrily, throwing the papers at him.
It was clear the documents felt like they were burning her hands.
“Mary, I’d be more worried about explaining the results than about how I got the sample. Now, you–and only you
-can explain to me why the test says I’m Serenity’s father”
“There’s clearly been a mistake at the lab,” she stammered. “To do a DNA test, you need the father’s sample, and you don’t have it. Peter was cremated!”
“Wrong again,” Maximus retorted. “It can also be done with my DNA. And guess what? The test was repeated three times, and the result was the same every time: 99.99% compatibility with me. Now, tell me, Mary–what does that mean?”
“If you, the one who ordered it, don’t know, why should I? she snapped.
“Mary Preston!” Maximus yelled, his patience finally snapping.
“What the hell do you want?!” Valerie shouted back, refusing to back down.
“The truth! That’s all I want, damn it!” Maximus roared again.
Valerie realized that nothing she said would change Maximes’s mind. It was clear he already knew Serenity was his daughter; he just wanted to hear it from her. Seeing no way out of the situation, she accepted that she had to
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tell him the truth. She sat down, her eyes filling with tears, and began to speak:
“I had just arrived at the rehab clinic. They gave me a questionnaire, and one of the questions asked if I was sexually active or if there was any chance I could be pregnant. Obviously, I thought no. But I decided to ask my doctor how to answer because it hadn’t been long since I was with you. Neither of us used protection, and I thought it would be too much bad luck for anything to happen. But the doctor decided not to give me any medication and said we should wait three or four weeks to take a test.”
Maximus stared out of the conference room window, trying to stay calm. His fists were tightly clenched. He already knew what she was going to say but forced himself to breathe and listen to what his ex–wife had to confess.
“Three weeks later, they gave me a pregnancy test, and it came back positive. I didn’t know how to feel. You had just sent the divorce papers. It was obvious that there would never be anything between us again. And then, on social media, I found out you were going to be a father.‘
Maximus turned to look at her. She was sitting there, her face streaked with tears. Reliving those painful memories was clearly taking its toll on her.
He remembered that time all too well. The night before his grandmother confirmed Mary would leave the clinic, Maximus had been in his office. The divorce papers were on his desk, and just looking at the folder filled him with discomfort. But there wasn’t much he could do. A baby was on the way, and the best thing he could do was let go of the woman who, unbeknownst to her, was the love of his life. Too late–he had realized it far too late.
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Chapter 296
