Chapter 22 It's Just A Blood Test
Bella’s POV
The silence that followed my declaration was like a heavy and suffocating blanket that pressed down on every person in the venue.
I could see the sweat glisten on Lucas’s forehead. He was clearly not happy about what was happening, as another daughter meant another competitor for the Monroe family influence and connections.
The Mayor, however, looked like he had finally found the person he had been searching for his entire life.
His hand gripped mine with desperation, as he stared at me. I felt the tremors in his palm, and the emotions in his eyes that made my own heart ache with a strange, unfamiliar heat.
The air was intensely charged as everyone's eyes were focused on us, but the silence didn't last.
“Stop this! Someone drag this pathetic imposter out of here immediately!”
A sharp high pitched voice broke the silence in the hall. I turned my head slightly and saw Madam Winnie, Haley’s mother, storming toward the stage.
Her face was a mask of fury, her eyes narrowed into two slits that were filled with malice, as she looked at me with hatred, like I was a cockroach she had forgotten to crush.
“How dare you!” Winnie shrieked, her voice echoing off the marble pillars. She reached the steps, her expensive silk gown rustling aggressively. “How dare you come to make trouble, on this night, and attempt to swindle a sitting Mayor with such a disgusting, amateurish lie? You want money? Is that it? You think you can forge a digital report and walk away with a fortune?”
She turned to the guards, her finger pointing at me with a trembling rage. “Security! What are you waiting for? Throw this trash out! She is a fraud, and an irrelevant piece of filth trying to ruin my family!”
The guards hesitated, their eyes darting to the Mayor. They were caught between the authority of the man and his wife.
I felt no fear or panic, I just maintained a calm expression as she continued glaring at me.
I looked at her face and saw that she wasn't just angry…. She seemed terrified and I couldn't understand why.
I slowly reached up to my neck, my fingers finding the clasp of the thin, gold chain I had hidden under the high collar of my gown. This was the one thing Paige had found among the Ricci family’s "disposable" items…A piece of jewelry they thought was worthless.
I unhooked the necklace and held it out to the Mayor. It was a tarnished, antique locket, shaped like a teardrop.
“You might not believe the result on the screen, Arthur,” I said, my voice steady despite the intense racing of my heart.
I used his first name deliberately, watching Winnie’s face turn a sickly shade of grey. “But you know this….It never left her side.”
The Mayor took the locket, his breath hitching. His thumb found the hidden compartment on the side easily.
The locket snapped open and Inside, was a tiny, hand-painted portrait of a woman with auburn hair and the same defiant, dark eyes that were currently hidden behind my green contact lenses.
Elena.
Arthur Monroe’s knees buckled, as he clutched the locket to his chest as if it were a holy relic. “Elena…” he whispered, his voice breaking. He looked up at the guards, his eyes suddenly burning with a fierce protectiveness. “Back off! No one touches her! No one!”
The guards retreated instantly into the shadows. I felt a surge of triumph, and satisfaction that flowed through my veins like fire.
I looked past the Mayor to where Lucas and Haley were standing. Lucas looked like he was about to vomit blood as he stared at what was happening.
But Haley wasn't shaken or even scared. She stepped forward, her red dress looking like a pool of blood against the white marble.
“This is a joke,” Haley said, her voice dripping with disgust. “Dad, look at her! She’s wearing a disguise, she’s using names we’ve never heard of, and she’s showing you a piece of jewelry that could have been stolen. That DNA test on the screen? It’s clearly a hack. Anyone with a laptop and a grudge could have put that up there.”
She looked me dead in the eye, and for a second, my gaze was too steady as I also looked at her.There was no doubt in her eyes.
“You are not a Monroe,” Haley hissed, her voice loud enough for the entire room to hear. “I don't know who sent you or what your game is, but I am the only daughter in this house. You are a fake, and a liar. If you were really his blood, you wouldn't be only appearing now… You’d have come to us months ago.”
The conviction in her voice was astonishing.
My mind raced through lots of questions. Why was she so sure? How could she be so certain that I wasn't the Mayor’s daughter unless…
Unless they already knew who I was.
The realization hit me like a splash of ice water and my breath caught in my throat.
If Winnie and Haley knew about my identity, if they knew I was the biological daughter of the woman the Mayor had loved, then that means they had been watching me for years.
They had watched me suffer in that marriage, knowing exactly who I was, and they had likely been the ones to push for my "death" when I became a possible threat to Haley’s inheritance.
The room felt like it was spinning and I felt a wave of raw anger that made me want to scream. They knew. My "parents" knew, Lucas likely knew, and these two women had been the architects of my misery.
I stepped forward, closing the distance between me and Haley. I could smell her expensive perfume, a floral scent that made my stomach turn.
“You seem very certain, Haley,” I said, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper that only she and her mother could hear. “Almost as if you’ve seen a different set of results before. Is that why you’re so confident?
Haley’s eyes flickered slightly. “I’m certain because I know my father. And I know trash when I see it.”
I turned back to the Mayor, ignoring the poisonous glare from Winnie. My skin felt tight and itchy under the disguise, but I couldn't stop now. I had to go all the way.
“If the digital test isn't enough for you, Madam Winnie, then let's do it properly,” I said, my voice projecting clearly to the room. “I openly agree to a new DNA test…. Right now. In front of witnesses chosen by the Mayor himself. No hacks or digital results, just a simple blood test.”
I looked at the Mayor, and softened my expression. “And because I am your daughter, Father, I shouldn't be staying in a hotel or in the shadows. I will be moving into the Monroe mansion tonight. Once the results come out, there will be nowhere else for me to stay.”
The Mayor looked at Winnie, then at Haley, and finally at me. He saw the locket in his hand and the fire in my eyes. The confusion was gone, replaced by a desperate need to believe.
“Fine,” Arthur said, his voice regaining its command. “We will run the test again tonight. And until then, Eva stays in the guest room.”
Winnie looked like she wanted to strangle me, and Haley was glaring at me while simmering with rage, but it didn't matter. I had the Mayor on my side and he clearly believes me. And soon, I would reclaim everything that belongs to me.
I raised my glass one last time, the champagne bubbling slightly and slowly took a sip.