Chapter 15: The DNA Appointment
1297 Words
💭 Aria
The air in the clinic was sterilized silence, thick with anticipation and old regret.
Leo sat on the cushioned chair beside her, swinging his legs, oblivious to the weight of the day. His innocent fingers toyed with the zipper on his backpack while his lips moved quietly, mouthing the theme song to his favorite cartoon.
He had no idea his entire world might shift today.
And Dominic… God, Dominic was pacing. Not loudly, not frantically—just enough to tell her he was unraveling.
He looked like a man built to hold power in his fist, but now… he was fumbling to hold on to something far more delicate.
A child.
Their child.
Her chest ached.
Not from fear.
But from how much she still wanted this to matter—how much she hated that trust had to be proven in paperwork, saliva swabs, and genetic codes instead of memories and laughter and tiny hands that already reached for his without hesitation.
“Ms. Monroe?”
A nurse in soft blue called her name.
Dominic froze.
Aria stood, lifting Leo with a practiced ease. “Here.”
Dominic cleared his throat. “Do I… go in with you?”
She paused. “You should.”
And he did.
The room was small. Clinical. White walls and silence.
The nurse explained everything in gentle tones. Two buccal swabs—one for Dominic, one for Leo. No needles. No discomfort.
“Open wide, buddy,” she smiled at Leo.
He grinned. “Like at the dentist?”
“Exactly.”
He giggled when the swab tickled his cheek.
Dominic watched, silent. Then it was his turn. He didn’t flinch.
Just stared.
At Leo.
At the child that already had his frown, his serious brow, his stubborn chin.
And then…
“Do I get a sticker too?” Leo asked him directly.
Dominic blinked, surprised.
The nurse smiled, reaching into the drawer. “You both get sparkly dinosaurs.”
Aria laughed—really laughed—for the first time that day.
And something in Dominic’s chest cracked wide open.
💭 Dominic
He didn’t remember walking out of the clinic.
Not really.
He just remembered Aria beside him, one hand resting protectively on Leo’s back as they stepped into the sunlight.
And Leo glancing up at him with utter trust.
Like he belonged there.
Dominic wanted to ask her if he could carry the boy.
But he didn’t.
He didn’t know if he’d earned that yet.
That’s when the silver luxury car pulled up to the curb.
And Gemma stepped out.
💭 Aria
The sunlight caught her perfectly.
Gemma Reese—poised, polished, expensive. Everything about her was curated, down to the subtle swell beneath her ivory blouse.
Aria froze.
Leo clutched her hand tighter.
“Gemma,” Dominic growled.
“Oh,” Gemma smiled sweetly, “don’t be cross. I came to say congratulations.”
“To what?” Aria snapped. “Destroying another moment you weren’t invited to?”
Gemma’s gaze slid to Leo.
“So that’s him. The boy who stole your heart.”
Aria moved in front of him.
“And now, apparently… mine,” Gemma said, laying a possessive hand on her stomach.
Dominic’s entire body turned to ice.
“You’re pregnant.”
Gemma blinked, lashes fluttering. “Yes. Ten weeks, actually. The heartbeat is strong.”
Leo tilted his head. “Is she gonna be my mommy too?”
Aria nearly choked. “No, baby.”
Gemma smiled. “That depends.”
“Depends on what?” Aria said, voice shaking.
“If Dominic decides which family he actually wants,” she said softly. “The one that told the truth… or the one that didn’t.”
Dominic stepped between them.
“You should leave.”
“But darling—”
He didn’t raise his voice. Just looked at her.
And something in Gemma faltered.
She turned, lips twitching in a fake smile, and climbed back into the car.
💭 Dominic
The ride back to Aria’s apartment was quiet.
Leo fell asleep in the backseat.
Dominic stared out the window.
“I’m not with her,” he said quietly.
Aria kept her eyes on the road. “Doesn’t mean she’s not in your life now.”
“She’s lying.”
Aria turned to look at him.
“I don’t know how I know, but I do. She always twists truth to power.”
Silence.
“You still think I’m the villain, don’t you?” he asked.
She exhaled. “I don’t know what I think.”
They pulled up to her apartment.
Dominic didn’t get out.
He looked at Leo.
“I missed five years.”
“You did.”
“I don’t want to miss any more.”
💭 Gemma – The Unraveling
Her heels clicked down the clinic hallway.
She signed in under a fake name.
It was perfect.
Too perfect.
The stunned silence. The hesitation in Dominic’s posture. The flicker of hurt in Aria’s pretty little face.
Checkmate.
Or so she thought.
When the nurse at the desk looked confused, Gemma smiled tightly.
“I’m just here for confirmation. Ten weeks. Already have the due date.”
The nurse tapped the keyboard.
“I’m sorry. It looks like you never completed the original scan.”
Gemma’s smile slipped.
“What?”
“It says you didn’t check in. So there’s no record of the heartbeat. We’d have to redo everything.”
“No,” Gemma said sharply. “Just give me the confirmation.”
“I… can’t,” the nurse said gently. “Without documentation—”
Gemma leaned over the counter.
“I’m Gemma Reese. I don’t need documentation.” But her voice cracked.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Reese. But our system shows you didn’t complete your own appointment. We can’t confirm a heartbeat without an actual scan.”
And so did the illusion.
Because it wasn’t Dominic’s money that made people obey her.
It was fear.
And fear only worked when you weren’t cornered by the truth.
She left, rage simmering.
Gemma gritted her teeth.
Sloppy.
She had scheduled the appointment but never gone inside. She’d staged the rest—clever lighting, fake belly pads, a falsified printout from an overseas “wellness” center.
But she forgot to delete the real appointment logs.
If anyone checked…
No. They wouldn’t. Dominic wouldn’t.
Aria might.
Gemma texted her assistant.
“Find a new clinic. Private. Cash only. Tomorrow.”
💭 Dominic – Breakdown
He didn’t speak for the rest of the day.
Not to Aria.
Not to his driver.
Not to his assistant who kept texting updates from Blackwood Holdings.
He went home.
And pulled open a box he’d never opened before.
The box he kept for her.
The girl from five years ago—the one he never found.
The necklace she left behind.
The receipt from the hotel.
The photo of the empty bed.
He laid them all out on the counter.
And then he added something new.
Leo’s drawing.
“Mister Mad Eyebrows” and “Leo” holding hands in a purple crayon sky.
And then Dominic—Dominic Blackwood, who hadn’t cried since his mother died—put his head in his hands.
And broke.
Because he’d always been alone.
Because he didn’t know how to fix this.
Because the only person who made him feel like he deserved to be a father… was already calling someone else “home.”
In a city full of lies, two truths remained:
One child. Two broken hearts.
And a third heart beating behind a lie.
But the heart wasn’t real.
And Gemma knew—sooner or later, someone would ask for proof.
And when they did? The game she started would bury her.
- Writer
