Chapter Ten: Paternity Wars
1044 Words
The court date was set within seventy-two hours.
Jessica had pulled legal strings, leveraging her fame and public narrative to push the hearing forward. The media swarmed the house gates again, and this time, they carried questions that cut deeper than rumors.
"Is Precious really Andrew Yisa's daughter?"
"Why demand a DNA test now?"
"Is this the end of Abuja’s favorite fairytale family?"
Inside the mansion, silence reigned.
Precious didn’t understand the buzz around her. Samantha tried to shield her from it, but whispers always found their way to innocent ears.
“Why are people saying Daddy isn’t my daddy?” she asked one morning, her voice small.
Samantha knelt, brushing her hair. “Because some people like to stir trouble. But your daddy loves you. That’s what matters.”
“But... is he my real daddy?”
Samantha paused. Not because she didn’t know the answer — but because truth and trust had never been so fragile.
Andrew hadn’t slept.
For two nights straight, he lay awake, staring at the ceiling, replaying moments from five years ago.
The hospital room. Jessica’s sobbing confession. The second doctor’s opinion. The brief relief he felt when the results confirmed it.
But even then... the seed of doubt had been planted.
Now Jessica wanted to water that seed with poison.
“Do you want to do this?” Samantha asked quietly as they stood in the hallway the morning of the hearing.
“I don’t have a choice,” Andrew replied. “If I refuse, the court may see it as an admission.”
“And if the results say what she claims?”
He met her eyes. “Then I’ll fight harder.”
The courtroom was packed.
Not with people — it was a closed session — but with tension. With silence. With fear that any truth uncovered would hurt more than the lies ever had.
Jessica sat to the left of the judge, immaculate in a cream blazer, eyes lined with mascara that made her tears sparkle like diamonds.
Andrew sat to the right, jaw clenched, Precious beside him.
Samantha sat behind them, silently praying.
“State your request,” the judge ordered.
Jessica stood. “Your honor, I request a DNA paternity test be conducted immediately to verify that Mr. Yisa is the biological father of Precious Yisa. I believe there may have been a mix-up at the time of birth — or a deception by the hospital that must now be clarified for the child’s legal wellbeing.”
Gasps echoed through the courtroom — subtle but sharp.
Andrew rose. “I have raised her. Loved her. Given her everything. This request is not about truth. It’s about vengeance.”
The judge raised a hand. “Let the court decide. Test will be conducted now. Results sealed until tomorrow’s reading.”
The test was quick but brutal.
Andrew sat still as the technician swabbed the inside of his cheek.
Precious looked confused. “Is it like a doctor’s game?”
“Yes,” Samantha whispered, holding her hand. “Just a little test.”
Jessica, watching, smirked.
Then it was Precious’s turn. The technician was gentle, but the child winced anyway, not from pain — but from fear.
“Am I sick?” she asked afterward.
Samantha knelt. “No, my darling. You’re not sick. You’re brave.”
Andrew placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder — not for her, but to anchor himself.
The moment the test was done, Jessica rose and walked out, heels clicking like gunshots.
That night, the mansion felt cold.
Andrew didn’t eat. He stood outside on the balcony, eyes lost in the darkness.
Samantha joined him.
“She’s trying to rewrite the past,” he said.
Samantha looked up at the sky. “Even if the test shows... something unexpected, it won’t erase your love.”
“It will break me,” he replied. “And her.”
Samantha touched his arm. “Love isn’t biology. It’s memory. Care. Sacrifice.”
He looked at her. “Would you still stay if I wasn’t her father?”
She hesitated.
Then nodded. “Yes. Because you are — in every way that matters.”
Flashback – Five Years Ago
Jessica sat in the private ward, tears streaming down her face.
“I made a mistake,” she sobbed. “I don’t know if she’s yours.”
Andrew stared, numb.
“You said you were careful—”
“It was one time,” she whispered. “I thought it didn’t matter.”
Later that week, she changed her story.
“She is yours. I panicked. I just didn’t want to lose you.”
They got a private paternity test. It said 99.9% match.
But the doubt never truly left Andrew’s heart.
Until now.
Next Morning – Courtroom
Everyone stood as the judge returned with the sealed envelope.
Andrew’s hands clenched on the bench.
Jessica sat straighter, chin lifted, prepared for victory.
The judge opened the paper.
He cleared his throat. “This court has reviewed the DNA test results between Mr. Andrew Yisa and minor, Precious Yisa.”
He paused.
Samantha’s heart stopped.
Andrew held his breath.
The judge read aloud:
“Probability of paternity: 99.98%. Mr. Yisa is confirmed as the biological father.”
The courtroom went still.
Then Jessica stood abruptly. “That can’t be right!”
The judge raised an eyebrow. “You brought this petition, Miss Yisa. The results are final.”
Jessica’s mouth opened — then snapped shut.
Samantha smiled for the first time in days.
Andrew exhaled and scooped Precious into his arms.
“You’re mine,” he whispered. “Always.”
But as they walked out of court, a journalist shoved a microphone in Jessica’s face.
“Do you have any comment now that the test proves your claim was false?”
Jessica’s eyes narrowed.
Then she looked directly at the camera and said coldly:
“The DNA test was real. But so is the next scandal. Andrew Yisa isn’t the man everyone thinks he is. And I have proof.”
To be continued…
Next: “Secrets and Shadows” — Jessica unleashes the second phase of her plan. A betrayal from the past re-emerges. And Samantha must confront a secret of her own.
- Writer
