The DNA Report

Chapter 2 The Cage of Guilt

The elevator opened directly inside the penthouse. Cold air smelled of expensive leather and a sweet floral perfume I could not place at first.

Beyond the glass walls, the whole city lay below us, too far away to make a sound.

Elias placed a hand at the small of my back and guided me into the living room. “This is our home, Aria. No one can bother you here. You’ll be safe.”

He set a heavy black credit card on the marble table. It landed with a hard click. “Buy whatever you want. Clothes, jewelry, anything that makes you comfortable.”

Same trick as before: put a price on the hurt, then choose the room where I would receive it. He never asked whether I wanted to stay.

I crossed the living room and entered the master bedroom. The perfume was stronger there.

A bottle stood among his colognes and watches: *Jasmin Noir*.

Chloe wore it every day.

Beside the bottle, a silver frame showed Elias and Chloe laughing on a yacht. Sunlight caught in their matching dark hair.

There was no photograph of me anywhere in the room, though Elias had once claimed he kept dozens on his phone.

Chloe already belonged here. I was the guest.

“I’ll clear that out.” Elias caught me looking at the vanity, and his jaw tightened. “It means nothing. She only stays here when her episodes are bad.”

His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, and the tension left his shoulders before he answered.

“Chloe? What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” His shoulders dropped.

He turned his back to me. For Chloe, he had endless patience and question after question. During our arguments, I had never heard either.

“It’s alright. Don’t cry. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

He ended the call and reached for his coat. “I have to go. Her heart is acting up again. You understand.”

I nodded.

“Stay here.” He kissed my forehead. “Order some food. We’ll talk when I get back.”

The front door locked behind him.

I waited until the elevator began to descend.

Inside my cheap coat was a burner phone. I had bought it for cash two weeks earlier, on the day I first heard that the Sterlings were searching for a lost daughter.

Only Julian's number was saved.

I called him. Julian answered on the first ring.

“It’s time.”

“Are you sure, Aria?”

“Yes. Activate the plan. Transfer the assets to the offshore account, dissolve my identity, and book the first flight out of the country under the new name.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I’ll send the details within an hour. Be ready.”

I ended the call and walked to the windows. The streets were strips of light, and the traffic made no sound from this height.

Within an hour, Julian would send my departure time and the name on my ticket.

Fists struck the penthouse door before Julian’s message arrived.

Elias would have used his key.

The final blow broke the lock. Sebastian entered with two broad men in black suits behind him.

He did not ask why Elias had left me there alone.

“There you are.” My brother looked me over. “Stop hiding. You’re coming with me. Your selfishness is about to ruin Chloe’s birthday.”