The DNA Report

The DNA report lay on my coffee table, bright against the peeling paint. Elias stayed in the doorway. His tailored suit cost more than everything in the apartment, and there was nowhere in the room he considered clean enough to sit. “There it is, Aria. You’re the Sterling heir. Everything you wanted belongs to you.” I looked at the name in bold: *Aria Sterling*. I had already died for that name once. Elias mistook my silence for shock. “We have to handle this carefully. Chloe’s heart is fragile. If she finds out too fast, the shock could kill her. Your parents will tell everyone when she’s ready.” He finally stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “Come with me. I’ll give you whatever you need, and I’ll marry you. I’ll spend the rest of my life making this up to you.” The apartment smelled of damp plaster. Then the air caught in my throat, and I tasted smoke. In my last life, a beam had pinned me inside the burning Sterling mansion. Heat blistered my hands when I tried to push it away, and smoke scraped every breath from my lungs. Elias stood close enough to hear me call his name. Chloe lay several feet away, safely beyond the falling debris, after one of her practiced fainting spells. He looked from me to her. “Forgive me, Aria. Her heart can’t take this.” He turned his back, lifted Chloe, and carried her into the night. I heard the outer doors open before the roof came down over me. The fire was over, but his answer had not changed. I still had to disappear for the sake of Chloe's weak heart. He had chosen her before I even returned to the Sterling house. I would not give him another chance to choose. Ten years of marriage had taught me the value of his promises. An apology lasted until Chloe called. A gift followed every birthday, dinner, or family photograph from which I had been removed. He called the locked penthouse privacy. All I ever had to do was wait one more week. I could stop before the first year began. I raised my head and nodded. “Alright.” His prepared smile slipped. He had expected tears and questions. “What did you say?” “Alright. If the report was a mistake, leave it that way. Thank you for telling me.” I stood and picked up the report. Elias moved aside, certain he had won. His shoulders eased. I tore the pages in half. The rip stopped him in place. I folded the pieces together and tore them again, until my printed name was split across four scraps. “Aria!” He lunged forward. I opened my hand and let the last pieces fall around his polished shoes. “The Sterlings made their choice eighteen years ago. I won’t live as their secret, and I won’t marry you as compensation for what they did.” I headed for the door. His hand closed around my wrist before I reached the door. “What is this? A game?” His thumb dug into the bone. “You’ve wanted a family your whole life. I ask for a little patience and you throw everything away?” Offense sharpened every word. Apparently, I had broken an agreement I had never made. To Elias, my refusal was the start of a negotiation. “I don’t want you or the Sterlings. Let go.” “No.” He pulled me toward him. “You’re angry. Fine. You’re coming with me. We’ll go somewhere private and talk until you calm down.” He dragged me down the crumbling stairs before I could reach the railing. My neighbors’ doors remained closed, but I heard one lock turn as we passed. At the curb, his driver opened the Maybach. Elias pushed me onto the plush leather seat and shut the door himself. The car joined the evening traffic. I watched the route through the window. We passed the turn for the nearest hotel and headed downtown. He was taking me to the penthouse. After our wedding in my first life, he had hidden me there behind soundproof walls. He filled every room with clothes and jewelry, then attended public events with Chloe because revealing me would be too much for her heart. Elias called the penthouse our sanctuary. I knew exactly where the locks were.