Chapter 1
After my husband's brother, Michael Brooks, got divorced, my three-year-old nephew Leo Brooks started staying at our place pretty often.
Every time Leo saw my husband, Kevin Brooks, he'd call out in his sweet little voice, "Daddy."
Kevin would always look a bit awkward and gently correct him, "Call me Uncle."
But Leo just couldn't get it right.
The more I stared at Leo, the more uneasy I felt. His eyes, his nose—he looked so much like Kevin, it was almost uncanny, like they were cut from the same mold.
I tried to ignore it, but eventually, when Kevin was out, I quietly snipped a few strands of Leo's hair and sent them off for a paternity test, hoping no one would notice.
A week later, the results finally came in.
My hands were shaking as I held the report.
Just then, Kevin walked in, saw the look on my face, and snatched the paper from my hands.
After reading it, he just froze, his whole body going stiff.
We stared at each other for a full minute, neither of us able to say a word.
*****
After Michael got divorced, my three-year-old nephew Leo started crashing at our place all the time.
Every time Leo saw Kevin, he'd call out in that adorable baby voice, "Daddy."
Kevin always looked awkward, but he'd get down to Leo's level and patiently try to correct him.
"Leo, remember, it's Uncle, not Daddy," he'd say gently.
But Leo was just too young to tell the difference. Next time he saw Kevin, he'd still chirp, "Daddy," in that sweet little voice.
Kevin's smile would stiffen right away.
At first, I just found it amusing and even joked around with Kevin about it.
"See, Leo likes you so much, he's practically calling you his real dad," I teased.
Kevin forced a smile, looked away, and muttered, "He's just a little kid, he doesn't really get it."
However, the more it happened, the less I could laugh about it.
I found myself just staring blankly at Leo's face.
Those eyes, the high bridge of his nose, and the way his mouth curved when he smiled.
It was uncanny. He really looked so much like Kevin.
He was like a carbon copy of Kevin—seriously, they could've been twins.
A wild, horrifying idea slithered from the darkest corner of my mind, poisonous and cold.
The thought freaked me out, and I shook my head hard, hoping to chase it away.
Impossible. Kevin and Michael were brothers—it was not weird at all for them to look alike. And Leo resembling his uncle? That was totally understandable.
Plus, Kevin had always been crazy about me. We'd been together since college, our relationship solid.
He would never betray me. And certainly not with his own brother's wife, Evelyn Lane. The notion was absurd.
I repeated these reassurances like a mantra, but the seed of doubt, once planted, took vicious root.
Sleep became a stranger. Night after night, I lay awake.
When Kevin touched me, revulsion coiled in my stomach.
Against my will, my observations grew obsessive.
The natural, easy affection in Kevin's eyes when he held Leo sent jolts of panic through me.
The toys he bought for the boy seemed chosen with more care than any gift for me.
Sometimes, a terrible illusion would grip me: Kevin, Evelyn, and Leo looked like a perfect little family. I was the outsider, the intruder.
This realization felt like an ice-cold blade plunging into my heart.
I couldn't stand it anymore. This endless suspicion and torment were driving me insane. I had to find out the truth.
That day, with Kevin out on a business trip and Evelyn not here yet to pick up Leo, I finally had my chance.
I watched Leo playing with his building blocks in the living room, took a deep breath, and tried to steady myself.
Approaching him with a small pair of scissors, I said with my voice deceptively gentle, "Your hair's getting long, Leo. Let me trim it a bit, okay?"
Leo nodded sweetly, all obedient.
My hands trembled as I carefully snipped a tiny lock of hair from the nape of his neck.
Wrapping it in a tissue, I sealed it in a plastic bag.
The simple act left me drained, collapsing to the floor as my heart hammered against my ribs.
The following week was an eternity of agony.
I sent the hair sample, along with one of my own, to the most reputable testing lab via express service.
Every passing moment of waiting felt like a form of torture.
A part of me hoped my monstrous suspicion was true, just to end the uncertainty. A larger, terrified part prayed it wasn't.
If I was wrong, I was just a paranoid, jealous wife.
If I was right? I didn't even dare to imagine what that would mean.
The day I'd been dreading finally came.
The DNA lab called and told me they'd emailed the report.
My hand shook so violently that I could barely control the mouse.
After several shaky breaths, I opened the email, downloaded the attachment, and forced myself to look.
At the bottom of the page was the conclusion: [No biological relationship detected.]
My heart plummeted. So, it was all in my head.
A wave of shame and guilt washed over me. How could I have doubted Kevin?
Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, my eyes drifted up to the header on the report.
This was a test between me and Leo.
I immediately called the lab, my voice shaking so badly I could barely speak.
"Hi, this is Julia Winters. I'm calling to ask about the other sample I submitted..." I managed to say.
"Oh, Ms. Winters, you mean the report for your husband, Mr. Brooks, and the child, right? Since you only paid for one rush order, that one is being processed normally. The hard copy should be mailed out this afternoon," the lab tech replied.
After I hung up, my heart was in my throat all over again.
I spent the whole afternoon pacing, unable to sit still for even a second.
When the doorbell finally rang, I all but sprinted to the door.
My hands were trembling as I shakily signed for the delivery and ripped open the courier envelope.
Another DNA report was inside.
I shut my eyes tight, so scared I could barely bring myself to look.
But better to get it over with than drag out the pain.
I opened my eyes wide, my gaze locking onto the final line of the report.
[Based on DNA analysis, Kevin Brooks is confirmed as the biological father of Leo Brooks.]
It was like a bomb went off in my head.
A deafening roar filled my ears as my vision swam.
The report slipped from my numb fingers, floating soundlessly to the carpet.
But those words were seared into my mind, burning.
It was true. I wasn't crazy. He was.
Time lost meaning. I sat motionless in the gathering darkness, a statue of despair.
The click of the lock finally stirred the dead air. Kevin was home.
He flipped on the lights and jumped when he saw me sitting there on the floor, my face ghostly pale.
"Julia, what's wrong? Why are you sitting here in the dark?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
He moved toward me, then stopped.
His eyes landed on the fallen paper.
The concern on his face froze, then cracked.
Slowly, he bent down and picked it up.
As he read, his entire body went rigid.
We stared at each other across a chasm of silence.
The air grew thick, suffocating.
For a full minute, we just stared. Neither of us could bring ourselves to speak.