The blood test

Chapter 11

The Blood Test

Marcus didn't stay a minute longer before he disappeared out of the hospital and sat alone inside his car near the hospital parking lot.

Judith’s face refused to leave his mind.

After all these years, he never expected to see her again. Not after all the things that had happened.

And he definitely never expected to hear about a missing child connected to her.

Marcus leaned back slowly and closed his eyes. Memories flashed through his head.

A frightened young Judith standing inside the dark Thompson mansion years ago.

Her trembling voice. Her tears.

That one night that changed everything.

He opened his eyes sharply.

“No…” he muttered to himself.

The timing was impossible.

Still, the thought refused to disappear.

Inside the hospital, Dan stood in a quiet hallway staring at the papers the female doctor gave him earlier.

Every detail pointed toward planned poisoning and not an accident nor a mistake.

Someone carefully arranged Judith’s death. And somehow his own family was connected to it.

Footsteps approached behind him.

Juliana.

“You look awful,” she said coldly.

Dan folded the papers immediately. “What do you want?”

“To help you.”

He laughed bitterly. “That would be new.”

Juliana ignored the insult and crossed her arms.

“The people blackmailing me contacted me again.”

Dan’s expression changed instantly. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know. But they know about your hidden accounts.”

Dan’s jaw tightened.

“And what do they want?”

Juliana stepped closer slowly.

“They want me close to you.”

Dan stared at her silently.

Then Juliana delivered the real condition.

“I’ll help you find out who’s targeting you… but you leave Judith.”

His eyes immediately turned cold.

“No.”

Juliana smiled sadly. “So you will really choose her over me?.”

Before Dan could answer, she walked away.

Inside Judith’s room, Ethan helped adjust her blanket gently.

“You should rest,” he said quietly.

Judith looked exhausted.

Every few minutes she asked about Lily again.

Every few minutes Ethan lied again.

“We’ll find her soon.”

Judith suddenly looked at him carefully.

“You’ve changed.”

Ethan froze slightly. “What do you mean?”

“You’re calmer now.”

He forced a faint smile. “Maybe because I’m trying not to lose you.”

For one second, his words sounded honest.

Because part of him truly meant them.

Ethan slowly touched Judith’s hand.

“I know I hurt you before,” he whispered. “But I never stopped loving you.”

Judith pulled her hand away weakly.

“This isn’t the time.”

Pain crossed Ethan’s face

But before he spoke again, Dan entered the room.

The atmosphere changed immediately.

Ethan stepped backward while Dan handed Judith a cup of water gently.

Their eyes met briefly.

Silent rivalry filled the room.

Judith noticed it more clearly now.

And it made her uneasy.

Meanwhile, far away from the hospital, Erica sat beside Lily on the apartment couch while cartoons played quietly on television.

Lily barely watched them.

She missed Judith badly.

“Can I call Mommy now?” she asked softly.

Erica smiled patiently. “Your mommy is busy.”

“She doesn't have time for you”.

Erica brushed Lily’s hair softly.

Lily lowered her eyes in disappointment.

“But she loves me.”

Erica’s smile weakened for a second.

Then she forced it back.

“If she loved you enough, she would be here.”

The words settled slowly inside Lily’s heart.

Across town, Marcus entered a small private laboratory hidden behind an electronics shop.

A young technician looked up nervously.

“You came late.”

Marcus dropped a file onto the table.

“I need information.”

The technician opened the file carefully.

Inside was a copy of a hospital DNA request.

Ethan Blackwood had secretly ordered a paternity test weeks earlier.

The technician frowned slightly. “Where did you get this?”

“That’s not important.”

The man continued reading.

Then his eyes widened.

“The results are already completed.”

Marcus stepped closer immediately. “Show me.”

The technician hesitated before opening the secure records.

Several names appeared on the screen.

Lily Blackwood,Dan Blackwood, Ethan Blackwood.

Then the result.

No biological match.

Marcus stared in disbelief.

Neither brother was Lily’s father.

The room suddenly felt colder.

His mind immediately started calculating dates, Years, Memories, One woman. Judith.

Marcus slowly stepped backward.

“No…”

But deep down, he already knew the truth was possible.

Back at the hospital, the female doctor quietly entered Judith’s room again after midnight.

Dan had finally gone home briefly to shower.

Ethan was downstairs answering a phone call.

The doctor checked Judith’s IV carefully before speaking softly.

“You’re lucky to be alive.”

Judith looked at her weakly. “Do you know who did this?”

The doctor hesitated.

“Not yet. But this poisoning was carefully planned.”

Judith’s breathing slowed.

“Someone wanted me dead.”

“Yes.”

Fear passed through Judith immediately.

Then another memory flashed through her mind.

A shadow near her bed.

A familiar voice whispering angrily.

Judith suddenly grabbed the doctor’s arm weakly.

“There was someone in my room before the reaction started.”

The doctor leaned closer.

“Did you see the face?”

Judith closed her eyes tightly, trying to remember.

“No… but I heard a man.”

Before the doctor asked more questions, footsteps approached outside.

Mr. Blackwood entered slowly.

The female doctor immediately stepped back.

“How is she?” he asked calmly.

“She’s recovering.”

His eyes moved toward Judith.

“You gave everyone quite a scare.”

Judith forced herself to smile faintly, but something about him made her uncomfortable.

So uncomfortable.

Mr. Blackwood stepped closer to the bed.

“You should focus on getting stronger.”

Then he lowered his voice slightly.

“For Lily’s sake.”

Judith’s heartbeat quickened.

Something hidden existed beneath his words.

Something dark.

After he left the room, the female doctor quietly locked the door.

“You’re afraid of him,” Judith whispered.

The doctor stayed silent.

That silence answered everything.

Meanwhile, Ethan sat inside his car outside the apartment building where Lily was hidden.

He stared at the windows for a long time before finally entering.

Inside, Lily slept quietly on the couch holding her teddy bear.

Erica smiled softly. “She cried less today.”

Ethan walked closer slowly.

Lily suddenly moved in her sleep.

“Mommy…”

Guilt stabbed through him immediately.

He touched her hair gently.

“I’m doing this for us,” he whispered quietly, almost to himself.

Erica crossed her arms. “You’re starting to regret it.”

“No.”

But the answer came too fast.

Erica noticed.

“She’ll hate Judith eventually,” Erica muttered within her it. “Children forget quickly.”

Ethan looked down at Lily again.

But instead of feeling relief, something inside him felt worse.

Lily slowly opened her eyes.

For one second, happiness filled her face.

“Daddy!”

Then her expression changed.

“Where’s Mommy?”

Ethan froze.

Lily slowly sat up and hugged Erica instead.

“Mama Erica made soup for me.”

Shock crossed Ethan’s face immediately.

Even Erica looked surprised.

Lily buried her face against Erica’s shoulder.

“She stayed with me.”

Something painful twisted inside Ethan’s chest.

Because for the first time, he realized Lily was beginning to emotionally leave Judith behind.

And somehow…

That was never what he truly wanted.

Across the city, Marcus sat alone inside his office staring at the DNA results again.

Then slowly, he opened a drawer and removed an old photograph of Judith from years ago.