Chapter 182: She has always been my daughter

"Viktor, I’m offended." Marcus snorted. Viktor almost smiled. Almost. Then his expression became serious again.

"Where are they now?"

"Hospital," Marcus answered. "They’re being treated. The doctors think it’s some kind of chemical irritant. Three more guards went with them because apparently everyone was suddenly afraid to touch anything."

Sienna folded her arms.

"They were being dramatic; besides, it was Aliya’s fault for coming into the kitchen." Marcus looked at her.

"Your plan was to poison half the house."

"I did not poison anybody."

"You definitely did something."

"I simply created an opportunity."

"For what?" Sienna’s smile disappeared. Her voice dropped. "The real question." Viktor’s attention sharpened.

Sienna glanced toward the hallway before speaking. "We need samples from Aliya and Don Capri." Marcus’s expression changed. Viktor immediately understood.

"A DNA test." Sienna nodded.

"If there’s a connection between them, we need proof. Not rumors. Not what people have been telling us. Proof." She lowered her voice even further.

"Get samples from both of them." What Sienna didn’t notice was the man passing quietly at the end of the hallway.

Don Capri. He had stopped when he heard his name. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t ask questions. He simply stood there for a few seconds, listening. Then he continued walking.

His face remained calm. But his mind was already moving. By the time he reached the next room, he had made his decision. If Sienna wanted a DNA test, then he needed to know exactly what she was looking for.

And more importantly, he needed to make sure she didn’t find it.

–

The hospital was already crowded when Viktor’s men arrived. Aliya was still complaining loudly. "My skin is burning!"

"We know," one of the nurses said patiently.

"It is still burning!"

"Yes, ma’am."

"And why are there so many people here?" The nurse glanced toward the other beds. "I’m wondering the same thing." Marcel, standing nearby, lowered his head to hide a smile.

Aliya caught him. "You!" Marcel immediately looked innocent.

"What?"

"You know something."

"I know Sienna did this."

"She did this." Marcel looked genuinely offended.

"Me?" Before Aliya could answer, another guard groaned from the bed beside her.

"My hand is still itching." Aliya turned.

"Oh shut up! I’m in more pain than you!"

"Can everybody please stop scratching?" the nurse snapped. They all stopped for approximately three seconds. Then someone scratched again.

The nurse sighed. Viktor’s men waited until the doctors were busy treating them.

Getting the samples wasn’t difficult. A little blood here. A swab there. Nothing that would attract attention. And by the time Aliya realized anything unusual had happened, the samples were already on their way to the lab.

Sienna waited. She didn’t sleep much that night. Every few hours, she checked her phone. Nothing. Morning came. Still nothing.

Then, finally, the call came. Sienna answered immediately. "Hello?" She listened. Her face slowly changed.

"What?" She sat up straighter.

"Are you sure?" Another pause. Sienna’s fingers tightened around the phone.

"Run it again." She listened. "No. I don’t care if the result is clear. Run it again."

Silence. Then the answer came. The result was conclusive. No biological relationship. None. Don Capri was not Aliya’s father. Sienna slowly lowered the phone.

For several seconds, she simply stared at the floor. Marcus noticed. "What is it?" She didn’t answer. "Sienna?" She finally looked up. Her voice was quiet.

"They’re not related." Marcus frowned.

"What?"

"The DNA test." She swallowed. "It came back negative." Marcus stared at her. Sienna looked away. It should have been a relief. It should have solved something.

Instead, a cold feeling settled in her stomach because the result didn’t fit. Not with the evidence. Not with the things she’d uncovered.

And suddenly, Sienna wasn’t sure whether the DNA test had answered her question or had simply given her another one.

Across the city, Don Capri was sitting in a private room at the hospital when the results were brought to him. He took the paper. Read it once. Then again.

A slow smile spread across his face. Elena, sitting across from him, had been watching him anxiously.

"Well?" Don Capri looked up at her.

"Negative." For a second, Elena didn’t react. Then her shoulders dropped.

"Oh, thank God." Don Capri leaned back in his chair, folding the paper in half.

"Good thing I intercepted that." Elena frowned. "What exactly did you do?" Don Capri gave her a look.

"Do you really want to know?" She thought about it. Then shook her head.

"No."

"Good." He tucked the paper away. "If those results had gotten out the way they were supposed to, we would have been exposed."

Elena stared at him. "So the results were changed."

"Let’s just say Sienna received exactly what I wanted her to receive." Elena let out a breath. For the first time since yesterday, she looked relieved.

Don Capri, however, only smiled. "They think they’ve been so clever." Elena glanced toward him.

"Aren’t you worried? Sienna clearly suspects something."

"She can suspect whatever she wants."

"But if she keeps digging..."

"She won’t find what she’s looking for." His voice was calm. Too calm. Elena studied him.

"You really did adopt Aliya?"

Don Capri’s smile faded slightly. Elena’s brows drew together.

"What does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like." He looked down at the folded test results in his hand.

"A long time ago, it was safer to make it look like Aliya came into my family through an adoption."

"Why?"

"To keep things clean." Elena was quiet. Don Capri’s fingers tightened slightly around the paper.

"But make no mistake." He looked up. "Aliya is my daughter." Elena stared at him. His smile returned.

"She has always been my daughter."

–

The next morning, Sienna was coming down the staircase when she heard the front door open.

She glanced toward it. Then stopped. Aliya walked in first. Fresh from the hospital. Her hair had been fixed. Her makeup was flawless.

There was nothing about her now that suggested she had spent the previous day screaming and scratching herself half to death.

Elena followed behind her. The guards came in next. Sienna’s eyes moved over them without much interest. Then she saw him.

Her hand tightened around the railing. Simon. For one second, she didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Simon was walking beside Aliya.