Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 276: A DNA Test?

Genevieve’s mouth fell open. She stared at him in disbelief. ”You... you’re not Jamal?” Her voice came out cracked.

Stefan shook his head slowly. His eyes never left hers. ”No. I’m not Jamal. I work for his family. But I’m considered part of the family too since I’m an orphan. My name is Stefan Kirk. That’s the truth.”

”How then did you know I’m not Dawn?” She asked in confusion, then for some reason the puzzle pieces clicked in her head at that moment. Everything seemed to make sense. ”It’s Pete, isn’t it? Pete is Jamal?”

Stefan nodded slowly.

Her hands flew to her chest. She felt her heart hammering like it was trying to break out. ”No...” she whispered. ”No, no, no.” She stood so fast the chair scraped loud against the floor. ”This can’t be real. You all lied?”

Her body trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself. Tears blurred her sight. ”So all this time... everything... it was all fake? Abigail’s kindness, Pete’s friendship, you... You all must have had a good laugh at my expense. You must have thought me a pathetic fool—”

Stefan rose slowly, careful, like he was approaching something fragile. ”Viv.”

She shook her head hard, stepping back. ”Don’t call me that. I don’t even know who I am anymore! I’m not Dawn. My father just told the world I’m not his daughter. I’m not Abigail’s sister. I’m not Pete’s friend. And now you’re not Jamal! I lied, you all lied... it’s all lies! My whole life is a lie! I don’t have anything or anyone.” Her voice cracked on the last word and she dropped her face into her hands as her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor, sobbing.

Stefan was at her side in an instant. He crouched, sliding strong arms around her shoulders. She tried to push him away weakly, but he didn’t let go.

”Don’t touch me,” she cried into her palms. ”It’s all a lie.”

”No, it’s not. Why do you think I brought you here?” Stefan asked, holding her close, ”I love you, Genevieve. And so does Abigail and Jamal. We all care about you. No one had any reason to laugh at your expense.”

”Don’t lie to me any more than you’ve already done, please,” Genevieve cried.

”It’s not a lie. I swear to you, Genevieve, I’m not lying to you. We care about you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my entire life and like you, I planned to tell you the truth tonight over dinner. Initially I was waiting for you to open up to me yourself. I wanted to be sure that you were willing to give up your identity as Dawn. Why do you think I never called you Dawn? Why did I always ask you to call me Stefan? I wanted to be real with you. I may have lied about being Jamal, but that’s the only lie I’ve ever told you,” Stefan said, beseeching her with his voice to believe him.

Her breath hitched. She stared at him like she wanted to believe him but couldn’t believe it. ”What am I supposed to do now?”

”You could start by trusting me when I say I love you and genuinely care about you. Then dry your tears, and let’s talk,” Stefan said, brushing her tears away with his thumbs.

”Everyone must have seen the news my Dad...”

”How can you still call him your Dad after that?” Stefan asked with a frown. He knew he probably shouldn’t tell her the truth now, but he wanted it all out of the way. He wanted her to know that that selfish prick wasn’t related to her in any way and she didn’t need to think of him as her father any more.

”Because he’s my father. My mother said so,” Genevieve said with a sniffle.

Stefan shook his head. ”She lied. You’re not related to him in any way. Think about it. Would he have done that to you if you were his blood?” Stefan asked and Genevieve’s brows pulled together.

”He probably has his reasons, but he’s my father...”

”He’s not. I have proof that he’s not your father,” Stefan said and her frown deepened.

”What proof? How?” She asked.

”We had a DNA test done. You’re both not related,” he said, and her eyes widened.

”A DNA test? When? How? He’s not my father?” She asked, her heart racing.

”He’s not,” Stefan said, ignoring the rest of her questions.

Ryan Harris wasn’t her father? It shouldn’t have come as a shock to her considering that he had never once shown her any form of paternal love. His words had always been harsh and cutting.

If he wasn’t even her father why did he do all of this to her? Why did he make her live this way?

”I wasted all these years in vain. If I’m not even Genevieve Harris, then who am I?” Genevieve asked as tears began to run down her cheeks again.

Her chest shook. She broke then, leaning forward until her forehead hit his shoulder. Her sobs came heavy, her hands clutching at his shirt.

Stefan held her tight, one arm wrapped strong around her back, the other cradling the back of her head.

”It’s okay,” he whispered into her hair. ”So what if you’re not his daughter? You’re Genevieve. That’s who you are. That’s who I see. You can be whoever and whatever you want to be now.”

She knew that was true, still, her pain clung. Her voice came small as she looked up at him. ”Why does it hurt so much? Why do I feel like I can’t breathe?” Her lips trembled.

Stefan reached up and brushed his thumb across her wet cheek, wiping her tears. ”Because he used you for years and then he discarded and humiliated you publicly without caring about how you’d feel when you see the news. Anyone would feel that way. You have no idea how lucky you are that you’re not blood related to such a self-centered prick. But listen—” His voice dropped, almost fierce. ”I’m on your side. You have me, you have Jamal and Abigail. And everyone else is in Ludus waiting for you.”

”Ludus?” She asked, looking at him with confused eyes.

He nodded. ”Jamal, Abigail, and their son is in Ludus...”

”Their son? Josh is Jamal’s son?” She asked with wide eyes.

Stefan smiled, ”Yes. And they are in Ludus.”

”How?” She asked, totally confused.

”You want me to tell you how they had him or you mean how they got to Ludus?” Stefan asked, a teasing edge in his tone.

Genevieve’s lips twitched despite her tears, ”That’s not what I mean. It’s just so sweet that Pete is Josh’s Dad.”

”Since you’re smiling now, should I take it that you’re not mad that I’m not Jamal?” Stefan asked, and tucking a stray strand behind her ears.

Genevieve held his gaze. ”Is this real? Are we real? Our relationship?” She asked, and he nodded.

”Yeah. I didn’t want to touch you until you knew the truth,” he said softly.

She swallowed, then nodded. ”You’re not going anywhere?”

He nodded. ”I’m with you.”

Without another word, Genevieve leaned against him as she let out a deep sigh of relief. She let herself relax in his arms, knowing he wasn’t going anywhere.

She’d think about everything else later. For now, she just wanted to bask in this surreal feeling of relief, knowing that even though the truth had finally been exposed, she still had Stefan on her side.

And maybe Abigail and Jamal too.