The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 67

Those few short words felt like ice-cold daggers plunging directly into Annelise's heart.

It wasn't the first time she had felt like a pawn in someone else's game.

But having it so bluntly confirmed by someone else still sent a bone-deep chill shivering through her.

For the next few days, Annelise went about her life with unnatural calm.

She spent her days praying with Lizzie, strolling the gardens with Clarissa, and playing games with Manuel.

Her smile was warmer and gentler than it had ever been.

She even volunteered to learn how to make the baby food Manuel liked.

Her display of perfect wifely virtue, endless devotion to the family, and treating her "rival's" child as her own left even Clarissa completely baffled.

Only Harriet knew the terrifying speed at which Annelise was sharpening her claws beneath that placid mask.

Ten days later.

On a bright, sunny afternoon, Annelise was in the backyard's "safe zone," watering some newly planted roses.

The burner phone in her pocket vibrated once.

She set the watering can down, wiped the soil from her hands, and pulled the phone out.

It was an encrypted email.

The sender was Vivian.

Annelise's heart skipped a beat.

Taking a deep breath, she tapped the email open.

Attached was a PDF document.

The letterhead belonged to the most authoritative facility in the city: Cresthaven Forensic Science Center.

She bypassed all the complex, jargon-heavy analytical processes and data charts.

She scrolled straight down to the very last page.

The conclusion.

The bold font felt like a sledgehammer slamming into her retinas.

[Conclusion]:

Excluding common allele mutations, based on the DNA analysis, a biological paternity relationship exists between the submitted Sample A (labeled "adult male") and Sample B (labeled "juvenile male").

In this test, the Combined Paternity Index (CPI) is... and the Probability of Paternity (RCP) is >99.99%.

Black and white.

Ironclad proof.

The sunlight glared off the screen, making the words seem to glow.

Yet, to Annelise, everything had never looked clearer or more terrifyingly sharp.

Manuel was Hackett's biological son.

Not Elias's.

She had won.

Legally, scientifically, she had won.

She saved the report in three different, ultra-secure formats.

One copy stayed on the burner phone.

She had Vivian print another physical copy and lock it in the safe at her office.

The final copy she planned to take back to 18 Sycamore Lane and hide in the secret compartment alongside her overseas medical reports.

After securing the files, she felt like she had just fought a grueling, drawn-out war, entirely drained of her strength.

But she knew it wasn't time to relax just yet.

The chain of evidence was nearly complete.

The medical report proving her tubes were tied, Josie Platt's witness statement, the photos of the insurance policy, the chat screenshots, Lizzie's diary, and Elias's letters.

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