“Johnson,” Clara gripped his hand, her monitors beeping faster. “Promise me. If I don’t make it… take care of Mary. Even if the test says she’s not yours. Please. She can’t go into the system.”
“I promise,” Johnson said, his voice thick. “But you’re going to make it. You’re going to fight.”
He stayed until sunrise. At 6 a.m., he got a text from Mary. Thank you for going to her. Even if you’re mad at us.
At 7 a.m., he called Dr. Collins. “I need another test. Today. I think the first one was tampered with.”
There was a long pause. “Johnson… you think Veronica…?”
“I think it’s possible. I need to know for sure. A different lab. One she can’t touch.”
Dr. Collins sighed. “I can send the samples to a lab in New York. I’ll drive them myself. Come by at noon. Bring Mary.”
While at the hospital, Dr. Peterson pulled Johnson aside. “Clara is responding, but her body is weak. Her apartment is unsuitable for recovery. She’ll need round-the-clock care.”
“She and Mary can move in with me,” Johnson said without hesitation.
He told Clara. She was stunned. “Johnson… even if the test…?”
“Even then. You both need help. Let me help you.”
He picked up Mary from Mrs. Margaret’s. She was quiet, scared. “Hi, Dad,” she whispered, unsure if she was allowed to use the name.
In the car, she asked, “And if you’re not?”
Johnson pulled over. “Mary, family isn’t always about blood. It’s about choice. And I would choose you.”
She burst into tears and scrambled into his arms. “I’m sorry if I’m not yours!”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said, holding her tight. He then told her the surprise. “When your mom gets out of the hospital, she’s coming to live with us. Both of you.”
Mary’s face broke into a smile so bright it lit up the car. “Really? Even if…?”
“Even then.”
The next three days crawled by. Johnson’s lawyer called; Veronica had tried to file a restraining order, but it was denied, and she was now being investigated.
Late in the afternoon on the third day, Dr. Collins called. “Johnson? I have the results from New York.”
Johnson’s heart stopped. “And?”
“The test confirms with 99.9% certainty… you are Mary’s biological father.”
Relief, so powerful it made him weak, flooded through him. “You’re sure?”
“Completely. As for the first test… we found a fifteen-minute gap in our security footage in the sample storage room. The same day… Veronica Brown signed in as a guest, claiming to pick up a prescription for you. You didn’t have one.”
Johnson called Mary. “Pack your things. We’re going to the hospital to tell your mom the good news… It means I’m your dad, Mary. Officially. You’re mine.”
Her scream of joy was the best sound he’d ever heard.
They burst into Clara’s room. “Mom! Dad’s my dad! The test says so! 99.9 percent!”
Clara read the paper, tears of vindication and joy streaming down her face. “I told you,” she whispered. Johnson sat on the bed, and Mary climbed between them. For the first time, they were a family.
As Johnson said, “Now Veronica faces the consequences,” his phone buzzed. An unknown number. You’re going to regret this Johnson. All of you. He deleted it without a word…
