The Results No One Can Accept**
Aria sat on the examination table, her hands clasped so tightly they trembled. The cold, sterile smell of the private clinic wrapped around her like a suffocating blanket. She had barely slept—too haunted by the thuds against her bedroom window, too terrified to look, too afraid she might see the same hooded silhouette from the hallway staring in from the night.
Now, morning light streamed through the blinds as though determined to expose truths no one was ready for.
Her parents stood on either side of the room—her mother rigid with anxiety, her father maintaining a forced calm that fooled no one.
Dr. Ruiz, the family's trusted physician for years, walked in holding a medical chart. His face was unreadable, professional… except for a flicker of something Aria had never seen in him before:
Unease.
Her heart squeezed. "Doctor… please tell me you found something."
Her mother stepped forward immediately. "Yes, Doctor. Explain to us how a full paternity test can claim our daughter is the biological mother of a child she has never carried."
Dr. Ruiz cleared his throat. "I ran every possible test. Pelvic scans. Hormonal histories. Tissue markers. Post-pregnancy indicators."
Aria's grip tightened. Her pulse thudded in her ears.
"And?" her father pressed.
The doctor finally looked at Aria.
"Miss Sterling… you have never been pregnant."
The room fell into crushing silence.
Her mother blinked rapidly. "Are you certain? Could the scans be inconclusive?"
Dr. Ruiz shook his head. "Your daughter's body shows no signs of previous childbirth. No scarring. No hormonal imprints. No physical changes of any kind. Her uterus is entirely consistent with someone who has never conceived."
Aria released a shaky breath—a strange mix of relief and terror rolling through her. She wasn't crazy. She wasn't imagining her own past.
But then…
Her mother's voice trembled. "But the DNA report—"
"I examined that as well," the doctor said carefully. "It is professionally formatted. High-quality. No easy way to identify tampering."
Her father frowned. "So the DNA report is fake?"
Dr. Ruiz hesitated. "Not necessarily."
Aria stiffened. "What do you mean?"
The doctor walked over to her, speaking slow and deliberate. "A standard postnatal DNA match test compares biological markers. If someone wanted a fabricated report, yes, it could be forged. But this one… used highly advanced testing. More accurate than most hospitals even have access to."
Her mother paled. "Are you implying the test… could be real?"
"It should be impossible," the doctor replied. "Medically impossible."
Aria felt her throat close.
"So you're saying," her father said, voice dangerously low, "my daughter is both biologically the mother and has never been pregnant?"
Dr. Ruiz sighed. "The two realities cannot coexist. One must be false."
Aria stared at her hands, numb.
The baby…His tiny fingers…The way he reached for her.The way he seemed to know her.
Her mother's voice wavered. "Doctor, what are you suggesting? Cloning? Genetic theft? Impossible technology?"
"We don't deal in science fiction," her father snapped.
Dr. Ruiz folded his arms. "I'm suggesting someone wants Aria to believe this child is hers. Someone with resources. Access. Expertise."
Aria's heart dropped into her stomach.
Someone wanted this.
Someone planned this.
Someone knew exactly what they were doing.
Her mother's voice rose in panic. "Doctor, run the tests again. Run everything again."
"I already have," he replied softly.
Her father paced the room, running his hands through his hair. "This is a threat. This is deliberate. We need security. We need law enforcement. We need—"
"No police!" Aria shouted, surprising even herself.
Both parents turned toward her, stunned.
Her mother frowned. "Aria, you are clearly not thinking straight—"
"No police," Aria repeated firmly. "Someone left a baby at our door. Someone was inside our house. Someone watched me through my window last night."
Her mother gasped. "Last night? You didn't tell us that!"
Aria swallowed hard. "Because I didn't know if I imagined it. I woke up to a thud against the glass… and when I got up, there was no one there. But I felt—someone was watching."
Her father's face hardened. "That confirms it. Someone is targeting you."
Dr. Ruiz looked between them. "Aria… has anything unusual happened in the past year? Any medical procedures? Surgeries? Hospital visits?"
"No," Aria whispered. "Nothing."
Her mother crossed her arms. "What about the blind date event? What about your business meetings? Did any man from your startup investments—"
"No!" Aria snapped. "My love life is nonexistent, remember? You've been trying to fix it for me for years."
Her mother fell silent, stung.
Her father rubbed his temples. "We need answers."
Dr. Ruiz stepped closer. "Aria, if you allow it, I can perform further testing. Not for pregnancy—but for genetic anomalies. Tissue markers. Bloodwork to see if—"
"See if what?" Aria asked through trembling lips.
The doctor exhaled. "—to see if someone used your genetics without your knowledge."
Her mother staggered back as if slapped. "NO. That is impossible. That is illegal. That is monstrous."
Her father's voice dropped, dangerous and cold. "If someone did something to our daughter, I will destroy them."
Aria hugged herself, feeling small.
Broken.
"But why?" she whispered. "Why me? Why this baby? Why now?"
No one had an answer.
Dr. Ruiz finally said, "We'll begin another full panel immediately. Aria, step into the adjoining room, please."
Aria slid off the table, unsteady on her feet. As she walked toward the curtain separating the secondary lab space, she felt her mother's eyes burning into her back—half worry, half fear, half disbelief.
She pushed the curtain aside.
The moment she stepped in, her breath froze.
The baby wasn't in the waiting bassinet.
The soft blue blanket was empty.
Her heart slammed.
"Mom? Dad? Doctor—" Her voice rose in terror. "He's gone!"
Her parents rushed forward. The doctor followed.
The bassinet was completely empty.
A single warm imprint remained on the blanket—proof he had been there only moments ago.
Her father's voice thundered. "Where is the child?!"
But Aria couldn't speak.
Her gaze had already shifted—
—to the window.
The small clinic window, previously latched shut…
…was open.
Just a crack.
Just enough for someone to slip a hand through.
A cold gust of wind brushed her cheek, carrying with it the faint scent of winter pine—and something else.
A whisper.
Her name.
Aria…
Her knees nearly buckled.
Someone had taken him.
Someone who knew exactly where she would be.
Someone who wanted her to follow.
To be continued…