…”stole his inheritance and forced him to disappear.”
My husband, Greg, laughed bitterly at that. His brother, Kevin, had “drowned” five years earlier during a fishing trip. His body was never found. A week before that trip, Kevin had been questioned by police about a real estate scheme that had cheated nine families out of their savings. Now we knew why the body never turned up.
The doctor explained what he’d noticed: the twins weren’t Greg’s sons, but their DNA showed a close relationship, the kind you’d expect between an uncle and his nephews. Kevin was very much alive. And he was the father.
The mistress, Amanda, was white with fury. Kevin had told her his name was “Kyle,” that he was a consultant and that Greg was the brother who had cheated him out of their parents’ money. He’d been meeting her for two years, at the same time as she was meeting Greg. When she realized she had been lied to by both brothers, she called the police herself and gave them Kevin’s address.
Kevin was arrested the next morning. The police later confirmed he’d faked his death to escape the fraud charges and had been living two hours away under a stolen identity.
There was one more result I hadn’t expected. During the paternity testing, Greg’s lab work had also been reviewed. The doctor gently told him that his own fertility was extremely low, and probably had been for many years.
For twelve years, Greg had told me I was the reason we couldn’t have children. He’d let me go through tests, appointments and endless guilt. He had never been tested himself, because he refused.
He called me crying and asked if we could try again. I listened, and then I said no.
The divorce he had filed went through, on my terms. My lawyer used the medical records and his affair to secure me the house and half of his retirement account.
I’m forty-one now. I’m a foster mother to a seven-year-old girl named Rosie, who likes horses and pancakes and asks a hundred questions a day. Last week she asked if I always wanted to be a mom. I told her yes. And that it was never my fault it took so long.
