Chapter 2 - The Double Envelope
The silence in the room was absolute. Even the soft clinking of ice against crystal stopped as fifty pairs of eyes shifted between Teresa, Rodrigo, and me.
Teresa’s hands didn't tremble when she picked up the first envelope. She smiled with the calm assurance of someone who believed she was about to watch a trapped animal surrender. She broke the seal smoothly, pulling out the official lab documentation.
"Read it aloud, Teresa," I said softly, my voice carrying clearly across the room. "Since you were brave enough to ask the question in front of everyone, have the courage to read the answer."
Her eyes scanned the top header: GENETIC TESTING SERVICES - CERTIFIED PATERNITY REPORT.
As her gaze moved down the page, the color slowly drained from her face. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
Rodrigo stepped forward, his face flushed with confusion and embarrassment. "Mom? What is it?"
He snatched the paper from her hands. His eyes raced across the text, landing on the bolded conclusion at the bottom:
PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 99.998%
ALLEGED FATHER: RODRIGO ARANDA
CHILD: LUCÍA SALGADO ARANDA
"She’s mine," Rodrigo whispered, looking up at me, his voice cracking. "Daniela... she’s mine."
"Of course she’s yours, Rodrigo," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "She was always yours. But you let your mother convince you otherwise because you lacked the courage to trust your own wife."
A murmur rippled through the guests. Paulina Mier, sitting at a front table beside her parents, shifted uncomfortably, her glass halfway to her lips.
"That... that proves nothing about where the eyes came from," Teresa stammered, trying desperately to regain control of the room. "It’s genetically unusual! It’s—"
"It’s basic genetics, Teresa," I interrupted calmly, reaching back into my purse for the second envelope. "Recessive traits can lie dormant for generations until two carriers meet. But you didn't care about genetics. You wanted a public spectacle. And now you have one."
I placed the second envelope onto the table in front of Rodrigo.
May you like
"What is this?" Rodrigo asked, his hand trembling as he reached for it.
"That," I said, "is the rest of the truth."
