CEO's Regret After I Divorced-Chapter 378 DNA Test

Serena’s POV

I couldn’t stop fingering the business card in my pocket as I walked through my front door. Zoe Quinn’s name, phone number, and address seemed to burn through the expensive cardstock into my skin. Should I trust her? What if this was all an elaborate scheme cooked up by the Blackwoods and Quinns?

"You’re home early." Cedric’s voice startled me. He stood in our living room, a glass of whiskey in hand, watching me with those observant eyes that rarely missed anything.

"Just a short day at the workshop," I lied, slipping the card deeper into my pocket. "Some clients canceled."

"Hmm." His noncommittal response told me he wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t push.

After he retreated to his study, I locked myself in the bathroom and stared at my reflection. Who was I really? The face looking back at me suddenly seemed like a stranger’s.

Fragments flickered like a broken film reel: the stark white of hospital walls, the steady beep of machines, Cedric’s relieved face swimming into focus as consciousness returned. Our small courthouse wedding six months later—"when you’re feeling stronger," he’d said. Nancy’s birth eight months after that, the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen despite having no memory of the pregnancy’s early months.

But before the accident? Before the hospital?

Nothing but an endless, suffocating darkness.

What if that darkness is hiding something terrible? Something someone wanted me to forget?

My fingers found Zoe’s card before I could second-guess myself. The numbers felt significant under my trembling fingertips as I dialed, each digit a step closer to either salvation or destruction.

"Hello?" Her voice was crisp, expectant, like she’d been waiting by the phone.

"It’s Serena... Lancaster." I added my married name like armor, a shield against whatever truths might be coming.

"I’m glad you called." The relief in her voice was unmistakable. "I knew you would."

Did you? How could you be so sure when I wasn’t sure myself?

"I want a DNA test," I said, the words tumbling out in a rush before courage could abandon me.

"Tomorrow. No lawyers, no family members watching—just you and me."

A pause that lasted exactly three heartbeats. "Agreed. I’ll arrange everything."

Christ. I’m really doing this.

---

The hospital waiting room was sterile and cold the next morning. I’d told Cedric I had an early meeting with an important client—another lie to add to the growing pile between us.

Zoe was already waiting when I arrived, dressed in a simple but obviously expensive outfit. When our eyes met, that strange feeling of familiarity washed over me again.

"Thank you for coming," she said, rising to greet me. "This means a lot."

"Let’s just get it over with," I replied, more sharply than intended.

The nurse called us in shortly after. As she prepared the needles, Zoe started talking, filling the awkward silence.

"You know, our mother—Hazel Quinn—has this ridiculous food control policy with our father," she said with a small smile. "Liam loves his sweets, but she’s convinced sugar will be the death of him. So he sneaks chocolate into his study and thinks nobody knows."

I couldn’t help but smile. "That sounds like something out of a sitcom."

"Oh, it gets better. Ethan—your brother, technically—is the most put-together businessman you’ll ever meet in public. But at home? Complete disaster. Leaves his socks everywhere. Drives Maya crazy."

"Maya?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Zoe’s eyes lit up. "His wife. Your best friend, actually."

The nurse inserted the needle into my arm, but I barely felt it. Instead, I was distracted by the mental image of a dark-haired woman laughing, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"And Eleanor—our oldest sister—just had the most catastrophic breakup last month," Zoe continued. "The guy actually had the nerve to tell her she works too much. As if being passionate about your career is a character flaw."

I laughed genuinely then, relaxing despite myself. "That’s ridiculous."

"Right? Eleanor threw his watch collection into the swimming pool. It was glorious."

By the time we finished the blood draw, I found myself actually enjoying Zoe’s company. There was something disarming about her—smart, slightly sarcastic, but with a warmth that felt... familiar.

The doctor informed us the results would be ready by afternoon.

"Well," Zoe said as we walked toward the exit, "I’m looking forward to officially calling you my sister in a few hours."

Her confidence was staggering. "You’re that certain?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life," she replied, then her phone buzzed insistently. "Shit. I need to take this—board meeting crisis. Can we meet back here at two?"

I nodded, watching her stride away while already barking orders into her phone. The family resemblance to Ethan was suddenly obvious—that same commanding presence, that natural assumption of authority.

Family resemblance. Am I really thinking that?

Alone again, I wandered to a nearby park and sank onto a bench, tilting my face toward the weak afternoon sun. What was I doing? If the test confirmed Zoe’s certainty, everything I’d built with Cedric would crumble. If it didn’t... well, then I’d know for sure I was losing my mind.

The sensation of being watched prickled across my skin like electricity. I turned sharply, scanning the pedestrians, but saw only strangers going about their business.

Am I becoming paranoid now too?

I sighed, my finger tracing the now-familiar outline of Zoe’s business card. In a few hours, I’d have an answer that would either validate my sanity or shatter my world.

Maybe both.

The waiting was going to kill me.