Ninety-Nine Point Nine
Chapter 05 - Ninety-Nine Point Nine
Elias wrapped a wet towel around Mason’s face and led him toward the emergency stairs.
The hallway was thick with smoke, but the fire itself was small—trash and cleaning chemicals ignited near the elevator. It was meant to frighten, not destroy.
Or perhaps to force them into the stairwell.
Detective Brooks noticed the open service door one floor below. A man in a maintenance uniform waited behind it.
When he saw the detective, he ran.
Security cameras captured only part of his face. He had worked at Bellamy House under a false name for three weeks.
The alarm had been disabled on Mason’s floor for exactly six minutes before the fire started.
The pattern was not subtle anymore.
Elias moved Mason to his townhouse under police protection. The house was elegant but nearly empty. One room upstairs had remained locked since the fire.
Elias opened it that night.
Inside were a crib, wooden animals, and a mobile shaped like copper spoons. Dust covered everything except the framed photograph of Claire.
“I built this room before Luca was born,” Elias said. “After the funeral, Vincent told me to clear it out. I could never do it.”
Mason stood near the crib.
He wanted the room to feel familiar. It did not. That disappointed him more than he expected.
At dawn, Dr. Naomi Price arrived with the sealed report.
She looked from Mason to Elias.
“The probability of biological paternity is 99.9997 percent.”
No one moved.
Elias sat down slowly.
Mason read the line again.
For years, forms had listed FATHER: UNKNOWN.
Now the unknown man stood six feet away, crying silently.
Elias reached toward him, then stopped.
“May I?”
Mason nodded.
The embrace was awkward at first. Mason’s backpack was still between them. Elias’s hand hovered over the boy’s shoulder, afraid of holding too tightly or not tightly enough.
Then Mason felt the chef shake.
“I looked for you,” Elias whispered. “I swear I looked.”
Mason closed his eyes.
“I didn’t know I was missing.”
The sentence broke them both.
Detective Brooks entered a few minutes later. She had good news and bad news.
The DNA result was legally meaningful but would need confirmation through an independent state laboratory. Until then, Mason remained a ward of the city.
The bad news was larger.
Vincent had called a press conference.
On live television, he expressed sympathy for his “emotionally vulnerable brother” and warned the public about sophisticated identity fraud. He announced that an anonymous source had provided evidence Ruth Grant purchased the hospital bracelet online.
Mason stared at the screen.
“That’s a lie.”
Vincent held up a receipt bearing Ruth’s name.
Elias stood.
“He is preparing to challenge the test.”
Dana nodded.
“He has also petitioned the family court to prevent you from seeking temporary custody, claiming you are unstable and exposing Mason to danger.”
The reporter asked Vincent whether the boy could inherit shares in Moretti Dining Group.
Vincent gave a sad smile.
“This is not about money.”
Elias turned off the television.
According to Claire’s family trust, a living child of Elias would inherit thirty-one percent of the company.
May you like
Enough to remove Vincent as chief executive.
It had always been about money.
