“Why?”
“Just give me your phone. I need to see your results.”
I handed her my phone. Her eyes wide, she scrolled through my report. “I don’t believe it.”
“What?”
“He didn’t do it. We’re not sisters.” She pointed at the results on her computer. Under siblings, she had a W.M. “There’s no B.W. If we were sisters, I should have you listed here. Instead, you’re listed as a cousin.”
My vision blurred. I wanted to believe her, but I was afraid of getting my hopes up. “What about the L.H. listed under my siblings?”
“That’s not me.”
She clicked on a link that brought up a new page. “See. The L.H. on your report is older than both of us. We have the same initials, but she’s not me. You have a half sister with the same initials as me.”
I couldn’t breathe. Was it true? Did I have an older sister? Did all this mean my father was actually innocent?
A notification for Lia popped up on her computer screen. “It’s from W.M., the man listed as my half brother.”
“Are you going to read it?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I don’t know either.”
She hesitated a moment, then she clicked on the message.
Hi L.H.!
I’m W.M., Wayne Montgomery Junior. Warning, if you search my name, you might discover my father, who did a lot of bad things in his life. I don’t know your situation or why you decided to take the DNA test, but learning about the biological father we share will probably be difficult for you. Wayne Montgomery Senior wasn’t a nice man.
When I was five, he died after being shot by a woman he tried to rape.
I want you to know that I’m not anything like my father. I’ve been happily married to my wife for ten years. We have two girls and a labradoodle named Maggie. I initially took the DNA test, hoping to learn that I had a different father. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
I’d like to talk to you, but I can understand why you might be hesitant to do so. When you’re ready, I hope you’ll reach out to me. I’ll include all my social links in case you want to see what I’m like.
Looking forward to hopefully talking to you soon,
Sincerely,
Wayne Montgomery Jr.
Tears streamed downLia’s cheeks. “I can’t believe it.”
I placed a hand on her shoulder, wishing I could say something that would take away her pain. This had to be such a shock for her.
I was in shock too, but for a completely different reason. My father was innocent.
Innocent!
Again, I felt horrible for wanting to dance for joy in front of Lia. But wasn’t that one of life’s greatest realities? Nothing was ever all good or all bad. There was always something going well and simultaneously, something going not so well.
As if reading my mind, Lia wiped her eyes and smiled at me. “I don’t know why I’m crying. I already knew my biological father was evil. I already knew he raped my mom. All this is good news for you. Great news, in fact. I’m happy for you, Brandy. I really am.”
Overwhelmed, I embraced my cousin, wishing my good news could somehow be hers as well.