Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever
Chapter 430 - I honestly thought Voren was right
A few days earlier...
"Leon, are you around? I’m heading over."
Corvine balanced his phone between his shoulder and ear as he opened the rear door of his SUV for Esperanza. The little girl climbed into the backseat without any trouble while Jasmine helped fasten her seat belt.
"Alright," Leon replied from the other end. "I could just email everything to you."
Corvine shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side. "I have a few other results that I need your help interpreting."
There was a brief silence before Leon answered. "Okay. I’ll wait for you."
"See you soon."
Corvine ended the call and climbed behind the wheel. The drive felt peaceful. Esperanza chatted excitedly from the backseat while Jasmine listened with an amused smile, laughing now and then at whatever random story the little girl was telling.
Corvine smiled to himself as he listened. Not long afterward, he pulled up at a nearby park. Esperanza immediately perked up. "The park!"
Corvine looked over his shoulder with a smile. "You and Aunt Jasmine stay here for a little while. I’ll be back soon."
Corvine waited until both of them safely stepped onto the sidewalk. Esperanza waved enthusiastically through the window. "Bye, Uncle Corvine!"
He chuckled and waved back. "Have fun."
Only after making sure they had entered the park safely did he drive away toward Leon’s private hospital. Leon was already waiting when Corvine arrived. The doctor welcomed him into his office, but the smile on his face carried clear disappointment.
"I honestly thought Voren was right," Leon said, rubbing the back of his neck before letting out a tired sigh. "He sounded so certain, but the test came back negative."
Corvine quietly took a seat across from him. Leon walked over to his desk and picked up a file. "I even checked older records." His brows knitted together. "Apparently, this exact DNA test was done over three years ago." He placed the file down. "The result was still positive. He’s the girls biological father but Seraphine isn’t her mother."
Corvine simply smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile, and it barely reached his eyes. Instead of answering right away, he unlocked his phone and slid it across the desk. "Can you take a look at these results for me?"
Leon picked up the phone without hesitation. While he carefully examined the documents, Corvine casually looked around the office. Unlike most hospital offices, Leon’s workspace felt warm and elegant, with dark wooden shelves lined with medical books and awards.
Family photos sat beside framed certificates, giving the whole room a personal touch. It was obvious this space belonged to Leon alone.
Several seconds passed. Then Leon suddenly frowned, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the screen. "That’s impossible."
Corvine looked back at him right away. "What is it?"
Leon slowly lowered the phone as Corvine further explained. "I honestly believed the mistake happened here." Confusion filled his face as Corvine went on. "That’s exactly why I secretly sent the same DNA samples to several independent laboratories."
He looked back at the report. "All four labs returned identical results." His gaze lifted to Leon. "You can’t seriously expect me to believe that four different laboratories are wrong while yours is somehow the only one that’s right."
Silence settled between them. Corvine believed Esperanza from the moment the girl narrated every event of how Corvine gave her away to the moon goddess so as soon as he confirmed this was where Voren had the test done, he drew his conclusion.
The frustration on Leon’s face said everything. Someone had tampered with his hospital’s records, and as the director, that realization made his blood boil. He quickly forwarded every report to his own phone before standing up. "Please excuse me."
Corvine nodded calmly. "Take your time."
As Leon hurried out of the office, Corvine leaned back in his chair. He pulled out his own phone and called Jasmine. She answered almost immediately. "Everything okay?"
"We’re fine," Jasmine replied cheerfully. "Espe is feeding ducks right now."
Corvine smiled. "Good. Keep an eye on her."
"Always."
After ending the call, he waited patiently. Leon stormed straight into the laboratory, his expression alone enough to make everyone inside freeze.
Without saying a word, he walked to the center table and dropped several printed reports onto the surface with a loud slap that echoed through the room.
Every technician looked up. Leon pointed at the papers, his voice frighteningly calm. "Someone better explain this, or I’ll have the police here this instant."
The room fell completely silent. No one dared move. Leon could barely contain his anger. His hospital had built its reputation on trust and accuracy, and finding out that someone’s actions had compromised that felt like a deep personal betrayal.
The laboratory director hurried over and picked up the reports. His expression changed as he compared each result. Then his eyes drifted toward a young technician standing quietly in the corner. "Claire."
She looked up nervously. "What did you do?"
Claire’s face turned pale instantly. She hadn’t even looked at the reports before the words rushed out. "I’m... I’m sorry." Her voice trembled. "It was just a typo."
Leon’s eyes hardened. "A typo?" He took one slow step closer. "Over three years ago, the exact same DNA test was requested." He tapped one report with his finger. "The result was exactly the same." Another tap. "Now you’re telling me that’s also a typo?"
Claire swallowed hard, her hands shaking uncontrollably. Leon folded his arms across his chest, his voice growing colder with every word. "If you don’t want to spend the rest of your life behind bars, I suggest you stop lying and start talking."
Claire’s breathing became uneven. She looked around the room like she was searching for someone to save her, but no one spoke and no one met her eyes. Leon slowly scanned the laboratory before making his decision. "Not here." He turned toward the door. "Come with me."
Without another word, he walked away. Claire hurried after him, nearly jogging to keep up with his long strides. The entire laboratory remained frozen long after they disappeared. No one dared whisper.
Everyone understood that something far bigger than a simple mistake had just been uncovered.
When Claire stepped into Leon’s office, she stopped short. Her eyes widened. Corvine was already sitting there. The moment she recognized him, as the man who usually picked and dropped Seraphine to and from work, panic flashed across her face. "Doctor Hawthorne..." she stammered. "It... it really was a mistake."
Leon slammed both hands onto his desk. "You’re still lying," he thundered. "If it was really a mistake, are you telling me every single DNA test handled this way contains the exact same typo?"
Claire looked from Leon to Corvine and back again. She felt completely trapped with nowhere left to run. Her lips quivered as tears gathered in her eyes.
"Please..." Her voice cracked. "I’ll confess everything..." She lowered her head in defeat. "But... you have to forgive me."