While engaging in a fun DNA experiment on himself and his 14-year-old adopted son, a divorced man accidentally unlocks a family bombshell that changes his life forever.

Discovering you have a sibling you never knew existed and that you’re actually adopted might sound like something straight out of a movie. But what if it happened in real life?

Genetic testing can uncover some dark family secrets and turn a family upside down, as it did for doting dad Patrick. When his 39th birthday rolled around in March that year, he decided to do a fun experiment with his 14-year-old adopted son, Evan.

He thought it was a cool idea and ordered an at-home DNA test kit, knowing little that his fun experiment would reveal something unexpected…

“Dad, what is this thing? And why are you swabbing my cheek?” Evan asked as Patrick collected their samples for the test.

“What am I missing? How is it even possible that this boy is my biological son?”
“It’s a DNA test kit, son. Did you know? We are all 99.9 percent alike, and you may never know who can be related to you!”

Patrick collected the samples and sent them for testing. He assumed he would soon get to the bottom of the genetic diseases he might have and gather some information about Evan’s birth parents. But what he discovered three weeks later was not what he expected.

Patrick was thrilled when a notification popped on his laptop. He logged into his password-protected DNA testing account to check the results.

“Finally, I can find out more about my son and my family tree!” he exclaimed, filling in the necessary information to access the results.

But the results unraveled something Patrick never expected—his DNA was a 99 percent match with Evan’s, indicating he was the boy’s birth father.

“What? How can this be?” he shrieked, deciding not to show his son the results until he cracked the mystery. The first thing he did was reach out to the foster home from where he adopted Evan 14 years ago.

“Mr. Gilmore, it’s so nice to see you. How may I help you?” the caregiver asked him. He was the same man Patrick had contacted 14 years ago regarding Evan’s adoption.

“I wanted to discuss some details about Evan…”

“Oh, how is he? Did he adjust well with you? He was always crying here, and nobody adopted him because they thought he was unmanageable. I still cannot forget the tantrums he threw whenever somebody picked him up from the cradle. Thank goodness he now has a loving home.”

This sounded odd to Patrick, considering Evan never cried or threw tantrums as a baby under his care.

“Okay, so, do you have any contact details of his parents? His mother, maybe?” asked Patrick.

“No, I’m sorry, Mr. Gilmore, but we don’t have any information about Evan’s parents. We just found him on our doorstep without any identification or letter attached to him.

Distraught, Patrick went home, but he was determined to find out why Evan turned out to be related to him.

“What am I missing? How is it even possible that this boy is my biological son?” he thought, then his ex-wife, Andrea, came to mind.

Fourteen years ago, Andrea and Patrick’s marriage hit a rough patch after he refused to try new things to make more money. He had the potential but didn’t like taking risks, so he stuck to his low-paying teaching job.

His stubbornness and indifference to her nagging about new money-making schemes ended their marriage. They divorced, and Andrea walked out of Patrick’s life without looking back.

Patrick thought about their last few months together before they broke up. He remembered Andrea throwing up a couple of times and visiting the doctor occasionally. When he asked her about it, she told him it was nothing to worry about, just stress.

Several doubts brewed in Patrick’s head. He knew where Andrea worked, so he went to see her for an explanation.

“Patrick?! I’m so glad to see you. How are you?” she greeted him.

“I’m good. How are you?”

“Well, look at me—what do you think? I married a rich man, and I am so happy now. What about you?”

“Still single,” Patrick bluntly replied. He just wanted to get to the point. “But that’s not why I came here. I want to know about Evan.”

“Evan? Who’s that?”

“My son.”

“You have a son?”

“I adopted him from the shelter 14 years ago. And it turns out that he is my REAL SON.”

Andrea turned pale and frowned. Her reaction made Patrick suspicious.

“I want to know the truth, Andrea. Speak up. Why do I have a son I never knew about? You’re the only woman I’ve been intimate with. Tell me the truth.”

Moments of silence prevailed until Andrea finally spoke up.

“That boy is your son, Patrick—OUR SON!” she cried.

“Our son? But—”

“I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I was unsure about our child’s future with an unsuccessful and poor father like you. I did not want to leave my baby with you and make his life miserable after we divorced.”

“What did you do, Andrea? Tell me the truth.”

“I carried our baby to term and gave birth to him. I wanted to move on, but I couldn’t look after him. I chose not to reveal him to you because I didn’t want him to live a poor life. So I left him at the shelter’s doorstep, hoping some rich couple would adopt him.”

Patrick was startled…

“How could you do that to our child? How could you abandon him only because you wanted him to live a rich life? You had no idea that fate would bring us together, did you? The son you never wanted me to see or raise is with me now.”

Patrick’s revelation shook Andrea. She felt guilty and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Patrick. I just wanted our son to live a better life, free of struggle. I thought you could never afford to give him the life he deserved.”

“Your sorry will not make up for the heartbreak I suffered alone until he came into my life. Your rash decision almost kept me from being a father to my son.”

“Patrick, I’m glad you found him. I know what I did was wrong, but I had no choice. Please take care of our son,” cried Andrea.

“I know how to take care of my son…You don’t have to tell me…Goodbye!” he fumed, storming out.

“Dad, thank you so much! I love this bike! You got a promotion or something?” exclaimed Evan upon seeing the mountain bike Patrick bought for him. It was his dream to own one.

“Ah! Honestly, yes, I did, son! I got promoted from being just your adoptive father to actually being your REAL FATHER!”

Evan raised a brow, unable to process the meaning behind Patrick’s words.