– I realize you see this as a gift, but how could you do this? – Elena held a white envelope delicately, as if it might burn her fingertips. – For our wedding anniversary, Nikolai! Our fifteenth anniversary!
Nikolai stood by the window, gazing out at the sun-drenched courtyard bathed in July light. His broad shoulders tensed visibly.
– You have to understand me, Lena. I had every right to know.
The remnants of their celebratory dinner surrounded them: half-finished champagne, leftover cake adorned with fifteen candles, and a bouquet of lilies standing tall in a vase. Their countryside home, purchased five years earlier, suddenly felt alien and cold despite the summer heat outside.
– Know what? That Andrei isn’t your son? – Elena flung the envelope onto the table, her voice rising. – This must be a terrible mistake. I never cheated on you, do you hear me? Never!
Nikolai turned toward her, anger and pain warring in his eyes.
– Then explain these results to me. Why does it say the chance of me being the father is less than one percent?
The front door slammed open. Vera, their fourteen-year-old daughter, appeared in the doorway. Tall like her father, with his deep-set gray eyes.
– What’s going on here? – she shifted her gaze between her father and mother. – Are you arguing? On our anniversary?
Elena swiftly grabbed the envelope from the table.
– Nothing serious, Vera. Just discussing some… work-related stuff.
– On your day off? – Vera squinted, demonstrating the sharp intuition she inherited from her father. – Fine, if you don’t want to talk – I won’t push. I’m going to Katya’s; we’re going to the movies.
After their daughter left, Elena sank into a chair.
– Where’s Andrei?
– He’s with the Pavlovs. They picked him up from soccer and he’ll stay there overnight, – Nikolai poured himself another glass of champagne. – Funny, isn’t it? We’re celebrating fifteen years of marriage, but I just discovered I’ve been raising someone else’s child for ten years.
– He’s not a stranger! – Elena stood abruptly. – How can you say that? You’re his father. You held him as a newborn, taught him to ride a bike, you…
– I thought he was mine! – Nikolai slammed his glass down hard, spilling champagne over the tablecloth. – Now, I don’t know what to think. Who is he, Lena? Whose child?
– He’s ours. Yours and mine. Our son. Something’s wrong with that test.
– I checked three times, Lena. Three! I didn’t want to trust the first result.
Elena felt the ground give way beneath her feet.
– When did you begin doubting? Why did you even take the test?
Nikolai hesitated, then exhaled heavily.
– Viktor.
– Viktor? Your former colleague? What does he have to do with this?
– Two weeks ago, we ran into each other at a hardware store. We started talking. He asked about you, the kids. Then… he said something that made me think.
Elena’s hands turned cold.
– What exactly?
– He implied there was an affair. That you… that you two…
Nikolai could not finish his sentence.
– What?! – Elena jumped up. – Me and Viktor? You’re crazy! I hated him. He always tried to undermine you at work, you told me yourself!
– I know, – Nikolai ran his hand through his hair. – But then I started noticing… Andrei doesn’t look like me. Or anyone in my family. And his age roughly coincides with the time I worked in Kazan and had to travel for weeks.
– I can’t believe you don’t trust me, – Elena sat down, defeated. – Fifteen years of marriage, and you believe Viktor over me.
Key Insight: Trust is the foundation of any relationship, and once doubt creeps in, even years of commitment can feel fragile.
– I wanted to believe you! That’s why I took the test – to prove Viktor was lying. But the results… – Nikolai gestured at the envelope. – They say otherwise.
An oppressive silence filled the room.
– What now? – Elena finally asked.
– I don’t know, – Nikolai grabbed his bag. – I need time to think. I’ll stay with Igor for a couple of days.
Elena wanted to protest, but no words came out. She watched silently as her husband left the house they had built together. When the door closed, her head fell into her hands, and tears streamed down her face.
– I don’t get it, – Igor, Nikolai’s younger brother, offered him a cup of coffee as they sat in Igor’s cozy kitchen. – Why did you even decide to take this test?
Nikolai hadn’t slept all night, evident in the dark circles under his eyes.
– You should have seen Viktor’s look when he talked about this. So sure of himself. And, you know yourself, Andrei doesn’t look like me.
– He looks like Elena, – Igor shrugged. – My son Dima also resembles his mother more than me.
– But the test results…
– Are you sure those results are accurate? Who did the analysis?
Nikolai pulled a creased business card from his pocket.
– “GenLab.” A private lab with good reviews. I verified it.
Igor examined the card thoughtfully.
– So what now?
– I don’t know, – Nikolai rubbed his face. – It feels like my world has collapsed.
– Have you spoken with Elena? What does she say?
– She denies ever cheating. Says it’s a mistake.
– And do you believe her?
Nikolai met his brother’s eyes.
– I believed her for fifteen years. Now… I just don’t know.
Elena sat in the director’s office at the “MedTest” laboratory. Exhausted from sleepless nights, she maintained a composed and determined demeanor.
– I need the results as quickly as possible, – she said, handing over test tubes with samples. – I’m willing to pay extra for urgency.
The director, a stout woman wearing glasses, nodded.
– We can deliver in three days. But I must warn you, a paternity DNA test is a serious procedure. If you doubt results from another lab…
– I’m absolutely certain there was an error, – Elena interrupted firmly. – My husband is the father. I want to prove it.
After leaving the lab, Elena called her friend Marina.
– I need your help. You worked at the city hospital ten years ago, right? Do you remember nurse Irina from maternity?
Vera caught her mother searching the internet and jotting notes in a notebook.
– Mom, what’s happening? Where’s Dad? He’s not answering my messages.
Startled, Elena closed her laptop.
– Dad went to Uncle Igor’s. We’re having… a bit of a disagreement.
– What kind of disagreement? – Vera crossed her arms, skepticism evident. – Did you fight?
Elena sighed, confronted by her daughter’s sharp mind.
– Your father doubts he’s Andrei’s biological father.
Vera froze, eyes wide.
– What? But how… why?
– He took a DNA test. The results showed he’s genetically not the father. But it has to be a mistake, Vera. I believe it’s wrong.
– You… you cheated on Dad? – Vera’s voice trembled.
– No! Never! – Elena grasped her daughter’s hands. – I swear I never betrayed your father. I love him. Always have.
Vera pulled away.
– Then where did Andrei come from? DNA doesn’t lie, Mom.
– Tests can be wrong. Labs can make errors. People can manipulate results.
– What are you talking about?
Elena opened her notebook.
– I suspect the results were falsified. Or there was a mix-up at the hospital. Or…
– You’re inventing mad theories instead of facing the truth! – Vera shouted. – You deceived us all! Poor Dad! Poor Andrei!
– Vera, please, – Elena reached for her daughter, but Vera recoiled.
– Don’t touch me! I don’t want to talk to you!
She stormed out, slamming the door. Elena slumped into a chair, tears streaming down once again. Her world crumbled before her eyes.
Marina took Elena to a small café on the outskirts.
– She’ll be here in five minutes, – Marina checked her phone. – I told her I wanted to meet an old colleague. Didn’t mention you.
– Thank you, – Elena nervously twisted a napkin. – Are you sure this is the Irina?
– Absolutely. Irina Savelieva. She worked in the maternity ward when you gave birth to Andrei. Then she quickly quit and left town. Only recently returned.
The café door opened, revealing a woman in her forties with a short haircut and wary eyes. Spotting Elena, she froze.
– What is this, Marina? Why did you deceive me?
– Please, Irina, – Elena stood. – I just need to ask some questions.
– I have nothing to say, – Irina turned to leave.
– I know you met Nikolai before me! – Elena blurted. – And you worked at the hospital when my son was born.
Irina slowly turned around.
– So what?
– Was there a mix-up with the babies? Or… – Elena hesitated to say “switch”.
Irina gave a bitter smile.
– You think I switched your child out of revenge? Seriously?
– I don’t know what to believe! – Elena exclaimed. – The DNA test says my husband isn’t the father. I never cheated on Nikolai. How can this be explained?
Irina sat down at the table.
– Look, I won’t pretend I was thrilled when Nikolai left me for you. Yes, I was hurt. And yes, I worked at the hospital when you gave birth. But I’m not crazy enough to swap babies!
– Then what happened? – Elena asked in despair, waving her hands.
Irina studied her closely.
– What did the test show? That Nikolai isn’t the father? Or that the child isn’t even yours?
– Only that Nikolai isn’t the father.
– Where was the test done?
– At GenLab.
Irina thought for a moment.
– Funny coincidence, but my niece works at GenLab. Alisa Savelieva. She handles test results.
Elena and Marina exchanged looks.
– Could she… have altered the results? – Marina asked cautiously.
– I didn’t say that, – Irina quickly responded. – But Alisa is very close to me. And she knows the story with Nikolai.
Tamara Petrovna, Nikolai’s grandmother, awaited him in her small apartment. Despite her eighty years, she retained sharpness and firmness.
– Sit down, grandson, – she gestured to a chair. – Igor told me everything. What foolishness have you gotten into?
Nikolai lowered himself into the seat.
– Grandma, this is no foolishness. I have test results…
– Tests! – the old lady snorted. – When was the last time you looked in a mirror? At your grandfather?
She rose and retrieved a worn photo album from an old dresser.
– Look here.
Opening the album to a yellowed photograph, she showed a boy about ten years old who looked startlingly like Andrei.
– Who’s this? – Nikolai asked.
– Your grandfather Vladimir. My husband, may he rest in peace. This photo is from 1953.
Nikolai took the picture with trembling hands.
– But… that’s Andrei! How?
– In our family, Kolya, genes play strange tricks. They skip generations. You look like your father, Igor looks like me. And Andrei is the spitting image of Volodya.
– But the test…
– Test, test! – grandmother waved her hand dismissively. – Did you know your grandfather had a rare blood type? You have it too. And so does Andrei.
– That doesn’t prove anything, Grandma.
– But your readiness to destroy your family over a piece of paper? That proves your foolishness!
Elena sat in the director’s office at MedTest, staring at the second test results. They confirmed the first: Nikolai was not Andrei’s biological father.
– Could two different tests both be wrong? – she asked, her voice shaking.
The director shook her head.
– It’s highly unlikely. But there are some rare genetic anomalies that might affect results.
– Like what?
– For example, chimerism, when a person carries cells with different genetic material, or certain mutations affecting markers used in these tests.
Elena recalled Tamara Petrovna’s words about the rare blood type.
– Where can I get a deeper analysis, one that accounts for these anomalies?
– At a state genetic laboratory. It’s expensive and time-consuming.
– I don’t care. I want to know the truth.
Viktor hadn’t expected to see Nikolai standing at his door.
– Kolya? What are you…
Before he could finish, Nikolai grabbed him by the collar, pressing him against the wall.
– Why did you tell me those lies about Elena? Why did you lie?
– I… I didn’t lie, – Viktor struggled. – Let me go!
Nikolai released him, and Viktor slid down the wall.
– Your niece works at GenLab, right? Alisa Savelieva?
Viktor paled.
– I don’t understand what you mean.
– You know exactly what. You knew I’d take a test after your hints. And you knew where I’d do it – the lab you recommended. “Reliable place,” you said?
– Nikolai, you’re talking nonsense. I don’t know any Alisa…
– Stop lying! – Nikolai pulled out his phone and showed him a photo. – You and Alisa at the GenLab corporate party. It’s on their website.
Viktor covered his face with his hands.
– Why, Viktor? – Nikolai asked quietly. – Why did you do this?
– You got a promotion meant for me, – Viktor muttered. – You were always the boss’s favorite. Then you started your own company and got successful… And I have nothing. No career, no family.
– So you decided to ruin my family out of jealousy?
– I wanted you to feel as awful as I did.
Elena and Nikolai sat in the waiting room of the state genetic laboratory. Between them on the chair sat Andrei, swinging his legs and playing on his phone. He didn’t understand the tests but was glad to miss school.
– Did you talk to Viktor? – Elena asked softly.
Nikolai nodded.
– He admitted everything. He wanted to get revenge.
– And his niece?
– She confessed too. She forged the test results at his request.
– And the second test? At MedTest?
Nikolai shook his head.
– That’s strange. They claim their results are accurate and have no connection to Viktor.
The doctor entered with a folder.
– Sokolov family? Please come to my office.
Inside, an elderly doctor carefully laid out graphs and tables.
– I have unusual news, – he said. – By standard testing, Nikolai Sokolov is not Andrei’s biological father.
Elena paled; Nikolai clenched his fists.
– However, – the doctor continued, – advanced testing revealed an intriguing detail. Nikolai, you possess a rare genetic mutation affecting a key marker in standard paternity tests.
– What’s the meaning of that? – Nikolai asked.
– It means standard tests may yield false negatives. But deeper analysis shows a genetic match. You are definitely Andrei’s father.
Elena covered her face, tears of relief flowing freely.
– Is this mutation rare? – Nikolai recalled his grandmother’s remarks.
– Extremely. Found in about one in ten thousand individuals. It is hereditary. And Andrei carries it as well.
That evening, the family gathered for dinner. Vera, initially wary, gradually warmed seeing her parents holding hands and smiling.
– So all this was due to a mutation? – she asked.
– And jealousy from one man, – Nikolai nodded. – Viktor knew of my doubts about Andrei’s appearance and exploited them.
– But how did he know about the mutation? – Vera was surprised.
– He didn’t, – Elena explained. – He simply asked his niece to fake the first test results. The second test also showed a wrong result because of the unknown mutation.
Andrei, munching pizza enthusiastically, looked up.
– What mutation? Am I a mutant like in the X-Men?
Everyone laughed. The tension from the past days began to dissipate.
– No, son, – Nikolai ruffled his hair. – You and I share a rare genetic trait that makes us… special.
– Awesome! – Andrei grinned. – So, what are our superpowers?
– The greatest superpower is being a family, – Elena smiled. – No matter what.
Later, after the kids had gone to bed, Nikolai and Elena sat together in the kitchen.
– I’m sorry, – Nikolai whispered. – I should have trusted you, not some tests.
– And I should have understood your doubts better, – Elena replied. – Andrei certainly doesn’t resemble you much.
– But he looks just like my grandfather, – Nikolai smiled. – Grandma was right.
Elena leaned against her husband.
– You know, that was the worst anniversary gift ever.
– I promise next time it will be just flowers and decorations.
– And no envelopes with test results?
– No envelopes, – Nikolai confirmed, kissing her.
The full moon shone through the window, casting a soft light over the kitchen. The family storm had passed, leaving behind the understanding of how vital trust is and how fragile it can be. Perhaps this realization was the most valuable gift on their fifteenth anniversary.