Chapter 199
Never In Line.
“Tell Sterling, I want to talk to him p>
“I want answers p>
“I want to know p>
Melvin’s screams echoed in the narrow cell of Fort Calder Military Correctional Facility – a place designed not to break bones, but to break minds.
“Tell him! I want answers p>
Melvin had been locked up in isolation for three days after he went head-to-head with Victor Kline.
Nathaniel Thorne truly was calculated, putting him in a prison cell together with Victor. From what Melvin had heard, his wife, Jean, was in the same cell as Vanessa Holt in the women’s wing.
Melvin had also met Mathew Holt, and whatever passed between them wasn’t pleasant.
They blamed each other — attacked each other, not just with words but with fists. Mathew blamed Victor for lying about Serena’s identity.
Victor blamed Mathew and his wife for not taking care of Serena’s best friend.
And as for Melvin? Of course, he blamed Victor for telling on him!
After screaming for hours from within his isolation, Melvin retreated to the floor, curling down to hug his knees.
It had been more than a week since his arrest. The last words Sterling had said to him still lingered in his head.
‘You were never a Vander p>
Melvin never got the answer that day.
Sterling did not give him the satisfaction, and that was why, ever since he had been locked up in the most secure military prison in the country, he had been begging for the truth.
Following his solitary confinement, Melvin was subjected to relentless interrogations — sleepless nights, blinding lights, the same questions asked over and over until his voice turned hoarse.
He gave them names.
Every single one.
Only to discover they had known all along.
The soldier had merely said, “We just wanted it to come out of your own mouth p>
It was cruel and unnecessary torture.
“How is prison treating you?” Sterling asked.
It was already Melvin’s second week in prison when Sterling finally came.
Not as a brother.
But as a man who had been wronged.
There was no warmth in his voice. Sterling wanted to see his suffering.
Melvin forced himself to lift his head.
The movement felt heavier than it should have.
His eyes felt heavy from the lack of sleep.
His face hurt from his recent fight with co-inmates.
His lip still tasted faintly of iron.
Melvin hadn’t seen a mirror in days, but he knew he didn’t look the same. He felt it,
in the tremor of his hands, in the way his clothes no longer fit properly, in the
exhaustion that clung to his bones.
He didn’t respond to Sterling.
Melvin stayed quiet.
But after some time, he asked, his voice shaking, “What do you mean by… I was… never a Vander p>
Sterling didn’t answer immediately.
He took out an envelope and threw it onto the metal table. “Read it p>
Melvin accepted it and opened the document.
It was a DNA test.
The paper was old, certified by the hospital in Rexam. It proved that Melvin was not related to Samuel Vander – Sterling’s father and the man he grew up calling his
dad.
“Father had this done thirty years
ago. The day he realized your mother had been transferring hundreds of thousands to her personal trainer. The investigation led to the discovery that you were not his biological son,” Sterling revealed.
“When my father found out, he was enraged. He wanted to cut ties with you and
your mother completely, but—” Sterling paused. “He chose mercy p>
“You were still young and obviously, shouldn’t be blamed for your mother’s mistakes p>
“Of course, she had nothing to gain by admitting who your real father was,” Sterling added.
“So, despite that, my father forgave Minerva. But you can guess it was what ended their relationship. It’s also the main reason why he never married your mother,” Sterling revealed.
“I never knew about this until Samuel was dying and preparing his last will,” Sterling shared.
Melvin’s lips quivered along with his hands. He read the DNA test over and over again. “You are lying. If I were not his son, why didn’t he just abandon me p>
“Father believed you deserved a chance to become something decent, and to some degree, you did become part of our family,” Sterling said flatly.
“Still, it was hard to accept. That was what he told me. Even I-” Sterling continued. “After I learned the truth, I distanced myself from you for
while, but I decided it wasn’t your
fault. It was your mother’s.
“I treated you like a brother, and decided not to make you feel guilty about the truth
behind your DNA p>
But just as Sterling said that, his
jaws tightened. “Who would have
known I would regret it one day? Our
biggest mistake was to show you
mercy and let you carry our name
when you weren’t truly our flesh and blood p>
Sterling gave Melvin another envelope.
“This is information about your biological father. His name is Albert Hernandez. He was your mother’s fitness coach. You were one of his three children. Your mother, Minerva, was one of his benefactors p>
“Here are more DNA tests I had done myself,” Sterling said, giving him additional envelopes.
Melvin saw how Sterling had secretly compared his DNA to his own and to that of Albert Hernandez.
“If you don’t believe any of these tests, you can ask your daughter, Julia, to verify this. Your father, Albert, is still alive and owns a gym in downtown Rexam,” Sterling proposed.
Julia had stayed out of his schemes, but Melvin knew Sterling was fully aware of the bitterness she carried toward their wealth.
If they had recorded his every step, then that meant they had caught his daughter talking enviously about Serena.
“I came to make one thing clear,” Sterling said firmly.” Melvin, you weren’t denied because you were less loved. You were given more than you ever had a right to.” “Everything you had — your name, your education, your inheritance – was mercy p>
“And you repaid it with betrayal p>
“You hated me for being favored,” Sterling said. “But there was never competition, Melvin p>
“You were never in line p>