𧬠āKaiās Biological Father Is Revealed by Court ā And Itās NOT Anthonyāš± DNA Report in 1st COMMENTš
𧬠āKaiās Biological Father Is Revealed by Court ā And Itās NOT Anthonyāš±
[Scene: A quiet courtroom hallway. The DNA results have just been revealed inside. The tension is thick. Anthony, Kaiās legal father, storms out of the courtroom, visibly shaken. Kaiās mother, Lila, follows close behind. She tries to catch up to him.]
Lila:
Anthony, waitāplease donāt walk away. We need to talk about this.
Anthony:
(Stops, turns around slowly)
Talk about what, Lila? That for five years, I raised a child thatās not mine? That I gave everything to a lie?
Lila:
Heās not a lie! Kai is still your son. Biology doesnāt change that.
Anthony:
(Scoffs)
Doesnāt change that? You sat on this for years. You knew there was a chance, didnāt you?
Lila:
I didnāt know, Anthony. I suspected, maybe, but I didnāt want to believe it. You loved Kai. You love him like your own. I thought⦠I thought it wouldnāt matter.
Anthony:
It does matter! I deserved the truth! I stood in that courtroom today ready to fight for custody of my son, and then ā boom ā DNA results, and suddenly Iām ānot the father.ā Just a footnote in his life.
[Enter: Jordan ā the man revealed to be Kaiās biological father. He walks up cautiously.]
Jordan:
Anthony⦠Iām not here to start anything. I didnāt know either. Lila never told me she was pregnant back then.
Anthony:
(Coldly)
And now you want to swoop in and play dad?
Jordan:
I want to do whatās right. Kai has a right to know who he is, where he came from.
Anthony:
He came from me. I was there for his first steps, first words, the nightmares, the hospital trips, the scraped knees. I was there when Lila couldnāt even look at him after the postpartum. You werenāt.
Lila:
(Whispers)
Donāt do this hereā¦
Jordan:
Iām not trying to erase you, man. I swear. I just⦠I want to get to know him. Slowly. If heās willing.
Anthony:
(Silent, breathing heavily)
Heās five years old. He doesnāt understand DNA. He understands who puts him to bed at night. And thatās me.
Lila:
We can work this out. Maybe we all need time, counseling⦠mediation?
Anthony:
(Turns to her)
I needed the truth, Lila. Not court-ordered paternity results.
Jordan:
So what happens now?
Anthony:
Now?
(Pause)
Now we figure out how to tell a five-year-old that everything he knows is about to change ā and pray it doesnāt break him.
[Scene: Night. Rain lashes against the windows of Lilaās home. Inside, the mood is suffocating. Kai is asleep upstairs. Anthony sits at the kitchen table, soaked, holding the court envelope in one hand ā open, but crumpled. Lila stands by the sink, arms crossed, her expression unreadable.]
Anthony:
(Quietly)
You didnāt just āforgetā to tell me. You protected him. Jordan. This was never about Kai, was it?
Lila:
Thatās not true.
Anthony:
Then tell me why you deleted the first test results. Donāt lie ā I found the email. Dated six months ago. You knew he wasnāt mine before we even stepped into court.
[Lilaās face falls. She doesnāt deny it.]
Lila:
I was going to tell you. I just⦠couldnāt find the moment. And then you were so happy, making plans, calling lawyers, fighting for custody ā
Anthony:
(Explodes)
You let me march into a courtroom like a damn fool! I thought I was protecting my son. But you were protecting your secret.
[Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Both of them freeze.]
Lila:
(Whispers)
No. Not tonight.
Anthony:
Who is it?
Lila:
I think⦠itās Jordan.
[Anthony walks toward the door. Lila grabs his arm.]
Lila:
Donāt open it. Please.
Anthony:
Why?
Lila:
Because thereās more.
Anthony:
(Sharp, eyes narrowing)
What. Did. You. Do?
Lila:
I didnāt just lie about Kaiās father. I lied about why I lied.
[The knocking gets louder. Jordanās voice is heard faintly outside.]
Jordan (muffled):
Lila! Please, I need to talk to you ā itās urgent.
Anthony:
Youāve got ten seconds to explain before I open that door and end this myself.
Lila:
Jordan and I⦠we werenāt just some mistake.
Anthony:
(Deadpan)
What?
Lila:
It wasnāt just a one-time thing. I was seeing him⦠during our engagement. Right up until the wedding.
[Silence. Anthony steps back like heās been punched.]
Anthony:
You cheated on me.
Lila:
It wasnāt supposed to go this far. I didnāt even know who I loved back then. You were safe. He was⦠chaos.
Anthony:
(Coldly)
And now chaos is knocking on your door.
[Anthony opens the door. Jordan stands there, wet, out of breath ā but not from the rain.]
Jordan:
I need to see Kai. Now.
Anthony:
Heās asleep.
Jordan:
You donāt understand. Someone came to my apartment tonight. They left a note ā and a picture. Of Kai.
Lila:
A picture?
Jordan:
They know about him. Someoneās watching him. And it wasnāt a warning.
[He holds up the note ā water-damaged but legible. It reads in jagged handwriting:
āHeās not yours. He never was. Stay away ā or watch what happens.ā]
Anthony:
Who the hell did you piss off, Jordan?
Jordan:
I thought it was just between us. But someone else knows. And they want Kai for a reason.
[Camera zooms in on the note. The picture of Kai has a red X over it.]
Fade to black.
[Scene fades as the three stand in silence, the weight of the future heavy on all of them.]
