A paternity test took at least three days to process.
During those three days, Clara didn't sit idle. She conducted a careful survey around the school she was about to enroll in—recording nearby rental prices, average monthly living expenses, and daily necessities.
If the paternity test confirmed her identity, she planned to compile everything into a detailed report and mail it to Mr. Stark.
There was no helping it.
As an accountant by profession—at least in her previous life—Clara was used to organizing everything with absolute clarity.
Clara was currently a sixth-grade student. Once the new semester began, she would transition from elementary school to middle school.
She calculated the approximate costs for the next two years of middle school, four years of high school, and four years of university.
Every number was written down carefully.
—
In the pathology department of Brooklyn Hospital, Nurse Miranda held a paternity test report.
The document was filled with professional medical terminology that ordinary people wouldn't understand.
Ignoring all that, the most eye-catching line was the final conclusion:
"Based on DNA analysis, the biological father-daughter relationship between the subject Clara Johnson and the blood sample provider is NOT supported."
Miranda frowned.
She remembered Clara from three days ago—thin, fragile, yet stubbornly upright.
Does such a good child really have to become an orphan?
Miranda couldn't help thinking of herself.
She also grew up without a father. But she had a loving mother. They had a stable income. After being abandoned, her mother had shouldered everything alone—raising her, building a life, and standing tall against the world.
Not long ago, Miranda's boyfriend had been stolen away by a seductive woman. Since then, she had mentally labeled all men as trash.
In her mind, Clara's unseen father was the worst of them all.
Which, to be fair, suited Tony Stark before he became Iron Man rather well.
Miranda bit her fingernail and stared at the test report without blinking—her habitual thinking pose.
Clara's mother had told her, right before dying, that this man was her father. That meant there had been a relationship.
Now the mother was dead, and the father was nowhere to be found.
So why should a man get to walk away from the consequences of his past?
Why should women be discarded so easily?
A heartbroken woman's reasoning was never logical—and capable of anything.
Miranda destroyed the report in her hands.
Half an hour later, a new report was printed.
"Based on DNA analysis, the biological father-daughter relationship between the subject Clara Johnson and the blood sample provider is CONFIRMED."
—
Inside the Stark Industries Office Building, Tony Stark's personal assistant and Stark Industries' CEO—Pepper Potts received an envelope from one of the assistants.
"I'm not sure if this is from one of Mr. Stark's acquaintances," the assistant said. "I scanned it—there are no hazardous items inside."
Pepper glanced at the envelope.
From: 5639 Rottweiler Street, Lesper Falls Town, Brooklyn, New York
Sender: Clara Johnson
Recipient: Mr. Tony Stark
"I understand," Pepper said. "Leave it here. I'll give it to him."
That afternoon, as Pepper left her office, she took the envelope with her.
—
In the underground lab, Tony Stark was busy tinkering with a new Iron Man suit when a piece of express mail was tossed onto his workbench.
Pepper stood there with her arms crossed, her expression dark.
"Tony," she said flatly, "you might want to think carefully about which little girl this letter is from."
Tony glanced at the envelope, raised both hands, and looked innocent.
"I swear, ever since you became my girlfriend, I haven't touched another woman," he said quickly. "And I definitely don't remember anyone named Clara."
"Oh really?" Pepper hummed. "Why don't you open it and find out? It's not like you ever remembered women's names anyway."
Tony opened the envelope.
Out fell a letter, a white handkerchief, a paper sunflower, and a DNA test report.
He began to read.
….
"Dear Mr. Stark,
Please forgive my abrupt letter. My mother, Laura Johnson, passed away ten days ago. Before she died, she told me that my father was Tony Stark—the great superhero Iron Man. At the time, my mother was mentally unstable, and I could not be certain whether her words were true. That is why, three days ago, I used that method to obtain your blood sample.
Now I am certain that you are my biological father. However, I have no intention of forcing you to acknowledge me. Due to my current circumstances, I urgently require financial support for my education and living expenses. I also request that you help designate a legal guardian for me, so I am not forcibly sent to an orphanage. These requests should be trivial for someone of your status. I trust that Iron Man would not abandon his own flesh and blood.
Respectfully."
After finishing the letter, Tony's mind flashed back to the image of the terrified little girl holding up a flower.
She seemed nothing like the calm, rational person who had written this letter.
Tony picked up the paper sunflower.
Examining it closely, he discovered several well-hidden sharp wires embedded in the stem—almost impossible to notice without careful inspection.
"This little con artist," Tony muttered.
"JARVIS, pull up all available information on Clara Johnson. Also, analyze whether this blood is mine, and cross-check it with the DNA report data."
"At once, sir."
The AI immediately went to work.
Pepper was stunned into silence by the contents of the letter.
She had always been prepared for the day one of Tony's illegitimate children might appear—but when it actually happened, the shock was overwhelming.
What surprised her even more was Tony's reaction.
Most people, upon discovering a sudden child, would immediately question the mother's identity. Tony, however, remained calm and focused on verifying the truth.
That was one of the qualities Pepper admired most about him.
Soon, JARVIS pulled up all publicly accessible information about Clara—from birth to the present.
Clara Johnson. Born December 21, 1998, at Brooklyn Maternity Hospital. Age: 13. Mother: Laura Johnson. Father: Will Smith…
"Sir," JARVIS reported, "I have analyzed the blood sample. It is indeed yours, and it matches the data in the DNA report."
"Wow," Pepper said weakly. "Tony… you're a dad."
For a moment, she truly didn't know what to say.
Tony frowned as he stared at the child on the screen—who bore an unmistakable resemblance to him—then issued another command.
"JARVIS, check Brooklyn Medical College's DNA testing records from the past few days."
"Yes, sir."
Pepper looked at Tony in confusion, unsure what he was up to now.
Minutes later, JARVIS returned with data obtained from infiltrating Brooklyn Hospital's system.
"Sir, Brooklyn Hospital did conduct a DNA paternity test regarding Clara Johnson. However, I discovered a deleted test record."
JARVIS reconstructed the deleted file.
The DNA data did not match the finalized report, and the conclusion clearly stated that the paternity relationship was not supported.
"I knew it!" Tony slammed his hand on the table. "There's no way she's my kid!"
"Tony," Pepper asked cautiously, "why are you so sure?"
Seeing the deleted record, Pepper finally relaxed—but she was still curious. The girl really did look like him.
Tony crossed his arms smugly.
"I'm a genius," he declared. "There's no way my child would be thirteen years old and still in sixth grade. That level of intellect clearly didn't inherit my genes."
Pepper stared at him.
For Tony Stark's level of self-absorption—
She was completely speechless.
--------------
T/N:
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