What if one test shattered your family, your trust, and your very identity?
Grab Hold First Line:
The envelope sat on the kitchen counter like a loaded gun, and he was the only one who knew it was about to go off.
Prompt Paragraph:
He had sent away the DNA test on a reckless impulse, a whisper of doubt that had gnawed at him for months. The results arrived in a thin envelope, carrying the weight of a thousand storms. His son—his boy—was not his. The words burned into his mind as though branded by fire. Now, his heart was a battlefield. Divorce seemed inevitable, but rage tugged at him like a beast on a chain. Who was the man who had fathered his child? Should he hunt him down, confront him, destroy him? Or was the deeper torment in facing his wife—her lies, her silence, her betrayal? The questions clawed at him, leaving sleep an impossible dream. Each choice promised to scar him: abandon love, embrace vengeance, or attempt the impossible—offer forgiveness. His son’s laughter echoed from the backyard, a haunting reminder that innocence had no part in this war. How do you protect a child when trust itself has been murdered?
3 Questions to Spark Writing:
- What drives him more—love for his son, or hatred for the betrayal?
- Does he confront his wife first, or hunt down the real father?
- What ending would shatter the reader the most?