My Patient Swears Her Whole Family Is Impostors

"I've already done a DNA test, Dr. Simmons," Dean said. "Lydia's always been an overthinker. I was worried she would be furious with me if she found out that I had done such a thing, so I had kept it a secret all this time."

I scanned through the report.

The DNA test had been conducted at a third-party organization. The results stated that Lydia and Jeremy were biologically related.

"I'm your son, Mom!" Jeremy exclaimed as he offered the report to Lydia. "I'm not an impostor. Do you believe me now?"

Lydia snatched the report out of Jeremy's hands and scanned her hazy eyes over the words. A bewildered expression crossed her face before it morphed into one of deep fear and hopelessness.

"This is impossible! This can't be!" she exclaimed as she tore the report apart and scattered the pieces everywhere.

"The report must be fake! You're working together to trick me! Monsters! You're monsters who stole my husband's and son's identities! How dare you try to fool me with this useless report!"

She pointed an accusing finger at Dean. "My husband gets nauseous just at the scent of cilantro. You, on the other hand, eat them every meal! And don't try to tell me that you suddenly had a change of heart after not eating them for 70 years!"

She then pointed at Jeremy and exclaimed, "There was nothing wrong with my son's leg! Also, he has a red birthmark behind his ear that you don't have, you monster! You can't fool me! I demand you take another test!"

I instantly tried to soothe Lydia's frazzled feelings. "Okay. Let's just get them to do another test. I have connections with a renowned testing center. I can ask them to expedite the results, so we can get them immediately."

"No!" Jeremy and Dean shouted in unison.

Dean's expression darkened. "I want you to treat my wife so she stops acting like a lunatic, Dr. Simmons. I didn't ask you to come here to cause more trouble!

"A single DNA test can cost up to a few thousand dollars. My family isn't made of money. Doing it once is more than enough. Why do we have to do it again? Unless you believe that we're impostors as well? Perhaps you have some loose screws in your head just like my wife?"

I looked at Dean and said politely, "You're misunderstanding me, Mr. Dean. I also want Mrs. Warner to get better as soon as possible.

"The issue at hand stems from the fact that she strongly believes that you and Mr. Jeremy are impersonating her family members. If she continues living in this constant state of heightened fear, she might end up killing you or herself.

"I'm sure that neither of you want such a tragedy to come to pass, especially since you love her so much. She'll get the answers that she's looking for once and for all if you do another DNA test. Since she doesn't have an issue with Francesca, why don't we ask her to drop by the testing center?"

In the end, Jeremy and Dean agreed with my suggestion.

Dean sighed and waved his hand. "Go ahead, Francesca."

I handed their toothbrushes to Francesca and gave her the address of the testing center.

Franceca's eyes flashed briefly. She looked like she was hesitating for a moment before she quickly composed herself, saying, "I'll head over right now."

I led Lydia, who was still slightly dazed, to the couch and urged her to sit down.

Lydia was trembling all over as she repeated the same things over and over again. "The birthmark… Cilantro… They changed after the accident… They're out to get me…"

Jeremy and Dean sat down at the dining table with somber expressions.