The Inheritance Paradox
Copyright© 2026 by aroslav
Chapter 29 (My Story)
Time Travel Sex Story: Chapter 29 (My Story) - A gripping tale of time travel, family secrets, and redemption. Nathaniel Holbrook uncovers his father’s extraordinary past, spanning centuries and shaping humanity’s future, while confronting profound truths about legacy, love, and identity. A thought-provoking journey through time, history, and the enduring bonds of family.
Caution: This Time Travel Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Consensual Heterosexual Fiction Historical Time Travel
THE TRIP BACK to Ann Arbor was pretty quiet. Brenda had just found out the truth about her birth mother and biological father. She sat in the passenger seat with the case containing the folded flag from her father’s casket. Tears were never far from her eyes and she sniffled a lot.
“Honey, you know I’ve been doing a lot of research,” I started, reaching over to touch her hand.
“Thank you. It was really good to meet Deborah and Ron. The story was sad, but I’m glad I know it,” she said, smiling at me.
“Well, I wanted to wait until we were sure before I told you this next bit. I think I am,” I said. “I know who your grandparents were.”
“Who cares about the Averys? They abandoned my mother and left her to die alone. They can rest in hell!” she erupted.
“The Avery’s weren’t your grandparents, love.”
“What?”
“Like you, Deirdre was adopted as an infant.”
“The State let people like the Averys adopt? Who were my real grandparents, and why didn’t they want my mother?” Brenda cried.
“Your grandfather didn’t know he had a daughter. Your grandmother died less than two months after Deirdre was born.”
“Oh, my God, no!” Brenda cried.
I couldn’t take this while I was driving and pulled into a service station so I could park and hold my beloved wife. I was crying through this as well.
“Honey, your grandmother was Rachel Erickson. I talked to her nephew, Richard, a while ago. It turns out he did one of those ancestry DNA matches. He gave Megan permission to access the results. He’s your first cousin once removed,” I said.
“But ... But that means...”
“Dad’s your grandfather.”
“He’s my daddy! And Lynn is my mommy.”
“And they love you like they’d have loved Deirdre if they’d ever known about her.”
“The letters that Rachel wrote ... She wasn’t just dying; she was pregnant with Dad’s child and didn’t tell him.”
“She was so committed to him that she didn’t want anything to come between him and his calling,” I said. “Even his daughter.”
“But ... that means ... you ... are my uncle.”
“I’m your husband. I won’t recognize any other relationship than the one we have,” I said firmly.
Brenda started laughing through her tears. I thought she might be getting hysterical. She kissed me deeply, leaning across the console.
“It’s such a cliché!” she said, still laughing.
“What is?”
“My uncle took my virginity!” she laughed.
“Oh, Christ!”
“I love you. There had to be a reason, though. Why did you even think of asking Richard Erickson about this?” she asked.
“It was Megan’s fault,” I defended myself. “All the DNA samples she took. She ran every possible test she could think of on all of them to try to isolate this new RNA she found. She found DNA evidence that you were Dad’s granddaughter. I couldn’t just tell you that without confirming the evidence. She confirmed it this week with Richard’s DNA. He said he’d get his father, Lemuel, to submit a test, too. He’d be your great uncle.”
“I just ... it will be hard ... to put all this in my little head. You know, I’m not that smart.”
“Don’t put yourself down. You know perfectly well you are as smart or smarter than anyone in the family,” I said.
“But I’m not used to using that part of my brain. I need to talk to Mom about her ability to hold two contradictory beliefs in her head at the same time. You know, like her Buddhist beliefs and love of bacon.”
“Well, we need to tread carefully when we talk to Mom and Dad. I think it would be better to do after Meg gets here next week.”
“I agree. Take me home now. I want to read through all Rachel’s letters to Dad now that I know what was really going on.”
I helped Zach put a few final touches on his car. The Corvair wasn’t known for its air conditioning, but I didn’t think they’d want to drive all the way to California with the windows open. We found a Vintage Air Under Dash unit for less than $500 and it only took Zach an hour to install as I held the light and handed him pieces. It was good because it didn’t tap into the car’s controls and if he decided to sell the car, he could restore it to factory condition by pulling a few screws. He’d already changed the ignition system, though, so he didn’t think anyone would complain about getting an AC.
Wednesday, right after work, we went to the Johnsons’ house for a farewell dinner for Val. Lisa rode over with Zach earlier in the day, but she’d head back with us. After dinner, we’d be packing the Corvair for Val and Zach’s big trip. I was pretty sure Zach wouldn’t be back home that night.
“Brenda. Nathaniel. Welcome!” Don said. “Are we ready for this big launch?”
“I don’t think we’ll ever be ready,” I said. “It must be even harder on you and Ruby. Zach will be back in a couple of weeks. When will Val manage to get home?”
“It’s been all we could do to convince her she couldn’t come home every weekend. She has already booked a ticket for the holidays, though. She’ll be here for three weeks.”
We were called to the table.
“It was so nice to have Lisa come over to help cook,” Ruby said as the put food on the table. “Val and Zach have been packing the Corvair and unpacking it to arrange things better. Eugene and Lynn are coming, aren’t they?”
She looked around, noticing my parents weren’t there. Just then, the doorbell rang and Don went to welcome them.
“Sorry we’re running a few minutes late,” Lynn said. “There was an owners’ association meeting this afternoon to welcome all the newcomers to the neighborhood. I think there was only one other new cabin occupied but they invite people who have moved into the apartments as well.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I wouldn’t have called people to the table if I’d realized you hadn’t all come together,” Ruby said. “This is a wonderful big family get-together!”
With our six and the six Johnsons, it made for a lively dinner at a big table.
“Did you get a chance to say goodbye to your grandparents, Val?” I asked. I knew Zach was emphatic about having Mom and Dad at the table tonight.
“We had a nice dinner this weekend,” Val said. “They said they would come to visit me over Thanksgiving.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Brenda said.
“That reminds me, Mom gave me her copy of our family genealogy,” Ruby said. “It goes back about a hundred years to my great grandparents. I guess there might be a copy that goes back further at Lennox House.”
“Lennox House?” I asked.
“Yes, apparently most of the family was still living near when my great grandparents decided to donate their historic home to the city as a museum. There’d been some kind of dispute among the kids about who would inherit it and they decided to settle it without anyone getting it.”
“That’s interesting. Megan and I didn’t have any qualms about having Mom and Dad sell their house. Even though Megan is moving back here for a while. She’ll get here Saturday,” I said.
“Oh, I like your sister. We had such a nice chat when she came to collect our family DNA samples,” Ruby said.
“I didn’t realize she’s a medical doctor,” Don said.
“Yes. She’s going to be working with the University Human Genetics Department to do more sample collecting in Ann Arbor and she’ll be doing some lectures there,” I said. “I wonder how far back she thinks our family link is.”
“Probably Civil War era,” Dad said out of the blue. “Lots of big families after the war.”
“It’s been years since I visited Lennox House,” Ruby said. “I know there are a lot of Civil War era relics in it. I remember a signed photograph of President Grant.”
“Well, here’s to the current generation,” Dad said raising his wine glass. “To Zach and Val. May you have a safe journey tomorrow. May it be only the first of many adventures together.”
“To Zach and Val,” we all chimed in.
“I’ll raise my glass also to my daughter,” Don said. “Valerie, you are far smarter than your parents, and far healthier, too. Even though you will be 2,000 miles away across the country, know that you will always be right here at this table in our hearts.”
“To Val!”
“Thank you, Dad. One of the things that Zach and I share that has brought us closer together is the love of our families and our love for them. Maybe we didn’t always see eye-to-eye—I still think I could have had a later bedtime. But we’ve never lacked for love and respect. Here’s to our families!”
I got a text message in the morning just as I was leaving for work. Val and Zach were heading out of town and Zach had shared his location with me so I could track their journey.
I was deep in the documentation and release notes for our first alpha of the health monitoring system. Of course, at the moment, we were running it on a desktop simulator, and it wasn’t hooked to any actual hardware that could be implanted. We were still months away from that. But it was a big deal to have the first few features online.
Saturday morning, I went to pick up my sister at the airport. She had more luggage with her this time than on the last trip.
“This is my personal stuff,” she laughed. “Company things are shipped directly to the University.”
“What kind of things are you bringing for the company?” I asked.
“We did a survey of the lab at the university and decided on a few enhancements. And my office at the U will have my computers and a bunch of monitors that will be connected to the processing stations. The university is providing an office, but I’ve gotten used to a specific setup at the Institute. They are equipping my office with the same desk and chair that I have in North Carolina.”
“You’re really a big cheese over there, aren’t you?” I said as we loaded her suitcases in the back of the station wagon.
“Oh, maybe,” she said teasingly. “Nat, you don’t know how big this is. I’m not just here at the university to collect samples. There’s a researcher here I’ve been sharing data with for a couple of years. We’ve already drafted our first look at the research for publication. It isn’t conclusive, but our success in isolating the qRNA will be published in the spring.”
“That’s fantastic! I don’t have anything as important as that. We got an alpha version running yesterday. It’s not connected to the hardware yet, though.”
“Everything starts somewhere. Simon has been in touch with your company to talk about possible connections with our research,” she said.
“Simon?”