own her pale cheeks. She gripped Giles's hands with a desperate, cr

dn't even finish the sentence. It was the ultimate, unspeakable nightmare for any mother: her own flesh and blood, the child she had carri

ly wiped a tear from her jawline. "Fleming sent me a pho

ion image Fleming had transmitted, and held the glowing screen in front of his weeping w

g uncontrollably. She looked down, and h

The resemblance wasn't just a passing similarity; it was a biological mirror. Danelle was looking at a ghost of her own youth. She reached ou

eaking with a profound mix of overwhelming

nst his chest, letting her weep into his suit jacket. He held her tightly

n, her expression horrified. "Now? Her wri

Beatrice the results. If Aurelia hears about this from a tabloid leak, a rogue nurse, or a third party, it will destroy her even more. And..." He paused, his jaw tightening

y-five years of a human life wasn't a corporate asset you could just trade across a boardroom table. But if th

rridor of the clinic. The adjoining doo

berglass cast, resting on an elevated sling. She was aggressively tapping her phone with her good hand,

lanced up, immediately putting on a petulan

face was carved from absolute stone, radiating a suffocating tensi

one down, a sliver of genuine, icy unease creepi

rembling too much to speak. Giles stood at the foot of the bed, his hands gripping the metal rail. In a

antically between her mother's devastated f

al DNA test," Giles concluded, hi

plosive. "Dad, Mom... are

squeezed her hand,

"No, this is impossible! It's a mistake! Blood types aren't always accurate,

the thrashing girl into a desperate embrace.

Danelle's shoulder, her w

e. "Aurelia, listen to me. The DNA test isn't to throw you away. It's to confirm who your biological parents are. You have

e freezing in absolute shock. "Beatrice?" she repeated, her voice