“Who?”
Dr. Grant looked at me.
“Blake.”
I sat completely still.
“He knew the twins might not be his?”
“He suspected it.”
“Before they were born?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he announce them as his?”
She didn’t answer.
I already knew.
Because Blake didn’t care about truth.
He cared about appearances.
I left the café with copies of every document Dr. Grant could legally provide me.
On the drive home, I called my attorney.
He answered immediately.
“Tell me you didn’t contact Blake.”
“I didn’t.”
“Good.”
“I know who requested the paternity test.”
“Who?”
“Blake.”
There was silence.
Then my attorney said,
“That changes everything.”
“I know.”
“Come to my office tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll be there.”
I barely slept that night.
At 6:17 the next morning, my phone rang.
It was Diane Calloway.
I almost didn’t answer.
Then I did.
“Hello?”
Her voice was trembling.
“Natalie?”
“Yes.”
“I need to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because I owe you an apology.”
I sat up in bed.
“What happened?”
“I finally know the truth.”
My chest tightened.
“About what?”
“The twins.”
I said nothing.
Diane continued.
“Blake is bringing them to my house tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“He wants to introduce them to the entire family.”
I almost laughed.
“And?”
“And I don’t think they’re his.”
“I know.”
The silence on the other end was immediate.
“You know?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“That isn’t important.”
“It is to me.”
“Diane, you believed for years that I was the reason your son couldn’t have children.”
“I was wrong.”
“You weren’t the only one.”
Her voice broke.
“I know.”
I heard her crying.
For a moment, I felt something I hadn’t expected.
Pity.
Not forgiveness.
Not yet.
But pity.
“What did you discover?” I asked.
“I found something in Blake’s study.”
“What?”
“A DNA report.”
My heart stopped.
“Paternity?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
“I don’t understand all the medical language.”
She inhaled shakily.
“But it said the probability that Blake was the biological father of the twins was less than one percent.”
I closed my eyes.
“So he knew.”
“Yes.”
“Does Lauren know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why did Blake bring the babies to you?”
Diane hesitated.
“Because he wants the family to publicly accept them.”
“Why?”
“Because his father left a provision in the family trust.”
I immediately understood.
“The inheritance.”
“Yes.”
“What provision?”
Diane’s voice dropped.
“Calloway family assets can only pass to direct descendants.”
I stared at the wall.
“So Blake needs the twins to be recognized as his children.”
“Yes.”
“Even if they’re not.”
“Yes.”
That explained the trust.
The mysterious corporate documents.
The unborn beneficiaries.
The forged signature.
Everything.
Blake wasn’t building a family.
He was constructing an inheritance strategy.
But there was one thing I still didn’t understand.
“Diane, if you knew the twins weren’t Blake’s, why didn’t you confront him?”
“I did.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me the test was wrong.”
“And you believed him?”
“I wanted to.”
Her voice cracked.
“He is my son.”
I looked down at my hands.
“So what do you want from me?”
“I want you there tomorrow.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“I don’t belong in your family anymore.”
“You are the person who knows what Blake is capable of.”
“That should have been obvious to you years ago.”
“I know.”
She cried again.
“I know.”
I almost ended the call.
Then she said something that made me stop.
“There’s another reason.”
“What?”
“The little boy.”
“What about him?”
“He looks exactly like someone in our family.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“Who?”
“Blake’s younger brother.”
I frowned.
“Blake doesn’t have a younger brother.”
“He did.”
I froze.
“What?”
Diane took a shaky breath.
“His name was Daniel.”
I remembered nothing about Daniel.
Because Blake had never mentioned him.
Not once.
“Where is he?”
Diane whispered,
“He died twenty-two years ago.”
My skin prickled.
“How?”
“A car accident.”
“Why would the baby look like him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Diane, what aren’t you telling me?”
She was silent for so long that I almost thought the call had disconnected.
Then she said,
“Daniel was Lauren’s biological father.”
I stopped breathing.
The pieces suddenly shifted.
Lauren’s father.
The fertility specialist.
Daniel.
The twins.
I stood from the bed.
“Wait.”
My voice shook.
“You told me Dr. Samuel Pierce was Lauren’s father.”
“He raised her.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
Diane’s voice became barely audible.
“Daniel was her biological father.”
I couldn’t speak.
“So Lauren is your—”
“Blake’s niece.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I sat down.
Diane continued crying.
“Blake and Lauren never knew the truth.”
I pressed my hand against my forehead.
“This can’t be real.”
“I wish it weren’t.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell Lauren?”
“Because Daniel’s death destroyed the family. His mother couldn’t cope. Samuel Pierce was Daniel’s closest friend. He married Daniel’s widow later and raised Lauren as his own.”
I stood again.
“Diane…”
“I know what you’re thinking.”
“No.”
I stared at the floor.
“Those twins…”
“Yes.”
“They aren’t just not Blake’s.”
“No.”
“They are…”
Diane whispered the words.
“Daniel’s grandchildren.”
I couldn’t move.
Lauren had been with Blake.
Blake had believed he was building the perfect family.
But the truth was far more complicated.
The twins were biologically related to the Calloway family.
Just not in the way Blake had claimed.
I spent the rest of the day with my attorney.
We assembled every piece.
The forged corporate documents.
The suspicious transfers.
The family trust.
The fertility records.
The paternity test.
And the evidence that Blake knew before the twins were born.
My attorney looked at me.
“This is bigger than your divorce.”
“I know.”
“Are you prepared for what happens next?”
I looked out the window.
“For the first time in years, I’m not afraid of what happens next.”
The following afternoon, I returned to the Calloway estate.
I hadn’t been there since the divorce.
The house looked exactly the same.
Huge windows.
Perfect landscaping.
Stone fountain.
A driveway lined with expensive cars.
But I felt different walking toward the front door.
I wasn’t Blake’s wife anymore.
I wasn’t the woman who needed his approval.
I wasn’t the woman his family could blame.
I was simply Natalie.
Diane opened the door.
Her eyes were red.
“Thank you for coming.”
I nodded.
“Where is everyone?”
“In the living room.”
I walked inside.
Blake stood near the fireplace.
Lauren sat on the sofa with the twins.
She looked exhausted but happy.
When she saw me, her face changed.
“Natalie?”
Blake turned.
His smile disappeared.
“What are you doing here?”
Diane stepped forward.
“I invited her.”
Blake looked at his mother.
