Chapter 8

"The paternity test must be done."

Evelyn Laurent's voice was icy, freezing the entire living room into silence.

Victoria Langley's fingers trembled violently. Her eyes reddened instantly. She gripped Evelyn's wrist with bruising force.

"No test needed. You are my daughter!"

Victoria's voice shook. After seventeen years, she had finally found her child. That face—bearing seventy percent resemblance to hers—those identical peach-blossom eyes needed no proof.

Richard Langley stood behind his wife, his Adam's apple bobbing. His gaze burned into Evelyn's face as if trying to reclaim seventeen lost years.

"Evelyn, we've searched for you for seventeen years."

Her six brothers stepped forward in unison, surrounding her. Their eyes shimmered with the same wild joy—the euphoria of recovering something precious.

The accident seventeen years ago had haunted the Langley family like a nightmare. Victoria had been ambushed during premature labor in Cloudhaven. She awoke to news of her daughter's death—yet she distinctly remembered hearing an infant's cry before losing consciousness.

They had scoured the country, even registering DNA in global missing persons databases. Three days ago, a police call made them abandon everything to return home.

Evelyn felt the warmth on her wrist. Her brows furrowed slightly. She withdrew her hand calmly, creating distance.

"The test is necessary."

Her soft voice brooked no argument.

The Lowells' betrayal had taught her caution. Love didn't appear from nowhere. She was accustomed to licking her wounds alone—this sudden affection was unnecessary.

Victoria's tears hit the floor. Her daughter's guarded stance pierced her heart.

"Fine. We'll do it."

——

At Harvard Genetics Center, Evelyn mechanically opened her mouth for the oral swab. Seven pairs of burning eyes never left her.

The VIP lounge was oppressively silent.

Evelyn sat in the corner, fingertips absently tracing the sofa edge. Across from her, the Langleys were statues—their gazes locked on her.

"Results are ready."

Evelyn shot up when the technician entered. She snatched the report, eyes darting to the conclusion:

[Genetic match: 99.99%. Biological relationship confirmed.]

The paper trembled in her hands.

"I knew it..." Victoria embraced her from behind, hot tears soaking her collar. "My Evelyn..."

Her six brothers closed in. Evelyn looked up into breathtakingly handsome faces. The adoration in their eyes stole her breath.

That look—she knew it too well.

As a child, she'd peek through door cracks watching Brandon Lowell cradled in his parents' arms. Margaret Hill's gaze at him held the universe's most treasured thing.

Eventually, she stopped hoping.

Yet now—that very gaze was fixed on her.

Evelyn clenched the report, knuckles whitening. Her eyes burned. Something wild and warm erupted in her chest.