LOGINSophia's POV"An inconsistency," I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. "What does that mean?"Dr. Mathew held up a hand quickly, reading the panic already spreading across both our faces. "Before either of you spirals, let me explain properly. This is not a diagnosis. This is a data point that needs verification.""Explain it anyway," Ethan said, his voice tight, controlled in the way I recognized now as him holding something back by force."The genetic panel we ran includes several markers used to confirm compatibility and screen for certain inherited conditions," Dr. Mathew said, folding his hands over the folder. "One of those markers is typically used to help establish biological paternity, mostly for medical record purposes, tracking family history for the children's future care. In your results, that marker returned inconclusive. Not contradictory. Inconclusive.""What's the difference?" I asked."Contradictory would mean the data actively ruled Ethan out as the biologica
Sophia's POVTwo weeks had passed since the board meeting, and the house had settled into something close to normal again."You're glowing," Della said one morning, setting a plate of fruit in front of me at the counter. "Pregnancy suits you.""Everyone keeps saying that. I mostly just feel like I can't tie my own shoes anymore.""That's part of the glow."I laughed, and Della moved back toward the stove, humming under her breath, the easy rhythm of the house carrying on around us the way it had for the past two weeks, no reporters camped outside, no Penelope showing up uninvited, no calls from lawyers or board members disrupting the quiet.Ethan appeared a few minutes later, already dressed for the office, though he'd been keeping his hours shorter lately, something he credited to Della's cooking and something I suspected had more to do with wanting to be home in time for dinner."Morning," he said, pressing a kiss to my temple before reaching for his coffee. "How are my girls today?
Ethan's POVThe boardroom felt colder than usual that Monday morning, or maybe it was just my own nerves making it feel that way, every seat around the long table filled, my father conspicuously absent, still recovering under doctor's orders, Penelope seated near the head of the table in his place with the calm, satisfied posture of a woman who believed she'd already won.Damian sat beside her, arms crossed, the same calculating smile from the auction still lingering at the edges of his expression."Let's begin," the board chair said, glancing around the table. "Given Robert's continued absence, we're here to discuss interim leadership arrangements, as outlined in the bylaws.""I'd like to propose," Penelope said smoothly, before anyone else could speak, "that given recent... distractions, the board consider a temporary restructuring. Shared oversight, perhaps, between myself and Ethan, until Robert's fully recovered.""Shared oversight," I repeated flatly. "You want a seat at the tab
Sophia's POVDamian crossed the room before I'd even had the chance to set down my paddle, his expression carefully arranged into something pleasant, though nothing about his eyes matched the smile stretched across his face."Well played," he said, stopping in front of our table. "I didn't expect you to actually bid on your own house.""I didn't expect you to auction it off without our permission," I said evenly. "Funny how that works out."His smile widened slightly, though it didn't reach any warmer. "Consider it a gift. Now you get an official weekend there, receipts and all. Very generous of me, really.""Damian." Ethan's voice was low, controlled, though I could feel the tension radiating off him beside me. "You need to leave.""I'm allowed to attend a charity event, cousin. This isn't your board room." He glanced at me again, something calculating behind the pleasant mask. "Though I have to say, Sophia, I'm impressed. Most women in your position would have let their husband hand
Sophia's POVRobert was stable by the time we left the hospital that night, awake enough to complain about the food within hours, which Ethan assured me was actually a very good sign given how much his father enjoyed complaining under ordinary circumstances. Still, the board vote Damian had threatened loomed over the following week like a storm neither of us could quite see the edges of yet, and when Ethan's assistant called about a charity auction scheduled for that Friday, something in his expression shifted immediately into careful, calculated focus."Half the board will be there," he explained, straightening his cufflinks in the mirror while I zipped up the back of a deep blue gown Della had helped me pick out that afternoon. "It's the first real chance to be seen in public since that photo made the rounds. I need us both there. Visible. Composed.""The opposite of dancing in a kitchen with flour on your face.""Exactly the opposite."I studied his reflection beside mine, some of
Ethan's POVThe waiting room smelled the same as every hospital waiting room I'd ever sat in, sharp antiseptic layered over something more human underneath, worry and coffee and too many hours spent staring at the same closed door.Sophia sat beside me, her hand wrapped firmly around mine, steady in a way that had become the only thing keeping me from pacing a groove into the floor. A doctor had come out twenty minutes earlier with careful, measured words, a minor cardiac event, stable for now, more tests required before anyone could say anything with certainty, and the vague reassurance had done almost nothing to settle the tight, anxious knot sitting in my chest."He's strong," Sophia said quietly. "Whatever else he is, he's clearly stubborn enough to survive most things out of pure spite.""That's not exactly comforting.""It's the most comforting thing I've got right now."I managed a small, tired laugh despite myself, grateful for her presence beside me in a way I didn't have ade







