Chapter 16 – Blood Always Knows

Morning came quietly.

Too quietly.

May sat at the dining table, hands wrapped around a cup of tea that had gone cold minutes ago. Across from her lay the envelope Sophia had brought the night before—thin paper, heavy truth.

Lily stood by the window, arms folded, watching the city wake up.

“Aria’s awake,” Lily said softly. “She asked for you.”

“In a minute,” May replied, her voice steady despite the storm inside her.

Sophia sat beside her, calm but watchful. “You don’t have to open it now.”

May nodded. “I know.”

She stared at the envelope again.

Five years ago, she had signed a contract believing she was giving life—not losing it.

Five years ago, she had walked away with one baby in her arms and grief buried so deep she thought it would never breathe again.

And now—

She slid her finger under the seal.

The paper whispered open.

Her eyes scanned the page once.

Twice.

Then—

Her breath left her in a sharp, broken exhale.

Sophia reached for her immediately. “May—”

“Confirmed,” May whispered.

Lily turned sharply. “What?”

May’s fingers trembled as she held the paper tighter, like it might vanish if she didn’t.

“Probability: 99.99%,” she said, voice barely audible. “Aiden… is my son.”

The room went silent.

Not empty.

Sacred.

Lily covered her mouth, tears spilling instantly. “Sis… oh my God.”

Sophia swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry it happened this way.”

May didn’t cry.

Not yet.

She pressed her hand to her chest, feeling something ancient, primal, awaken fully.

I knew.

Across the city, Damien Stone stared at his reflection in the mirror, adjusting his cufflinks for a board meeting he no longer cared about.

His phone buzzed.

Daxton: Come to the estate. Now.

Damien frowned but complied.

When he arrived, Daxton was already seated in the garden, cane resting beside him, eyes sharp and calculating.

“You’ve been careless,” Daxton said without preamble.

Damien stiffened. “With what?”

“With your heart,” Daxton replied. “And with the truth.”

Damien’s jaw tightened. “If this is about May—”

“It is always about May,” Daxton interrupted. “Whether you like it or not.”

He leaned forward. “Tell me, Damien… do you remember the surrogacy contract in detail?”

Damien hesitated. “Enough.”

“Do you remember,” Daxton pressed, “how many embryos were transferred?”

Damien froze.

“One,” he said slowly. “That’s what the report said.”

Daxton’s gaze sharpened. “Reports lie. Biology doesn’t.”

A chill crept up Damien’s spine.

“You think—” Damien started.

“I think,” Daxton said calmly, “that the woman you’re falling for did not abandon your child.”

Damien’s breath left him.

“You took one,” Daxton continued. “She gave birth to two.”

The world tilted.

“No,” Damien whispered. “She would have told me.”

“You never gave her the chance,” Daxton replied quietly. “You hid in darkness. You hid behind contracts.”

Damien stood abruptly. “I need to see her.”

Daxton nodded once. “I thought you would.”

Back at the apartment, May knelt in front of Aiden, smoothing his hair gently as he packed his small backpack.

“You’re staying with Dad today,” she said softly.

Aiden frowned. “Will you come later?”

“Yes,” May replied without hesitation. “I always come.”

He studied her seriously. “Promise?”

She swallowed hard. “Promise.”

He smiled, then hugged her tightly.

Her arms closed around him instinctively, fiercely.

Mine.

When the door closed behind him, May leaned against it, finally letting the tears fall.

“They took him from me,” she whispered.

Lily hugged her tightly. “But he found his way back.”

That evening, the knock came.

May opened the door—

And found Damien standing there, eyes wild, breath uneven.

He didn’t speak.

He just looked at her like he’d been searching his entire life.

“You knew,” he said hoarsely. “Didn’t you?”

May met his gaze calmly, though her heart thundered. “I suspected. I confirmed.”

Damien stepped inside slowly. “He’s… mine?”

“Yes.”

The word landed heavy.

Sacred.

Damien dragged a hand through his hair, voice breaking. “I failed him.”

“No,” May said firmly. “You didn’t know. And now you do.”

He looked at her then—not as a CEO, not as a Stone—but as a man shattered and reborn in the same breath.

“They took him,” he said. “From you.”

“They tried,” May corrected. “But blood remembers.”

Silence stretched.

Then Damien stepped closer—slow, deliberate.

“I felt peace with you in the dark,” he said quietly. “And now I know why.”

May’s breath hitched.

“I won’t ask forgiveness yet,” he continued. “I’ll earn it.”

She nodded once. “That’s all I’d accept.”

Their hands brushed.

Neither pulled away.

The pull was undeniable—but restrained by respect, grief, and the weight of truth.

Outside, thunder rolled.

Inside—

A family had just been rewritten.