LOGINOliviaI stepped out of the car, carefully carrying the breakfast I had prepared for Mom and Sam, who were still at the hospital.After closing the door, I locked it and turned toward the hospital entrance.“Olivia…”The familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.I stiffened and slowly turned around to see Shawn standing a short distance behind me.When did he get here?He had abruptly left the hospital yesterday, and after the way things had ended, I never expected to see him show up here again so soon.For a moment, neither of us said anything. Then I forced myself to relax.“Shawn.” I walked toward him. “How are you doing?”He didn't answer immediately. I tightened my grip around the breakfast containers before speaking again.“About yesterday… I’m really sorry. I know the request I made was absurd, and I shouldn't have put you in that position. I just—”“You don't have to apologize.” His interruption made me pause. He looked directly into my eyes. “I’m here to take the DNA test.”The
Shawn Dad closed his eyes.Mom's tears flowed freely.“I wanted you.” Her voice broke. “I wanted you for myself. I couldn't conceive. Your father and I had spent years hoping and praying for a child. Then suddenly, there you were.”She laughed weakly through her tears.“You were so beautiful. You had fought so hard just to survive, and somehow, you had made your way into my heart. I knew you belonged to someone else, but I wanted to be the one who protected you.”“So, we spoke with the nurse and doctor. We asked questions. We discussed what would happen to you, and eventually, a decision was made… They told your mother that you didn't make it.”My stomach dropped.Mom's voice was barely above a whisper. She lowered her head, unable to look at me.“They arranged the paperwork. The necessary documents were processed, and eventually… We legally adopted you.”Silence.Absolute silence.My mind struggled to process what I had just heard.Mom broke down again.“We’re sorry.” She pressed a
ShawnMom took a deep, shaky breath.For several seconds, she said nothing. Her fingers remained wrapped around mine, but they were trembling so badly that I could feel every slight movement.Dad stood beside her, one hand resting gently against her shoulder.The room had gone completely quiet.“Eighteen years ago,” she began quietly, “your father and I went to St. Catherine Medical Center.”“We had recently acquired a stake in the hospital,” she continued. “Your father and I were part of the hospital's board partnership, so we decided to visit personally and see how the facility was being managed. We wanted to meet some of the medical staff, review the operations, and understand how everything was running.”She paused.“It was supposed to be nothing more than a business visit.” Her voice cracked slightly. “But then we decided to visit one of the hospital's wings.”“The NICU,” Dad added quietly.My chest tightened. Somehow, I already knew where this story was heading, yet nothing coul
ShawnSo many thoughts raced through my mind as I sat inside the car, staring blankly through the window.Questions had been piling up one after another in my head, each one leading to another question I didn't know how to answer. No matter how hard I tried to organize my thoughts, everything remained a tangled mess.Where was I supposed to start?How was I supposed to process any of this?There was only one way to put an end to the uncertainty… Answers… Real answers.That was the reason I had made this trip the moment I left the hospital.“Young master, we've arrived.”The driver's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up and realized that the car had already come to a stop.Outside the window stood my parents' private house in Philadelphia.A strange sense of nervousness settled over me. This was it. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped out of the car.My feet carried me toward the house, but every step seemed heavier than the last. By the time I reached the fr
OliviaThe room fell completely silent.No one spoke.No one moved.Mom remained on the hospital bed, her face turned toward the door. Sam sat stiffly in the chair near the corner, his arms resting on his thighs as he stared ahead, clearly trying to process everything that had just happened.As for me, I sat a few feet away from Mom, my mind still struggling to catch up with reality.The wall clock continued ticking above us.Tick-tock.Tick-tock.Each sound seemed louder than the last in the suffocating silence. Every few seconds, my gaze drifted toward the door.My head still couldn't wrap itself around Mom's revelation.How could Shawn possibly be Sam's twin?He had his own life and family. He'd told us about his adoptive parents and the life he'd lived growing up, but there had never been anything that made me think he was connected to us by blood.And yet, Mom had looked at him and immediately seen something familiar.Could a mother's instinct really be that strong? Or was grief
Olivia“What was that nurse talking about, Mom?”My eyes remained fixed on Mom, searching her face for an explanation, but the woman who had been smiling and laughing only moments ago now looked like she wished the ground would just open and swallow her whole.“What exactly are you hiding from us?”Her fingers tightened around the hospital blanket, gripping the fabric so hard that her knuckles began to pale.“Mom?”I folded my arms across my chest and exchanged a glance with Sam. He was staring at Mom too, waiting for an explanation.“Mom,” Sam finally spoke. “What is going on?”She swallowed. Her shoulders slowly slumped, and a long, defeated breath escaped her lips.“I’m sorry, but there’s something I should have told both of you a very long time ago.”Neither Sam nor I moved. We simply waited.She lowered her gaze to her hands. For several seconds, she seemed to struggle with whether she should continue. Then, slowly, she lifted her head, and her eyes settled on Sam.Something abou
OliviaI didn’t remember the drive or the traffic lights or even the turns.All that kept replaying in my mind was the image of blood pooling beneath the dim dock lights.When we reached my apartment building, I stepped out of the car on unsteady legs. We didn’t speak as we walked upstairs.I unloc
AxelI had lost count of how many times I had walked from one end of my office to the other.The day was finally here.The day the final decision would be made.The day I would know exactly where I stood in the Reynolds Group.My stomach tightened at the thought.Years of work. Years of sacrifice.
OliviaI sat cross-legged on my bed, my notebook open in front of me, flipping through pages from my last lecture. My mind was only half-focused, replaying parts of the class while trying to make sense of the notes I had scribbled down in a rush.Just as I underlined a sentence for the third time,
OliviaBy the time I drove into my apartment complex, the sky had already darkened. I parked my car in my usual spot, turned off the engine, and just sat there.I rested my forehead briefly against the steering wheel and let out a slow, weary sigh.Today had just been… No—everything lately had been







