I reached into my overcoat pocket and withdrew a heavy cream envelope. Inside were certified hospital delivery logs, a formal birth certificate, and the indisputable results of a private DNA panel I had funded with capital I could barely afford to spend.
I slid the envelope across the polished mahogany table.
“I brought the forensic verification,” I said. “Not because I owe you an explanation, but because Lily deserves a legacy built on absolute truth.”
Dominic stared down at the paper but didn’t dare lay a finger on it. “I had no idea, Audrey.”
The words were entirely quiet. I looked at his face and realized, with a sinking certainty, that I actually believed him.
And somehow, that reality was infinitely worse. Because if he truly hadn’t known, then someone within his inner circle had meticulously engineered the silence.
“I know you didn’t,” I said. “But I did. Every single day, I knew the math. Every prenatal appointment where I sat alone. Every midnight when she cried and my ribs ached. Every utility bill I had to scrape together capital to pay. Every single time a nurse asked me for her father’s medical history and I had to leave the form entirely blank.”
