“Margaret,” Thomas whispered, looking up at his wife with deep disgust. “You told me he died in a clinic in Switzerland.”

“He was a threat to everything we built, Thomas!” Margaret hissed, dropping all pretense.

“And what about Sophie?” I asked, my voice shaking as I stepped forward. “If Julian has been locked away for five years, how is he her father?”

Julian turned to me, the anger in his eyes fading into a deep sadness.

“The fertility clinic, Grace,” Julian said.

I felt the blood drain from my face. “What?”

“Before Margaret sent me away, I had my genetic material frozen at the clinic,” Julian said. “For my own future family.”

He looked at Ethan, who was staring at the floor, his jaw clenched.

“When Ethan found out he was sterile, Margaret didn’t want anyone to know,” Julian said. “She couldn’t risk the Caldwell name ending, or the board finding out.”

“So she bribed the head of the clinic,” I said, the horrific truth settling into my stomach.

“They swapped Ethan’s sample with mine,” Julian said. “They used my genetic material for your IVF treatments, Grace.”