“I see you brought them here,” Victoria said, stepping into the room. “The fabrications.”

“Get out of my house, Mother,” Alexander said.

His voice was dangerously quiet.

He did not move from his position by the window, but his posture was rigid.

“Your house?” Victoria let out a soft, mocking laugh. “This property belongs to the Sterling Trust, which I control.”

She took another step forward, the heels of her shoes clicking sharply on the hardwood floor.

“You are having a breakdown, Alexander,” she said. “Bringing this woman and her children into my sphere is a liability.”

“They are my sons,” Alexander said.

“They are a scam,” Victoria replied, her voice remaining flat, devoid of any grandmotherly warmth. “A cheap attempt at a shakedown.”

Lucas whimpered slightly against my shoulder.

I squeezed him tighter, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“Noah, Lucas, keep your eyes closed,” I whispered into their hair.

“They are my biological children, Victoria,” Alexander said, using her first name like a weapon. “I have the DNA results.”

Victoria did not flinch.