“Sit down, Mother,” Ethan whispered.

His voice was barely audible, but he stayed glued to his chair.

Julian slid a single sheet of paper across the table toward me.

“This is the original consent and laboratory instruction form for Claire Bennett’s IVF cycle,” Julian said.

I looked down at my own signature at the bottom.

But there was another signature next to it, written in bold, hurried blue ink.

It was Margaret Lawson’s name.

“What is this?” I asked, my fingers trembling as I touched the edge of the paper.

“It is the authorization to alter the paternal donor sample,” Julian said.

The room fell completely silent.

The only sound was the faint hum of the heating vent in the corner.

“What do you mean, alter?” Ethan asked, his voice cracking. “I gave my sample. I was in the room.”

“You did, Mr. Lawson,” Julian said. “But your sample was never used in the final fertilization process.”

Ethan blinked, his face blank with confusion. “What?”

“My father swapped it,” Julian said.

He turned his gaze directly to Margaret, who was standing stiffly beside the window.