Morning sunlight streamed through the curtains, scattering gold across the room. Sloane stood before the mirror, fingers fidgeting with her collar for the third time. "Nervous?" Lucas’s arms slipped around her from behind, his chin resting lightly on her shoulder. Sloane drew a deep breath. "A little." She turned to face him. "What if… what if I’m not?" Lucas cupped her face gently, brushing a soft kiss across her forehead. "No matter what the result says, you’ll still be my Sloane." His hand was warm and steady as it closed around her cool fingers. "Come on," he murmured. "They’re waiting." Downstairs, Shawn was pacing excitedly around Beth. "Aunt Beth, I’m telling you—Sloane has to be my cousin! You see that temper of hers? Just like you when you were young!" Beth laughed and shook her head. "And when exactly did you see me when I was young?" "Dad told me!" Shawn gestured dramatically. "And my instincts are never wrong!"When Sloane and Lucas came down, Shawn bounded toward them. "Finally! Come on, I can’t wait any longer!" Beth gave Sloane an encouraging smile. "Let’s go." Sloane nodded, though her throat felt tight. When the nurse drew their samples, Sloane gripped Lucas’s hand the entire time. The needle prick didn’t even register; all she could see was the small glass vial slowly filling with blood. "The results will be ready in about an hour," the nurse said with a polite smile. This hospital belonged to the Oliver Group and was known for having the city’s most advanced medical facilities—one of the reasons Beth had chosen it for the test. "Can’t it be any faster?" Shawn muttered. "For accuracy’s sake, an hour is the minimum," the nurse explained patiently. "Enough," Beth chided. "Stop talking." Shawn fell silent at once. Beth turned to Sloane, gently patting her hand. "Let’s wait in the lounge."In the waiting room, Shawn couldn’t sit still—he kept pacing, peeking out into the hallway every few minutes. Lucas stayed close to Sloane, his thumb tracing slow circles across the back of her hand. Time crawled by, each minute stretching longer than the last. Finally, footsteps echoed in the corridor. Dr. Grayson entered, a report in hand. His expression was grave. His gaze swept over the group before settling on Beth. "Ms. Beth," he began quietly, "the results are ready." Beth rose, her hands trembling. "Well?" Grayson handed her the report. "I’m very sorry… the test shows no genetic relation. Ms. Rivers is not biologically related to you." The words struck like thunder. Beth’s face drained of color. She flipped through the pages with shaking fingers until her eyes landed on the cold, printed words: Paternity: Not established. Her knees nearly gave out. "No… no, that’s impossible…" she whispered. "How could this be…"Sloane froze where she stood. Her fingers curled tightly, nails digging deep into her palms as the room seemed to tilt and blur around her.