Chapter 215: Chapter 215 The Test Results
Author
Three days later, Nancy finally got the test results.
She flipped to the last page. Her eyes locked onto the line: 99.99% probability of biological relation.
Orion was her son.
Her whole body went still, like someone had hit pause on her brain. She needed to see him. Right now.
But Orion was still in school. If she showed up and pulled him out early without warning, Yardley would get suspicious. That was the last thing she needed.
She ran her tongue over her dry lips, pulled out her phone, and called Yardley.
"Hello." His voice came through, deep and smooth, with that low hum that made people stop and listen.
"Mr. Wolfe," she said. "That offer you made before—is it still on the table?"
There was a long pause on the other end. Long enough that she wondered if the call had dropped. He was probably trying to figure out exactly which offer she meant.
Then his voice came back, flat and unreadable. "Which offer?"
He was not going to make this easy. She could tell. He wanted her to spell it out.
Her fingers curled into a fist. She took a breath. "The one where we keep pretending to be a couple."
"You want to keep going?"
Yardley was sitting in his car, phone pressed to his ear. Through the windshield, he had a clear view of her.
She looked the same as always. Composed. Put together. Like nothing had happened.
"Yes," she said.
He let out a quiet breath. "Okay."
"Good." Her relief came through the line, soft but unmistakable. "Then can I pick up Orion from school today?"
"Yeah." His eyes stayed fixed on her silhouette in the distance. "We can go together. Send me your location. I’ll pick you up first."
Nancy almost said no. But she stopped herself. It was easier this way. Safer. And honestly, she did not have the energy to argue.
"Fine. I’ll send you my location."
She got back into her car and sent the pin for a shopping mall about twenty miles away. That should be far enough to avoid any questions.
What she did not notice was the black sedan trailing her at a steady distance.
Louis, behind the wheel, glanced at his boss in the rearview mirror. He wanted to ask what the plan was, but he knew better than to pry. "Mr. Wolfe," he said carefully, "where are we headed now?"
The man in the backseat leaned forward slightly. There was the faintest hint of amusement in his otherwise cold voice.
"Follow her."
--
Nancy drove fast, her hands tight on the wheel. She parked in the mall garage and ran straight to the kids’ section. She grabbed a gift for Orion.
She wanted to buy him clothes. Something a real mother would think of. But she stopped when she realized it was useless.
She stood there for a full minute, staring at a rack of boys’ jackets. Her fingers brushed the fabric, but she couldn’t pick one. What size? What color would he like? She had no idea. The truth hit her like a wall.
She didn’t know his height. His weight. His shoe size.
She couldn’t buy anything he could wear.
So she picked out some electronic toys instead. Easy. Safe. The kind of gift that didn’t require her to admit she didn’t know her own son.
The cashier smiled as she rang it up. "Lucky kid," she said. Nancy just nodded. She couldn’t find the words.
She was excited. But underneath that, she was sad. She was a bad mother, and she knew it.
She checked her phone. No messages from Yardley yet. She bit her lip and waited.
Then Yardley’s car pulled up.
"Mr. Wolfe."
He stepped out slowly. His eyes moved over her, taking in the bag, her face, the way she was standing. He didn’t miss a thing.
His eyes were distant but his voice was soft. "You took the day off?"
Nancy checked her watch. "Yeah. Had some stuff to deal with. Took a few hours."
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The bag rustled in her hand.
He saw it. "You don’t have to buy him gifts every time."
She smiled. It was small. A little tired. "It’s nothing. Just a small thing."
He didn’t argue. He just opened the car door for her.
They fell back into their roles. Quiet. Easy. Like two people who had done this before.
When Orion got out of school and saw both his dad and Nancy, his face lit up.
"Dad! Are we celebrating my birthday early?"
Yardley gave him a look. "Your birthday is three months away. Nice try."
Orion laughed. He ran straight to Nancy and grabbed her hand. "Nancy! You came!"
Nancy’s heart squeezed. She squeezed his hand back. "I told you I would."
Orion didn’t care about the small talk. He was too busy tearing into the gift bag.
"Wow! Nancy, how did you know I wanted this?"
Nancy smiled. She watched his face light up. For a second, the weight in her chest got a little lighter. "I’m glad you like it."
"Why did you get me a gift today?" His eyes were big and bright.
She fixed his collar. Her fingers hesitated for a second. Then she smoothed it down. "No reason. Just saw it and thought of you."
He looked up at her like she hung the moon.
Yardley didn’t say anything. He stood back, arms crossed, watching the whole thing. The toy in Orion’s hands? He already had three of the same one at home.
But Nancy didn’t know that. And she didn’t need to. The look on her face told Yardley this meant more to her than it did to the kid. So he kept his mouth shut.
The whole ride home, Orion talked nonstop. Math class. Recess. The kid who put a frog in the teacher’s desk. Every detail, every word. He talked with his hands. He leaned forward between the front seats. He was full of energy, like a puppy who just found out you were home.
Louis looked in the rearview mirror.
His eyes flicked to Orion . Then to Nancy. Then back to the road.
He didn’t say it out loud. But he could tell.
Orion was happy. Truly happy.
