Ryan moved closer to my side.
“There is one more report,” he said.
Robert’s eyes narrowed.
Ryan returned to the first envelope and removed a second laboratory document.
“The original test proved Robert isn’t my biological father,” he said.
“This one identified the man who was.”
Sophia’s face changed before he revealed the name.
For the first time that evening, she looked afraid.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
Ryan read from the report.
“My biological father was Thomas Monroe, Sophia’s former husband.”
A louder reaction swept through the guests.
Thomas Monroe had died years earlier and left behind a technology company that Sophia now controlled.
Robert turned slowly toward her.
“You told me he was mine.”
Sophia kept her gaze on Ryan.
“Thomas and I were separated.
The dates were uncertain.”
“You knew,” Robert said.
“I suspected.”
“You let me take another man’s child.”
Sophia’s composure broke.
“You wanted to believe he was yours.
You wanted an heir, and Victoria wanted a baby.
Everyone got something.”
Ryan’s voice became colder.
“Except the people who were denied the truth.”
Daniel Price removed another file from his case.
“Thomas Monroe’s will created a trust for any biological child discovered after his death,” he said.
“That trust contains a minority interest in Monroe Systems.
Ms.
Monroe learned six months ago that Ryan’s research required genetic screening.
She feared the connection would surface without her control.”
Now the timing made sense.
Sophia had not returned because maternal love overwhelmed her after twenty-five years.
She had returned because Ryan’s DNA could affect ownership of her company.
She had joined Robert’s plan to publicly redefine me as a nanny, discredit my position in the family, and pull Ryan toward her before he understood the financial implications of his birth.
Sophia lifted her chin.
“The trust is insignificant.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Then why did your attorneys submit documents last month claiming Ryan had privately waived his rights?”
Ryan took out another page.
“I never signed those either.”
Robert stared at Sophia.
“You forged his signature?”
She gave him a bitter laugh.
“You’re hardly in a position to be offended by forgery.”
The alliance between them collapsed in front of everyone.
Robert accused Sophia of using him.
Sophia reminded him that he had spent years sending her money from company accounts.
Each denial exposed another secret.
Each attempt to save themselves damaged the other.
I listened without interrupting.
For most of my marriage, Robert had mistaken restraint for helplessness.
He believed that because I did not fight for attention, I would not fight at all.
