The silence in the dining hall was so heavy it felt suffocating. Damien stood over the folder, his knuckles white as he gripped the table’s edge. The document, an anonymously typed note accompanied by a lab result, lay exposed. Leo Blackwood. Paternity: 0%.
Serena’s heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her mind raced—she had managed every detail of her life for five years, covering her tracks with lies and manufactured loyalty. She knew the moment she had to strike. She needed to make him doubt the paper, not her.
"Damien, look at that," Serena said, her voice trembling with a masterful performance of wounded shock. She didn't stand; she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Bella finally did it. She finally found a way to tear us apart."
Damien looked at her, his gol
