Aria's POV
Richard left my hospital room with a soft smile, the kind he always used whenever he was trying too hard to pretend everything was fine.
He thought the ice cream had genuinely lifted my mood.
He had no idea what I had slipped into the ziplock bag the moment the door clicked shut behind him.
His spoon.
His DNA.
My hands were still trembling as I sealed the bag and shoved it beneath my blanket. I could feel my heartbeat thudding in my throat, loud and uneven, like my own body was warning me that I was crossing a line I could never uncross.
I didn't care.
Not anymore.
I picked up my phone and dialed the private lab-one discreet enough to handle Sterling-level secrets, but neutral enough to not belong to any family I knew.
When a calm voice answered, I forced my voice stea
