Billionaire’s Twin Deception

Chapter 19

EDEN'S POV

Janice's silence follows me everywhere because if she were innocent, if I were completely wrong, if this entire thing existed only inside my head, she would have answered the question immediately.

Instead she looked terrified.

I spend the next two days trying to focus on work but it doesn't happen.

Meetings blur together, reports pile up on my desk and people keep talking while my thoughts circle the same question over and over again.

*Is Jack my son?*

The possibility has become impossible to ignore. Every memory feels different now, every interaction means something new.

I remember finding that notebook in the parking lot and laughing at the aggressive T-Rex drawings. I remember the moment I reached the family pictures and felt something shift inside me before I even understood why.

Now I understand or at least I think I do.

For the first time, I stop imagining the theory and allow myself to imagine the reality.

A son, five years old and a child I never knew existed.

The thought hits so hard I have to sit down because suddenly I'm not thinking about secrets or betrayal anymore.

I'm thinking about birthdays, first words, first steps, nightmares, and hospital visits.

Five years, five years I can never get back. I stare out my office window while the city moves below.

Somewhere out there is a little boy who knows my favorite coffee order, knows I hate mushrooms and knows far too much about dinosaurs.

A little boy who laughs like sunshine after a storm.

The thought both wrecks and heals me.

A knock sounds against my office door.

Richard walks in carrying a tablet and one look at my face tells him exactly where my thoughts are.

"You know what worries me?"

I glance up. "Should I?"

"The fact that you're hoping."

The words catch me off guard.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's a lie."

Silence settles between us.

Richard studies me for a moment before shaking his head.

"If Jack turns out to be your son, you'll be furious."

"I know."

"And if he isn't?"

The question lands unexpectedly.

I don't answer because I don't know which outcome scares me more.

Richard notices and his expression softens.

Meanwhile Jack's medical situation keeps moving forward. The donor match changes everything.

Doctors call, appointments multiply and urgency surrounds every conversation.

The farther the process moves, the less room Janice has to hide.

I hear pieces of it through conversations and scheduling conflicts.

Enough to know she's struggling, enough to know she's scared and enough to know something is happening.

One evening I find her outside the hospital alone.

The city glows around us while traffic moves steadily through the streets below.

Janice sits on a bench near the entrance with a paper coffee cup clutched between both hands.

She looks emotionally exhausted like she's carrying the weight of something too heavy to hold anymore.

For a second I consider leaving then she notices me and neither of us moves.

No fighting this time, no anger or walls.

I walk over slowly and sit beside her.

The silence feels strangely familiar.

Five years ago we used to sit together like this all the time, not speaking, just existing in the same space.

The memory hits unexpectedly. Janice stares at the hospital entrance.

"I hate this place."

The confession comes quietly and I understand immediately.

"So do I."

A sad smile touches her mouth.

The first genuine smile I've seen from her in days then it disappears again.

The conversation unfolds slowly after that.

Not about work, not about secrets and not about accusations.

Just real honesty, the kind we haven't shared in years. For a little while it feels like the past hasn't happened yet like we're still the people we used to be.

The realization is dangerous because part of me misses those people. A lot more than I should.

Eventually Janice speaks again.

"So much damage came from one decision."

I turn toward her and her eyes remain fixed on the hospital. Not able to look at me.

"You deserved to know years ago."

Everything inside me stops.

The city noise disappears, the traffic disappears, even my next breath disappears because that's not denial.

I stare at her waiting and hoping but Janice immediately retreats behind her walls again.

The moment closes before I can reach it and that hurts more than the silence.

That night I return home with her words repeating endlessly inside my head.

I hear them while making coffee, hear them while checking emails and hear them while standing in the dark staring out my apartment windows.

By midnight sleep still hasn't arrived and my phone rings unexpectedly with a call for unknown number.

I almost ignore it but something stops me and I answer instead.

"Hello?"

A professional female voice responds immediately.

"Mr. Duncan?"

Every instinct sharpens.

"Yes."

"My name is Dr. Lewis from Manhattan Children's Cardiology."

My blood runs cold because there is only one reason a cardiologist would ever call me.

Jack, I stand slowly.

"What happened?"

"Nothing is wrong, sir."

Relief arrives briefly then confusion replaces it. The doctor sounds uncomfortable, professional, careful and concerned.

"I believe there may be an error in our records."

My grip tightens around the phone.

"What kind of error?"

A short pause, long enough to make my pulse start hammering then the doctor speaks again.

"Your name was listed under the father's emergency information."

Everything inside me stops.

The apartment falls silent, the city disappears and the world disappears.

There is only the phone pressed against my ear, only the question waiting on the other side of the line and only the possibility I've been trying and failing to outrun.

The doctor hesitates then asks quietly, "Mr. Duncan........"

Silence.

"Are you Jack Soto's biological father?"