Leanne fumed, practically shaking with rage.


    "What''s so special about her anyway?" Ivanna sneered. "She''s just like her mother leeching off the man!"


    They both knew "the man" meant Hull. Ivanna went on, reminding Leanne how Hull —along with Yvonne and Xander—had schemed against them all for Susanna''s benefit. And after all that, Susanna had never left Hull''s side. The realization made Leanne''s anger re even hotter.


    She wanted nothing more than to march over and make Susanna pay; she wanted to tear her apart. But the injuries Hull had left were still raw. The slightest movement sent stabbing pain through her lower back.


    "Don''t move."


    "I''m going to kill that bitch!" Leanne spat, her voice trembling with fury. Because of Susanna, ck Gate was in chaos, and now even their father''s affection was slipping away. If Ivanna was right and Susanna really held the fate of ck Gate in her hands, wasn''t it only a matter of time before their father started protecting her like a prized treasure? The very thought made Leanne''s blood boil.


    ...


    For years, the Nelson twins had basked in their father''s exclusive love. Now, both were terrified Susanna would snatch it away. But neither had any clue that Derek hadn''t even seen Susanna yet.


    When Derek returned to cktower, he found Adelle still up, waiting anxiously for him. As soon as the door closed behind him, she hurried to pour him a ss of juice.


    "Well? Did you talk to Susie? What did she say?"


    She said "Susie? with affected warmth, a desperate attempt to show she was trying to ept Susanna—at least on the surface. Her gentleness was for Derek''s benefit,


    a show of understanding. For weeks now, as ck Gate''s troubles had mounted, he''d grown increasingly short with her, and she feared their rtionship was fracturing.


    elt


    Pet


    But even speaking Susanna''s name with all the softness she could manage didn''t thaw the chill from Derek''s eyes. If anything, his grew sharper-weighty with suspicion. He stared at Adelle in way he never had before,


    searching for something she was hiding, as if he suddenly doubted her entirely.


    His cold scrutiny made Adelle''s heart seize with panic. She knelt at his side and grasped his hand, her voice taut. "Derek..."


    He looked down at her, his expression as cial as ever. "Ivanna and Leanne-why don''t they look anything like me?"


    Derek was naturally suspicious. Until


    now, no one had questioned-at


    least not to him—whether Ivanna tto


    and Leanne resembled him at et


    The twins weren''t exactly beauties, but a parent''s love makes even the most imperfect child seem wonderful. As for their unusual, looks, he''d always chalked it up "twin issues”—they must havepeted for nourishment in the womb, so of course they turned out a bit... different.


    It had never once urred to him that they might not be his.


    But Barnaby and Ss''s offhand remarks—how "their features, everything about


    them, looks nothing like him"-had cut into Derek like a knife to the heart.


    Chene


    His children, yet not a trace of him in their faces? He had never truly considered, the possibility, not once in all these years. But now, as he looked at Adelle''s face. showing the signs of age he realized, there was, nothing of Ivanna or Leanne in her features, either.


    As he continued to gaze at her, Adelle, suddenly anxious, felt dread gather in her


    chest. She squeezed his hand a little tighter.


    "Derek..."


    He looked down and spoke the question that had begun to haunt him.


    “Ivanna and Leanne-why do neither of them look like me?"