Adelle''s legs gave out and she sank to the floor, all her strength suddenly gone, as if her very soul had been drained from her body.


    Across the room, Derek felt his blood pounding in his ears. With a resounding m, he hurled the crumpled report onto the coffee table.


    “Lying bitch!” he roared. Rage burned through him so fiercely his vision blurred with ckness around the edges. His furious eyes locked on Adelle. In one swift motion, he reached for his waistband and drew his gun, the muzzle leveled straight at her.


    Adelle shrieked, terror freezing her in ce.


    Tension crackled through the room, everyone held captive by Derek''s fury.


    The DNA report was undeniable: Finch wasn''t his son.


    Not his son. Not his...


    If Finch wasn''t his, what about Ivanna and Leanne? Were they his daughters, or had he been lied to his entire life? The memory of Ivanna fleeing with Leanne echoed in his mind—of course they weren''t his. They''d known all along and that''s why they ran. If they''d truly been his, they never would have fled.


    At that, Derek felt something inside his chest ignite. "You-You worthless whore! You deserve to die!" he spat.


    He was past reason. He disengaged the safety, finger hovering over the trigger, ready to end it all. The three children he had given everything to, raised as his own, were all strangers.


    "Dad!" Finch burst forward, throwing himself between Derek and Adelle. His voice was hoarse, trying desperately to reach his father''s sanity-but Derek had nothing left.


    For years, Adelle had seemed sacred to him—a vision of virtue. He''d put her on a pedestal, cherished her above all else, held her and her children close, even keeping Dan away from cktower just to spare her any worry or strife. He''d loved her unconditionally, and this was how she''d repaid him.


    Now Derek''s eyes were bloodshot, burning with a lethal fury.


    Seeing Derek truly ready to shoot, Finch''s rage red. "Dad, how can you do this to us?" he shouted.


    Adelle''s voice trembled as she pleaded, “After everything we''ve been through, you


    If she hadn''t tried to draw on their history, maybe Derek would have clung to some shred of reason. But those words "all these years we''ve been together"—felt like a p in the face, pure humiliation.


    Yes, he''d given her years of devotion-but she''d paid him back with years of deceit, always taking, always bleeding him dry.


    The betrayal was gasoline on his already zing fury.


    Then Adelle made the fatal mistake: “Does it really matter if he''s your son or not?"


    The words barely left her lips before a thunderous gunshot shattered the air, followed by a sickening, wet thud. The world went still, every breath in the room suddenly brittle and shallow.


    Then Adelle''s scream ripped through the silence, a blood-curdling sound of pure agony. "No!-no-"


    "Finch! Finch!"


    As Finch crumpled, Adelle


    scrambled to catch him, clutching him fiercely as blood flowered


    across his shirt. "Finch, stay wit desperately to his wounded,


    me-ob God!" Her hands pressed


    hervoice raw with panic and grief.


    He had been alive, vibrant, just seconds ago now hey dying in her arms, Adelle''s mind reeled,


    refusing to ept the horror. Waves of agony and disbelief tore at her, and she let out another


    heart-wrenching scream.


    ncing up at Derek, her expression twisted with pain and fury. “You monster! You actually shot him! You tried to kill your own son!"


    "He''s called you ''father'' all these years-how could you do this? How could you be


    so cruel?" Adelle sobbed, her cries a ragged usation that filled the house.


    She truly hadn''t believed Derek would pull the trigger. He had always loved Finch most of all-cherished him, favored him.


    But now...


    "Yes, maybe he''s not your blood, but he''s been with you, called you father all these years! How can you be so heartless?" Adelle bent over Finch, clutching him as if her embrace alone could keep him alive.


    She was on the verge of losing her


    mind. There was no time for


    arguments. "Call an ambnce! We


    need the hospital! Now!" she


    screamed, her voice echoing


    through the house as she tried to


    staunch the bleeding with trembling hands.