Chapter 1750:


    “Just listen. If you ask her directly for a DNA test, she’ll refuse. She’ll assume you’re trying to take the child from her. We do this quietly first, and once we know the truth, we bring them both into the family properly.”


    Henrik fixed Alban with a hard, unsparing look. “If you mishandle this, don’t bothering home. That’s not a threat — it’s a promise.”


    Colette and Santos exchanged a nce but said nothing. They had no objection to the n.


    Alban felt the walls closing in, but the longer he sat with it, the more he recognized that Henrik was right. If Gillian even suspected they believed Adide might be his, she would never cooperate — and even if the child was his, pressing the matter too openly would almost certainly ensure he never saw either of them again.


    “Fine,” he said atst. “I’ll find a way to get the sample without her knowing.”


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    “If this goes wrong, it falls on you,” Henrik said.


    “I understand,” Alban muttered.


    The look his family gave him — disappointment worn inly on their faces — needled at him more than he wanted to admit. Long after Gillian had gone, he sat staring at the door, his thoughts refusing to settle.


    In the car, Gillian exhaled slowly and let her arms loosen around Adide for the first time since they had stepped onto Martel grounds. She had been wound impossibly tight the entire visit. Whatever calm she had managed to project on the outside, her heart had been hammering the whole time.


    “We’re going to the bank right now to deposit that check into your ount,” Christina said, her voice gentle and unhurried.


    “Of course.” Gillian’s eyes filled with quiet gratitude. “Thank you — truly. I never could have done any of this without you.”


    “Don’t mention it. You’re part of this family, and we take care of our own,” Christina said, smiling as she reached over and smoothed a hand over Adide’s hair with easy affection.


    “Could we split it, though?” Gillian asked, her voice dropping a little. “Two million is more than enough for me. You did all the real work here.”


    “Not a cent,” Christina said, without hesitation. “That money is entirely yours.”


    She wasn’t being modest — she simply didn’t need it. If it ever came to that, ten million was something she could produce again without breaking a sweat.


    “But I’ll feel terrible keeping all of it,” Gillian pressed, genuinely troubled by the thought. “You deserve something.”


    “Then take me out for a decent lunch someday,” Christina said,ughing.


    Gillian stared at her. After everything Christina had done, she was asking for a meal. The simplicity of it was almost iprehensible.


    In all her years, Gillian had crossed paths with many people — some kind, some indifferent, some cruel. But no one had ever been so genuinely and quietly good to her without wanting anything in return. Apart from her own family, she couldn’t think of a single person who had ever cared about her the way Christina did.


    “You are a truly remarkable person,” Gillian whispered, her eyes beginning to sting.


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