Anneliese paused briefly, then continued, her tone almost thoughtful.


    "Or maybe I''m just easy to be around. Kids can sense that. Ellie probably felt it and stuck close. Children have great instincts."


    She tilted her head slightly. "You wouldn''t know that feeling, would you?"


    The jabnded cleanly.


    The meaning was obvious: Elizabeth''s heart was cold and sharp-edged. No child would ever choose her.


    Elizabeth''s face twisted with anger.


    Even her own son had never been close to her.


    Right now, he was openly standing with Anneliese-closing ranks, reaching for her hand the instant things turned ugly.


    "Watch your mouth!" Elizabeth snapped.


    Penelope lifted a hand toward Anneliese. "Anne,e here."


    Anneliese crossed over, and Penelope drew her down beside her on the couch.


    The elderly woman patted her hand gently. "I don''t know which fool started spreading such nonsense, but anyone with a functioning brain wouldn''t believe it. You were treated unfairly today."


    Elizabeth had sounded confident earlier, but Anneliese had never doubted Jonathan. Their trust could handle this kind of storm.


    She''d only worried, briefly, that the elders might waver.


    Martha clearly had, but looking at Penelope now, Anneliese saw no hesitation at all.


    She squeezed Penelope''s hand and smiled. "Grandma, I''m really fine. Please don''t get upset because of me."


    Nearby, Martha rubbed the bridge of her nose, visibly ufortable. When


    Elizabeth first threw out the usation, carried by momentum and outrage, Martha had actually believed it for a moment.


    Now it felt ridiculous.


    Forget the petite body that didn''t look like it had ever carried a child-if Anneliese had truly hidden a child alt these years and then married into the Fullbuster family, she''d be guarding that secret with her life not openly bringing the child here. Not to this house.


    Yel


    Elizabeth, however, remained convinced she was the only one seeing things clearly. She pushed forward Mom, Dad, you can''t just take her word for it. So many people are talking about this. There''s no way a rumor spreads without a reason—"


    "Enough." Penelope''s voice snapped like a whip.


    She red at Elizabeth, fury zing. For a split second, she wished she could send


    this troublemaking daughter-inw back decades and choose someone else.


    But then she remembered Jonathan-how wless he was and swallowed the thought.


    Her tone hardened. "Think. When Anne was in school, she barely stopped moving. When would she have had a child without anyone noticing?"


    Elizabeth sneered.


    "That''s naive. High school girls give birth in dorm bathrooms all the time. Ellie was born in winter-coats hide everything Keep quiet, and it''s easy enough, something this serious deserves proof. A DNA test. Right?"


    She stared straight at Anneliese, baiting her. "Do you dare?"


    Anneliese sighed. "I''m not taking a maternity test."


    Elizabeth lit up as if she''d struck gold. "Dad, Mom, Jonathan, did you hear that? She refuses―"


    Jonathan cut in sharply. "The test shouldn''t be between Anne and the child."


    Elizabeth froze.


    His gaze turned cial. "It should be between you and me."


    Her voice shook. "What did you just say?"


    Jonathan didn''t flinch. "I doubt you''re my biological mother."


    The room went dead silent.


    "When I was little, you didn''t raise me. You left me with Grandpa and Grandma. When the Hoff family copsed, you dragged me away-not to care for me, but for appearances. And even then, you neglected me."


    His voice dropped lower. "When I had a high fever, you fed me sleeping pills instead of medicine. I nearly died."