“Did you


    :


    Max gasped, looking from Ethan to Jade. “Did you go with them to do a DNA test? Are you really moving in with the Sullivans?”


    Jade was sitting on the couch, a ss of expensive bourbon in her hand–a gift from Ethan earlier that evening. “Hello to you too, Max. Want a drink?”


    “What? No! Jade, this is serious!” Max walked over to the couch, his face flushed with exertion. “Dad called me. He


    said some rich guy named Sullivan came by, iming you’re his brother’s daughter!”


    Ethan looked between them, confusion evident on his face. “I feel like I’m missing something important here.”


    Jade sighed, taking another sip of bourbon. “Apparently, I’m the long–lost daughter of Conrad Sullivan and Hazel Reed. Archer Sullivan–Conrad’s brother–showed up at the house today to im me for the Sullivan family. The usual soap opera stuff.”


    “And… are you?” Ethan asked carefully.


    “Am I what?”


    “Conrad Sullivan’s daughter.”


    Jade shrugged. “Maybe. Probably. The timing fits, and apparently I look like my birth mother.” She nced at Max, who had copsed onto the couch beside her. “But it doesn’t matter. I didn’t agree to any DNA test, and I’m not going to.”


    Max’s shoulders sagged with relief. “So you’re not leaving us for the Sullivans?”


    “Yes. The Sullivan family means nothing to me,” she continued. “The only scenario in which I’d ever set foot in the Sullivan house would be to confront that old witch ir Sullivan and make her pay for what she did to my birth parents.”


    She turned to face Max directly. “But you should know this: whether I’m a Morgan or a Sullivan by blood, you’re my brother. The only family member I truly care about.”


    Max’s eyes welled with tears, and he looked down at his hands. “I thought… when Dad told me you weren’t really my


    sister…”


    “Blood doesn’t make family, Max,‘ Jade said firmly. “If it did, Linda would be a mother instead of just an egg donor.”


    Max nodded, wiping at his eyes.


    “Are you hungry? Jade asked, standing up. I’ve got some leftovers in the fridge.”


    “A little,” Max admitted.


    Jade headed for the kitchen, leaving Max and Ethan in the living room. When she returned with a te of food, Max


    was gone.


    “Where’d he go?” she asked, setting the te down.


    “He said he needed some air,” Ethan replied, picking up a small rectangr object from the coffee table. “He left


    this.”


    It was Max’s bank card–the one Jade had given him.


    “I’ll go talk to him,” Ethan said, heading for the door. “He can’t have gone far.”


    Ethan found Max sitting on a bench outside the apartment building, staring at the ground. He sat down beside him, holding out the bank card.


    “You forgot this,” Ethan said.


    Max nced up, then away. “I didn’t forget it. I just… I don’t know if I should keep it anymore.”


    “Why not?”


    Max sighed heavily. “She’s not really my sister. And if she’s a Sullivan, she doesn’t need to take care of me anymore. I should stand on my own.”


    2


    Ethan was quiet for a moment. “You know, from what I’ve seen, your sister is a pretty remarkable judge of character. She doesn’t waste time or resources on people she doesn’t value.”


    Max looked up at him.


    “She’s also someone who values loyalty above almost anything else,” Ethan continued. “Think about it–the ident of birth versus eighteen years of shared history. Which do you think matters more to someone like her?”


    “But-”


    “Your sister is a practical person, Max. If she didn’t want you in her life, she would have cut ties long ago. The fact that she’s given you this,” he tapped the card, “tells me she considers you family, regardless of blood.”


    Max took the card back slowly.


    “You know,” Ethan said, “I think your sister would be hurt if you pushed her away now. Not that she’d ever admit it, of course. She’s too proud for that. But she’d feel it all the same.”


    Max considered this. “I guess you’re right.”


    “Look,” Ethan said gently, “your sister is quick to speak her mind. She’s not one for sentimental speeches. But she made it very clear that you’re the only family member she truly cares about. Don’t throw that away because of something as trivial as DNA.”


    A small smile formed on Max’s face. “I understand. Thank you, Mr. Haxton.”