The file was in a thick folder, making it impossible to see the contents. Hannah hesitated, her gaze shifting from the folder to Samuel.


    Samuel nervously rubbed his nose and quickly looked away, unable to meet her eyes. He knew he''d have to exin himselfter. He had counted on Hannah''s good nature, but ambushing her like this was bound to make anyone angry. He had nned to ease into it, maybe apologize over a nice meal, but he hadn''t expected his uncle to be so blunt. Peter had just thrown the DNA test on the table without any warning.


    Come on, Uncle, did you have to be so direct? Samuel thought, shooting his uncle a panicked look. Couldn''t you have given me a little more time?


    Peter, realizing he might have been too abrupt, cleared his throat. It was Hannah''s direct question that had prompted his own straightforwardness.


    “Uh... Hannah, why don''t you open it first? Just take a look," Samuel stammered, his voice barely a whisper.


    Seeing Samuel''s guilty expression, Hannah''s brow furrowed. She nced back at Peter,pletely baffled. With a sense of trepidation, she opened the folder.


    The first page made her pause. She looked up at them, a confused frown on her face.


    "I know you must have a lot of questions," Peter said gently. "But please, keep reading."


    Hannah didn''t respond. Her frown deepened as she flipped through the pages until she reached the final report.


    Based on the avable data and DNA analysis... the results support Cheryl Temple as the biological mother of Hannah Green.


    Hannah''s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes locked onto the ck-and-white text, the name repeating in her mind Chery Temple. Temple. The same as Samuel and Peter.


    She slowly lifted her gaze to meet theirs. "Cheryl... who is she to you?"


    "She''s my aunt," Samuel answered quickly. "My Aunt Cheryl. Uncle Peter''s sister. And... your mother."


    "My mother?"


    The words hung in the air, and for a moment, Hannah''s heart seemed to stop. A strange sensation, like a ghost of a memory, washed over her. Time stood still. The world around her fade


    into a duffam


    and all she could hear was the


    shallow rhythm of her own breathing


    and the frantic pounding of her heart.


    Cheryl. Her mother.


    As she whispered the name to herself, an inexplicable feeling of warmth and familiarity filled her.


    "Then... where is she now?" The question tumbled out before she could stop it. If this woman was her mother, why hadn''t they brought her?


    This time, Samuel remained silent, looking to his uncle.


    Peter let out a heavy sigh and began to tell her Cheryl''s story. As Hannah listened, a chill spread through her, her blood turning touce Her hands, resting on the table, tightened into fists.