Diego staggered back slightly, like he’d been physically hit.

“All this time…” he muttered.

The apartment.

The money.

The future he thought he was building.

All of it…

Built on a lie.

He let out a hollow laugh.

“My family… my mother… they’ve been celebrating—”

“They don’t have to know,” Allison said quickly, grabbing his arm. “We can fix this—”

He yanked his arm away like she had burned him.

“Fix this?” he repeated.

Then louder—

“FIX THIS?”

The door outside creaked open slightly as voices murmured in the hallway.

His family was still there.

Waiting.

Smiling.

Believing.

Diego looked back at the ultrasound screen.

At the child he had already claimed.

Already named.

Continued on the next page