PART 2
The sealed envelope trembled in Ethan's hands.
Across the hallway, Claire's fingers instinctively tightened around the twins' shoulders.
"Open it," the elderly woman said softly. "Your mother made me promise I wouldn't hand it to you unless Claire returned... with the boys."
Ethan broke the seal.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The moment he recognized his mother's elegant handwriting, his chest tightened.
My son, if you are reading this, it means I waited too long to tell you the truth.
Claire was never barren.
His vision blurred.
The doctor told me years ago that the fertility treatments were working. Claire became pregnant shortly before your divorce.
Ethan's hands began to shake violently.
He looked up at Claire.
She lowered her eyes but said nothing.
He forced himself to keep reading.
I was the one who hid the medical report.
His heart nearly stopped.
I believed Claire would ruin the future of the Blackwood family. I wanted you to marry Victoria Ashford because her father's company could save ours from bankruptcy.
The hallway fell silent.
Every memory Ethan had trusted suddenly felt poisoned.
His mother...
The woman he had loved and obeyed all his life...
Had destroyed his marriage.
"I... I don't understand," he whispered.
Claire finally spoke.
"The day I found out I was pregnant, I rushed home to tell you."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"But your mother got there first."
"She handed me the divorce papers you had already signed."
"She told me you never wanted children with me... and that you were already planning your future with someone else."
Ethan staggered backward.
"No..."
"I never said that."
"I never knew."
Claire nodded sadly.
"I know."
The twins looked from their mother to Ethan, confused by the tears.
The braver of the two stepped forward.
"Mom..."
"Is he really our dad?"
Claire closed her eyes for a moment.
Then she quietly answered,
"Yes."
The word shattered Ethan's world.
Tears streamed down his face as he dropped to his knees before the boys.
"I'm so... so sorry."
Before anyone could speak again, a nurse rushed out of the intensive care unit.
"Mr. Blackwood!"
"Your mother's condition has suddenly changed."
"She's awake..."
"And she says she has one final confession to make—before it's too late."
