Chapter 1

I was working late at the office, buried under piles of paperwork when I got the call from my father-in-law, Kennard Pearce.

His voice, almost a roar, blasted through the phone. "Dawn, you shameless woman! You'd better come home right now, or I'll air your dirty laundry to the world!"

Before I could even respond, the line went dead. I sat there at my desk, completely bewildered.

I was just finishing up the work in front of me, so I quickly grabbed my bag and rushed home.

As soon as I stepped inside, I saw Kennard sitting stiffly on the couch, two pieces of paper spread out in front of him. The pages were covered with dense, tight handwriting.

I didn't pay much attention to them as I changed my shoes, then glanced up at him. "Kennard, what's going on? Why did you tell me to rush home?"

He scoffed, his eyes flashing with anger. "You don't even know what you've done? Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Losing my patience, I snapped back, "I don't know what you're talking about. If you've got something to say, just say it."

Without warning, Kennard threw the papers at my face, his voice dripping with disdain. "Take a look for yourself! Our family has really hit rock bottom, seeing as we ended up with you as our daughter-in-law!"

I glanced down at the papers, and my heart skipped a beat as I saw the bold line across the top: No biological relation between the two parties.

The names at the top of the report were Kennard's and my son, Christopher Pearce's.

I looked up, finally grasping what had happened—Kennard had taken Christopher for a paternity test.

A wave of anger surged inside me, and I couldn't hold it back. "Kennard, ever since Christopher was born, you've always said he didn't look anything like Hanley. I thought you were just making small talk and never took it seriously. But Hanley never said a word! How could you sneak behind his back and drag Christopher into a paternity test? He's only three years old!"

Kennard wasn't listening. He was too enraged to care about anything I said. "What's wrong with me doing a paternity test? If I hadn't done that, I would never have known about your little secret! You'd better tell me right now—who is Christopher's father? We've been raising him for three years, and we look like fools! Hanley's too trusting, but if it weren't for me being sharp, who knows how long you would've kept this up!"

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing heart. "Kennard, I'm telling you, Christopher is Hanley's son, and he's your grandson. I didn't cheat on Hanley. This report is a mistake, and you need to look into it again."

Kennard, too furious to listen, threw his cup to the floor, shattering it. He pointed a shaking finger at me. "You're still lying! I took Christopher to the hospital myself. We had our blood drawn and tested—what, do you think I own the hospital? Do you think they'd help me fake the results? If you don't believe me, I'll retake the test with him, and you can see for yourself!"

I stayed silent, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what had gone wrong. How could Christopher not be related to Kennard?

Just then, my mother-in-law, Nicole Pearce, walked in with groceries. Seeing the tense atmosphere, she couldn't help but ask, "What's going on? I step out to buy some vegetables and come back to this mess. What's all the yelling about?"

Kennard, still fuming, snapped, "The daughter-in-law you handpicked for us is something else. We've been unknowingly raising someone else's kid for three years! I don't know what you were thinking when you chose her!"