Chapter 784
Evelyn sagged further, nodding between ragged sobs. “She knows.”
Teresa frowned. “How? Who told her?” She hadn’t even decided how to tell Jennifer yet.
Evelyn choked out, “The police summoned Jennifer. They’ve already taken DNA samples from her and Peggy. If it proves she’s Peggy’s daughter,” Evelyn gasped, “it’ll seal Peggy’s guilt–abandonment and baby–swapping.”
Teresa inhaled sharply. “Jennifer? She agreed to the test?”
“Yes, she did,” Evelyn confirmed.
“How could she agree with it?” asked Teresa.
Evelyn recounted Jennifer’s collapse, the venom Peggy had spat–every hateful syllable.
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“She took the test and left for Nareigh. She must be shattered.” Evelyn dissolved into tears again. “I’m terrified, Teresa! Terrified she’ll do
something drastic. She’s always been so extreme.
“Oh, how I wish she were mine by blood! But even if she isn’t, in here?” Evelyn pressed a hand to her heart. “She is my daughter. My Hannah.”
Teresa froze, dread coiling cold in her stomach. Jennifer had told Teresa more than once that she didn’t want to live anymore. What if…? The
unspoken question hung between them, terrifyingly real.
“I need to make a call,” Teresa blurted, turning to leave, and bumped straight into Jonathan outside the door.
Jonathan steadied her, his hands firm on her shoulders, his gaze instantly sharpening at her pallor. “Where are you going?”
“Jonathan!” Relief washed over her. She gripped his arm like an anchor. “Call Donald. Now. Tell him to find Jennifer. She’s back in Nareigh. I… I don’t know her state of mind. I’m scared she might…” Teresa couldn’t finish, the image of Lucas too fresh.
Jonathan’s hand closed firmer around her wrist. His expression was grim. “Teresa, she cut you out. Why does her well–being still matter to you? She dug this hole herself.”
“I know!” Teresa’s voice cracked with frustration. “But she’s no murderer. Does she deserve to die for this? Look at Lucas. If Jennifer also…” She choked, the thought unbearable. “What about Mom? How could she survive that? I just… I want my family whole.”
Jonathan studied her face, the pain in his eyes deepening. “You still see her as your sister,” he murmured, a statement, not a question.
A weary resignation settled over him. “Alright. I’ll call him. But please, no more tears.” He’d move mountains to shield her, to keep her world
intact. Her pain was his own.
Teresa took a shaky breath, finding a sliver of calm. “I just… I need her to be alive.” The past was a minefield of hurts. Closeness with Jennifer was impossible. That was their reality. But she still hoped that Jennifer would live well.
Jennifer spent the endless night in Jarisburg Airport’s harsh fluorescent glow. Having missed her flight, she’d rebooked for the morning. Sleep was impossible. She sat frozen in a chair, hours bleeding into one another in a numb haze.
The glittering city outside–a beacon for millions–felt like a prison she desperately needed to escape.
Boarding felt like moving through thick fog. Staff guided her numb form onto the plane. The flight passed in a blur of engine hum and sterile light. She blinked, and the familiar landscape of Nareigh unfolded below.
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Chapter 784
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Home The word echoed hollowly in her mind. Nareigh Airport teemed with life–reunions, greetings, bustling purpose–yet she stood utterly alone. No welcoming face. The morning sun felt cold. The loneliness was a physical ache, a vast emptiness echoing around her.
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Mechanically, she pulled out her phone. Her thumb hovered over Donald’s name. She hesitated, debating whether or not to call him. Then–a vibration. His name flashed on the screen. It felt like fate had read her mind.
“Donald?” Her voice was small, tentative, disbelief warring with desperate hope.
There was a beat of silence. Then he asked, his voice familiar yet strained, “Are you alright?”
Hearing him shattered her fragile composure. Tears spilled over instantly. ‘No. I’m breaking. Help me! The words burned her tongue. But the chasm between them–they were already in the cooling–off period–stopped her.
No more confessions. No more leaning on him. She forced the lie out, layering calm over the chaos within. “I’m okay. Why did you call me suddenly?” she asked quietly, trying to sound casual.
“It was Teresa and Jonathan. They said you might not be doing well and asked me to keep you company.”
Fresh tears scalded her cheeks. ‘Teresa, I’ve treated you so badly. Why do you even bother caring about me?‘ she thought. A wave of self- loathing crashed over her.
She’d pushed away everyone who ever cared–family, Donald. The weight of her past actions was crushing. But she understood it too late. Far too late.
Jennifer clutched the shreds of her pride. “It’s nothing. Just a trip to Jarisburg. Alone.” Her voice hitched. “I’m tired. I…”
The unspoken confession that she missed him lodged like a stone in her throat. She missed him so much, but she didn’t have the right to say it anymore.
The silence stretched. Donald finally broke it. “Your mother, did you find her?”
Jennifer swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, forcing detachment into her voice. “No. I didn’t find her. It doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t care.”
“How can you not care?” Donald sounded genuinely perplexed. “She’s your blood. Wasn’t finding her all you wanted?”
“Some things aren’t worth holding onto.” She couldn’t bear Donald knowing the depth of her mother’s shame. Or perhaps, she still had a flicker of hope. ‘Maybe it’s a mistake. Maybe it’s not her. Maybe someone else?‘
Donald sighed softly. “Alright. Just take it slow.”
“Yeah…” Her voice was barely audible. “I will.”
Another pause, heavier this time. “Well, if you’re okay, I should hang up.” His voice was gentle but final. “We’re not… in that place anymore.”
“Okay. I understand.” She ended the call before he could hear her break. Then, her legs gave way. She sank to the cold floor, face buried, shoulders shaking with silent, racking sobs. ‘He’s gone. My Donald, gone.’
All that remained was the hollow wait for the divorce papers–the official end of her right to even exist in his world.
The phone buzzed again, sharp and insistent against the silence. A Jarisburg number. Dread pooled in Jennifer’s stomach. Hand trembling, she swiped to answer. “H–hello? Jennifer Nelson speaking.” Her voice wavered.
“Ms. Nelson. This is regarding the DNA test between you and Peggy Davis.
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