Ethan exhaled heavily. “I know… but this isn’t the right moment.”
Hiding what?
I moved again, and the floor creaked beneath my foot.
They both turned.
Ethan’s face drained of color.
Sophia looked… scared.
“Claire?” he said, standing abruptly. “I thought you were at work.”
I didn’t respond.
I looked straight at Sophia.
“What’s going on?”
Silence filled the room.
Thick. Suffocating.
Sophia clasped her hands together and met my gaze.
“I need to tell you something.”
A cold wave ran through me.
“Then tell me.”
Ethan stepped forward. “Maybe we should wait—”
“No,” I cut in. “Now.”
Sophia took a deep breath, like someone preparing to step off a ledge.
“Before I met Ryan,” she began, “I was searching for my biological family.”
I frowned slightly, confused.
“I was adopted,” she continued. “Like Lily.”
That caught me off guard—but it still didn’t explain anything.
“A few months ago, I took a DNA test,” she said. “And I found a match.”
My chest tightened.
I glanced at Ethan.
He closed his eyes briefly.
“As in…?” I asked.
Sophia swallowed.
“A close match.”
“With who?”
She looked directly at me.
“With him.”
“With Ethan.”
Everything went still.
“No…” I whispered.