*Chapter 14:
The Results*
48 hours is not long.
But when you’re waiting to lose everything, it’s forever.
Jane didn’t sleep.
She didn’t work.
She called in sick to Sterling Corp and sat on the floor of the bedsit with the twins between her legs, braiding Aria’s hair and reading to Aiden.
Grandma made soup no one ate.
The court envelope sat on the table. Unopened.
The lab appointment was in 3 hours.
*10:00 AM - The Lab, Camden*
White walls. Cold chairs.
A nurse with kind eyes and a needle.
“Just a quick swab, sweetie,” she said to Aiden.
Aiden looked at Jane. “Will it hurt?”
“No, baby,” Jane whispered. “Be brave for Mommy.”
Then Aria. Giggling through it.
“Did I do good, Mommy?”
“You did perfect,” Jane said, kissing her forehead.
They walked out without looking back.
Jane’s phone buzzed the second they hit the sidewalk.
*Mira*: _Mr. Sterling requests a meeting. Today. 4 PM. His office._
Jane didn’t answer.
*3:58 PM - Sterling Tower, 52nd Floor*
Ryan was standing at the window again.
He hadn’t sat down in hours.
Mira walked in. Held out a folder. Sealed.
“Results just came in, sir.”
Ryan didn’t take it. “Read it.”
Mira opened it. Her hands were steady.
“Paternity test: Aiden James Miller. 99.99% probability. Biological father: Ryan Alexander Sterling.”
She flipped the page.
“Aria Rose Miller. 99.99% probability. Biological father: Ryan Alexander Sterling.”
The room went quiet.
Outside, London traffic.
Ryan closed his eyes.
_Twins._
_My twins._
“Where is she?” he asked quietly.
“She didn’t confirm the meeting,” Mira said. “But she’s at her apartment. With her grandmother.”
“Get the car,” Ryan said. “Now.”
*4:30 PM - The Bedsit*
The knock was loud.
Three times.
Jane opened the door and there he was.
No suit. No lawyers. Just Ryan.
And he was holding the folder.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
Jane stepped aside.
The bedsit was tiny. Toys on the floor. Crayon on the wall. Laundry drying on a rack.
It smelled like soup and baby shampoo.
Aiden and Aria were at the small table, coloring.
They looked up when Ryan walked in.
Aiden froze.
Aria tilted her head.
Ryan crouched down. Slow. Like they were wild animals.
“Hi,” he said. His voice was rough. “I’m... I’m Ryan.”
Aiden didn’t answer.
Aria said, “You have my eyes.”
Ryan’s throat closed.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I think I do.”
Grandma stood in the kitchen, arms crossed.
Jane stood by the door.
Ryan stood up. Looked at Jane.
“They’re mine,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
Jane nodded. Once.
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the last time I saw you, I was running out of a room I was drugged in,” Jane said. Quiet, but it cut. “Because your family tried to destroy me. Because I was scared you’d take them.”
Ryan flinched.
“I would never—”
“You don’t get to say that,” Jane cut him off. “You don’t get to walk in here after 5 years and say that.”
Aiden slid off his chair and went to Jane. Grabbed her leg.
Aria did the same.
Ryan looked at them. Then at Jane.
“I’m not here to take them,” he said. “I’m here to be their father.”
Jane laughed. Bitter. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“Then let me prove it,” Ryan said. “Joint custody. You and me. No court. No lawyers. We figure it out. Together.”
Grandma scoffed. “And what? We move into your penthouse? Play happy family?”
“No,” Ryan said. “We do it here. In London. I’ll get an apartment in the same building. I’ll pay for everything. School. Doctors. Whatever you need. But I get to see them. Every day.”
Jane stared at him.
This wasn’t the man from that night.
This was a man with tired eyes and shaking hands.
“Why now?” Jane asked.
“Because I saw him,” Ryan said, nodding at Aiden. “And I couldn’t unsee it. Because I’ve spent 5 years feeling empty and I didn’t know why.”
The room was silent.
Only the sound of the twins breathing.
Finally, Jane said, “You don’t get full access. Not yet. Supervised visits. Here. Twice a week.”
Ryan nodded immediately. “Okay.”
“And if you hurt them,” Jane said, “or if you try to take them from me, I will disappear. And you will never find us.”
“I understand,” Ryan said.
He looked at Aiden and Aria again.
“Can I... can I say hi before I go?”
Jane hesitated. Then nodded.
Ryan knelt again.
“Hey. I’m really glad to meet you. Both of you.”
Aria studied him. “Are you our dad?”
The question hit Ryan like a truck.
He looked at Jane. She gave the smallest nod.
“Yeah,” Ryan said, voice breaking. “I think I am.”
Aria smiled. Big.
Aiden didn’t. He just watched. Serious. Like his father.
*6:00 PM - Leaving*
Ryan stood at the door.
“I’ll be back Thursday. 5 PM. If that works.”
Jane nodded.
He paused. “Jane. I’m sorry. For that night. For everything.”
Jane didn’t answer. She just closed the door.
The second it shut, she slid down to the floor and cried.
Not from fear.
From relief. And terror. And everything in between.
Grandma sat next to her. “You did good, baby.”
Upstairs, a car engine started.
Ryan Sterling drove away from the only home his children had ever known.
With a folder in his lap that said: _Father._