"Dad, what are you even talking about? What's happening here?"
"Claire and I have never gotten along, you know that. It's always been like this."
"Maybe deep down, we both knew we weren't really related. That's probably why we were constantly clashing at home."
Latham watched his son closely. He'd lived long enough to recognize the look in Lance's eyes, and it definitely wasn't just irritation between siblings.
"Lance, just tell me the truth. Why did you choose Claire's eighteenth birthday to bring Cindy home out of nowhere?"
"You could have waited. There was no reason to make such a scene and let everyone in on it."
"If you'd just held back, both girls could have stayed with us. Later on, we could've found someone good for Cindy to marry. That would have worked too.”
"The James family isn't rich, but it's not like we can't support two daughters."
"My plan was simple: raise both girls as our own. When the time came, their marriages could even help you in the future."
“But instead, you exposed everything that night. Everyone found out Claire isn't really a James. After that, how was I supposed to protect her?"
"Then you shipped her off to the countryside that same evening like you couldn't wait one more minute with her here."
"Is the family starving because of one more mouth to feed?"
"Or is there something else going on in that head of yours?"
Lance hadn't expected his dad to catch on so quickly. Still, he had no intention of owning up to anything.
"I just didn't want Claire taking what rightfully belonged to Cindy."
"If I hadn't told everyone, you would have kept Claire in the family, and that's just not fair to Cindy."
"She isn't one of us. Why mislead the public into thinking the James family gained another daughter?"
He sounded like he genuinely believed his own story.
Latham looked at him, unimpressed. “That last part—that's your real reason, isn't it?"
"You wanted her to leave. You wanted everyone to know she's not part of this family
at all. No one would think she was a James, or related to you in any way."
"Isn't that the truth?"
Latham's eyes locked onto his son's, searching for any hint of guilt.
Lance looked away, refusing to meet his father's gaze.
"Dad, why would you even say that?”
"When did it start?" Latham's tone was completely flat, giving nothing away.
Lance's face twitched, but he pretended not to understand. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about."
Without warning, Latham grabbed a stack of papers from his desk and threw them at Lance's face.
"When did you start having feelings for Claire?"
The corner of the papers caught Lance right at the hairline. Blood trickled down, but he didn't even bother to stop it.
"It's not like that."
"If it's not, why do any of this?"
"Have you ever watched yourself when you look at Claire?"
"That's not how a brother looks at
his
That's the way a man
looks at a woman. It's posses
It's selfish it's
Latham's breathing was heavy with anger.
"There's something wrong with you!"
"Dad!” Lance couldn't take it anymore. “Fine! I like her. I always have."
ક
family.
"I found out a long time ago she wasn't really part of this fanally, I've actually been trying to find my real sister for years."
Latham's jaw dropped. He looked at his son, stunned.
"How long have you known?"
"Since middle school," Lance
admitted, voice barely above a whisper Claire had to get her blood
tested once, and her type didn't
match yours or Mom's."
"I ended up secretly taking some of her hair and getting a DNA test done. That's
when I learned we aren't siblings."
"She's not my sister. I'm definitely your son, so that only left one answer... she's not the real daughter."