Chapter 2

Emily was the first to arrive.

Half an hour later, she stormed into the hospital room in stilettos, followed by a young man in a loud floral shirt.

He had dyed blond hair, a thick gold chain hanging from his neck, and was chewing gum. The moment he walked in, he started checking if there was anything worth grabbing in the room.

This was Henry Quinn.

Emily had raised him for twenty-six years. He was actually Michael and Emily's biological son.

But neither Michael nor Emily knew about this yet.

Emily rushed straight to the bedside, tears streaming down her face. "Michael, how did you get so skinny? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Michael's eyes brightened for a second when he saw her. "Emmy."

The way they called each other's names was so sweet and dramatic, I swear I almost wanted to dig a hole and disappear from embarrassment.

I stood off to the side, playing along and pretending to be all teary-eyed.

After crying for a while, Emily finally remembered the real reason she came and turned to me. "Sue, you know everything now, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know."

She sighed. "I never imagined the babies would get mixed up all those years ago. Harry's had it rough with me, while Andrew had it easy with you. So, how do you think we should make things right?"

When Emily mentioned the mix-up, Michael's eyes flickered. He was probably worried Emily might let something slip.

But Emily was sharp.

She acted like she had nothing to do with it, blaming everything on fate.

Henry sat down on the couch impatiently, crossing his legs. "Mom, why are you even talking to her? I'm her real son, so she owes me a house and money, doesn't she?"

I looked at him. "What do you want?"

Henry's eyes lit up. "Hand over that big penthouse downtown, plus 3.3 million dollars. Oh, and you guys have some company stock, right? I want a cut of that too."

He got more and more excited as he spoke, reaching for an imported orange on the hospital room's coffee table. He took a bite, found it too sour, and just tossed it back into the fruit bowl.

Juice ended up splattering all over Emily's skirt.

Emily's face darkened, but she forced herself to stay gentle. "Harry's always been a bit wild, Sue. Don't mind him."

Henry shot her a glare. "Who's wild? I'm just being real. Kids from poor families have to grow up fast. I've been running the show for over twenty years, and have I gotten rich? No."

He grabbed the can of nutritional powder by the bed and checked the price tag.

Henry said, "This stuff is 270 dollars a can? When I was a kid, I had to drink leftover formula from the neighbors. You guys owe me for all the emotional damage."

Michael's forehead vein was practically throbbing.

I lowered my head, acting all sad while secretly dying to laugh.

Henry was the kind of guy who could turn any serious family reunion into a walking disaster.

He didn't need anyone else to call him out. Just opening his mouth was enough to shred the sob story Emily had tried to put on.

Emily jumped in, acting all concerned, trying to stop him. "Harry, don't say that. Sue just learned the truth, and she's feeling pretty shaken up."

Then she turned to me, her voice dripping with sweetness. "Sue, I'm just here today to get some justice. But honestly, Harry's never caught a break.

"He had to drop out of grade school to start working, and he even racked up some debt a few years ago. You're his real mom, you can't just leave him hanging, can you?"

I slowly covered my mouth.

Michael blurted out, flustered, "Emmy, don't push Susan like that."

Emily's eyes welled up with tears. "Push her? Michael, do you have any idea how hard it's been for me, raising Harry all by myself all these years? Harry is her son, I was just the one taking care of him for her, that's all."

Michael felt his heart shatter at the sight of her tears.

He looked at me, his eyes practically pleading. "Susan, Harry's had a tough time too."

I lowered my head, my shoulders shaking.

Henry snorted. "Why are you crying? You've been getting the better end of this at my mom's expense for twenty-six years, and now you're playing the victim?"

I looked up at him, tears still on my face. "So, what do you want me to do?"

Emily jumped in right away. "Let's call Andrew back first. They all need to know what's going on."

Michael, lying in bed, nodded. "Yeah, call Andrew back."

I picked up my phone and texted Andrew.

I: [Your dad's not doing well. Come home for a bit.]

Emily was staring at my phone screen, her eyes practically burning with anticipation, it was honestly kind of scary.

She thought she was about to meet her real son.

And I'd been waiting for this moment for twenty-six years.