Chapter 57

Evelyn couldn't deny the lie. Even if she knew the man from six years ago was Nathan, she couldn't accept it.

The children getting close to him would give Vivian an opening to strike.

Liam turned to look at her. "Mommy, why are you scared of us being near that man?"

Evelyn didn’t answer. Was she afraid Nathan would discover they were his children? Or was she terrified of what Laura and Vivian might do to them?

"Mommy, your eyebrows are furrowed inward. That means you're anxious or confused." Liam tilted his head. "Is he related to us?"

She denied it instantly. "No, you're not!"

Liam shrugged. "Your tone says otherwise. You're guilty."

Evelyn froze.

How could she forget? This boy had traded fairy tales for psychology books before he could even read properly. She could fool Caleb and Daisy, but never Liam.

She exhaled sharply, forcing calm. Time to redirect. "Let's order takeout. How about lobster?"

Daisy, who had been wailing dramatically, sat up instantly. "Yes!"

Liam and Caleb exchanged glances. Their sister was embarrassingly easy to bribe.

The next day, at Goldmann Group—

Oliver handed Nathan the report from the Bureau of Justice. When Nathan opened it, his expression darkened.

Oliver swallowed hard. "Mr. Goldmann... the results?"

Nathan set the document down after a long pause.

Oliver picked it up. The test was negative—no biological relation.

He sighed in relief. "See? They’re not yours. Just a coincidence."

Maybe the boss just had baby fever.

Nathan tapped the paper. "Look at the date."

Oliver frowned, checking the upper corner. That wasn’t from their visit. It was two days prior.

"This isn’t your report!" Oliver blanched. "How could the bureau mess up like—"

Nathan cut him off with a cold laugh. "You think this was a mistake?"

Oliver stiffened. No way. The bureau didn’t make errors like this.

If not a mistake, then someone had switched the results.

Only he and Nathan had known about the test.

"Mr. Goldmann, this report—"

"Leave it." Nathan’s voice was icy. "Run another test in Cornelia. Discreetly."

Oliver nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait."

Oliver paused. "Yes, sir?"

Nathan’s gaze lingered on the falsified document. "Let the news leak. Watch who interferes. If they did it once, they’ll do it again."

Evelyn walked into the office, passing whispers from clustered employees.

"Did you hear? Mr. Goldmann might have secret kids. The resemblance is uncanny."

"Who’s the woman? Definitely not Ms. Vanderbilt. Why else would he get a paternity test?"