The IVF Secret That Shook a Dynasty novel Chapter 197

She turned to look at the adjacent bed and was startled to find it empty. Joseph was gone. When had he left? The doctor had ordered him to stay on bed rest for three days. Where could he have gone?

Chaim was gone, too.

Vivica pressed a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes again. Joseph must have gotten up and taken their son with him. With the Baird family looking after Chaim, she wasn't worried, but it was strange. She felt as if she hadn't slept at all, yet she'd had that endless, vivid dream and hadn't even noticed her son leaving her side.

With her eyes closed, the dream flooded back into her mind. Connecting it to the kiss she'd shared with Joseph, her imagination began to run wild. The man in the dream… it had to be him.

A ringing phone shattered her reverie. She slowly sat up, careful not to strain her back, and reached for her phone. It was Quintina.

"Hello, Quintina…"

"Vivica, are you up?" Quintina asked.

"Yeah, just got up. What's wrong?"

"The DNA results for you and your mother came in," Quintina said, getting straight to the point. Before Vivica could even ask, she delivered the news. "There's no biological relationship. She isn't your birth mother."

Vivica's hand, clutching the phone, trembled. Her mouth fell open as she stared into space. She really wasn't a Lynn.

"I actually got the results last night," Quintina continued, "but I didn't want to tell you then. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to sleep."

Vivica's expression shifted, a complex storm of emotions brewing within her. She couldn't tell if she felt grief or relief.

"Vivica? Vivica, are you there?" Quintina's voice was filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Vivica managed, her voice barely a whisper.

If Evelyn wasn't her mother, then who was? And who was her father? If Zebulon wasn't her father either, how did she end up with the Lynn family? Where were her real parents? The questions swirled in her mind, a dizzying, painful vortex.

The door to the hospital room opened, but she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to it and didn't notice.

Joseph walked in and saw her sitting there, staring blankly at the floor. Her slender back was slightly hunched, her entire posture radiating a profound sadness and loneliness.

He walked toward her slowly. When he got closer and realized her shoulders were shaking, he frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice low. He wondered if she was still upset about the kiss, still hurt and angry.

His voice startled her. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and lost, as if she'd been abandoned by the entire world. The sight struck a chord deep inside him, tightening his chest.

"What happened?" Joseph asked again, taking another step closer, his concern evident.