Twin Cupids at Work Daddy Come Home novel Chapter 500

Madeline narrowed her eyes. “Funny. Everything you’re saying sounds exactly like what I should be saying.”

They stared each other down, neither one backing off, their confidence and determination perfectly matched.

The three elders exchanged uncertain glances, clearly caught off guard by the tense standoff.

Maxwell’s voice cut through the silence, deeper and more serious than before. “Ladies, one of you is pretending to be someone you’re not. I suggest you come forward now. If you admit the truth, you can leave peacefully. But if we have to find out ourselves, the Ballard family won’t be so forgiving.”

Claire didn’t flinch. She looked completely at ease, calm and self-assured. Madeline, for her part, was just as unbothered.

Then Claire spoke up, her tone steady and clear. “Hudson already told me everything on the way here. I’m the one you’ve been searching for. I am Madeline, the daughter Shelly gave birth to when she was with the Monroe family. As for this woman, I don’t even know where she came from, pretending to be me. Miss, if you know what’s good for you, you should just leave. A fake will never become the real thing.”

Madeline’s eyes narrowed even further as she nodded. “You’re right. A fake will never be real.”

Claire caught the warning in Madeline’s words and let a small, barely-there smile play at the corner of her lips.

A fake could never become real… but if she could get rid of the real one, then wouldn’t she be the only one left?

Claire turned back to the elders. “Since it’s so hard to tell us apart, why not bring my mother out? We can do a DNA test and settle this.”

She offered the suggestion in a relaxed way, totally confident. She’d already managed to get a sample of Madeline’s blood, so a DNA test didn’t scare her at all.

At worst, the test would show both of them were Shelly’s daughters. But she had other evidence, even stronger, to prove she was the real Madeline.

The elders frowned, clearly troubled by the proposal.

Maxwell glanced at both of them. “That’s not something we can share.”

He didn’t know which one of them was telling the truth, and Shelly’s secrets weren’t for outsiders.

Claire didn’t ask again, but her hand clenched tightly at her side.

“If my mother isn’t here, would a keepsake she left behind be enough to prove I’m the real Madeline?” Claire looked at the elders, her eyes steady.

“Are you talking about a pendant?” one of them asked.

Claire nodded. “Yes, that’s the one.”