Margaret thrust the test result into Anne's hands. "Read this. The DNA test says it all. You are not Raya. You are a fraud." She raised her hand and slapped her.
Anne stumbled a step back, stunned, her hand flying to her cheek. The sting radiated like fire across her face. Her ears buzzed. Her pulse pounded. Still, she didn't react.
Her eyes dropped to the report in her hand, now slightly torn at the edge. The report confirmed it—there was no DNA match.
Everything around her seemed to fade into a haze as she stared blankly at the printed words, her mind struggling to process what they meant.
Nathan pulled Margaret aside. "Have you lost your mind? Why did you strike her? She is—"
"I want the pendant back," Margaret snapped, cutting him off mid-sentence. "That belongs to my daughter."
