Chapter 1 - The Homecoming
Arthur pulled his luxury sedan into the driveway of his childhood home with a smug smile on his face.
He carried his two leather suitcases to the front porch, feeling like a man who had just won the lottery.
He fully expected his mother, Victoria, to welcome him with open arms and a warm cup of coffee.
Instead, the front door swung open before he could even knock.
Victoria stood in the doorway, her face pale and her hands trembling uncontrollably.
She did not look at his expensive suit, nor did she offer to help him with his heavy bags.
Her eyes were locked onto his face with a mixture of absolute horror and profound pity.
Arthur frowned, suddenly feeling the cold midnight air pierce through his thin jacket.
He tried to force a confident chuckle to break the suffocating silence hanging between them.
He told her that his marriage was finally over and that he was starting a beautiful new life with Brooke.
He proudly announced that he was the father of newborn twins, a son and a daughter.
Victoria did not smile, did not gasp, and did not offer him any words of congratulations.
She slowly shook her head, tears welling up in her aged eyes as she looked at her only son.
She asked him the one question he never expected to hear in his entire life.
"You mean... she never told you?"
Arthur dropped his suitcases onto the wooden porch, the heavy thud echoing in the quiet neighborhood.
He stepped forward, asking his mother what she was talking about and who was supposed to tell him what.
Victoria reached into the pocket of her cardigan and pulled out a folded piece of medical stationery.
She told him that she had found his old medical records in the attic a month ago while cleaning out his father's belongings.
She confessed that she had mailed a copy to his wife three weeks ago, hoping they could finally have an honest conversation.
Arthur snatched the paper from her shaking hands, his eyes darting across the faded, typewritten words.
The diagnosis from his teenage years stared back at him, written in cold, clinical ink.
Irreversible non-obstructive azoospermia.
The specialist had confirmed that he was completely and permanently sterile since the age of nineteen.
Arthur felt the blood drain from his face as the crushing reality of the document crushed his chest.
The twins in the hospital, the babies he had just kissed with tears of joy in his eyes, could not possibly be his.
Before he could even process the ultimate betrayal, his cell phone buzzed loudly in his pocket.
It was a text message from Brooke, glowing brightly in the dark night.
May you like
The message contained only three terrifying words.
"Run away now."
