He exhaled, visibly steadying himself. “I know it sounds crazy. I didn’t come looking for this. But the timing… your age… it all lines up. And when I looked at you, I didn’t just see Evelyn. I saw… me. Too much of me.” Lucas’s expression didn’t shift—but his body tensed. “I don’t know anything for certain,” Daniel said softly. “But if there’s even a chance—”
He hesitated, then finished the sentence that had been sitting heavy on his chest: “I think I might be your father.” The words dropped like a stone in a still pond. Lucas took a step back. He didn’t trip, but he might as well have. His whole body felt like it had shifted, disoriented by gravity. “What?” His voice was barely above a whisper.