Michael and Isabel spun around at the noise. The two children’s eyes flashed with wariness and a hint of fear.

Jennifer set the fruit basket down on the table and scanned the room. She gave a gentle smile and asked Michael, “Where’s your mom and grandma?”

Michael shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “Mom and Grandma went downstairs together.”

“Oh, I see.” Jennifer couldn’t help but gently stroke Michael’s cheek. “I haven’t seen you in ages, Mike. You’ve grown so tall. How wonderful. You’re really starting to look more and more like your mom.”

Michael shrank back half a step, fear flickering in his eyes. Jennifer’s hand hovered awkwardly in the air; she clenched her fingers before pulling it back.

Jennifer gently asked, “Are you scared of me, Mike? Why is that? I really care about you and your mom.”

Seeing that Michael remained silent, Jennifer then glanced at Isabel. She smirked coldly at Isabel, who was plain and unrefined. “You must have inherited every bit from that good–for–nothing father of yours.”

Isabel didn’t understand Jennifer’s words, so Jennifer didn’t bother to explain any further. She bent down and said gently, “Mike, I’m going to find your mom and grandma now.”

The moment Jennifer left, Michael quickly shut the door. Turning to Isabel, he reassured her, “Don’t be scared, Aunt Isabel. I’ll protect you. Mom said she’ll be back really soon, okay?”

The two children went back to playing. There were two sharp knocks at the door. Thinking it was Jennifer again, neither of them dared to open the door.

The knocking resumed, louder and more insistent this time. Peering through the gap in the glass door, Isabel recognized a familiar figure and hurried to open it.

“Sanford.” Isabel’s face lit up. She recognized Sanford, who’d looked after her before. Sanford’s attention was entirely focused on Michael. At that moment, he was the only adult in the room.

Locking eyes with Michael, Sanford somehow just knew this child was Jonathan’s. It was a gut feeling only a man could have.

Sanford set Isabel down and asked Michael directly, “Little guy, your mom is Teresa, right?”

Michael grew even warier of Sanford, shaking his head before ducking behind the wall to peer at him cautiously. Sanford turned to Isabel and asked her.

Isabel nodded and said, “Yeah, he is.”

Sanford smiled and asked, “Then who’s his father?”

Isabel shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never met Mike’s dad, though.”

“Don’t rat me out, Aunt Isabel,” Michael frowned, but Sanford had already closed in on him.

Sanford loomed over Michael. Michael stared up defiantly, a flicker of fear in his clear eyes. But they refused to yield, even as tears began to well up.

Sanford’s hand shot out toward Michael’s head.

Michael finally crouched down in terror, wrapping both small hands protectively over his head. “Please don’t hurt me. I’ll be good, just don’t kill me.”

Sanford chuckled. “Why on earth would I want to hurt you?”

After yanking a few strands of Michael’s hair, Sanford quickly smoothed his hair back and said, “There, there. It doesn’t hurt. Don’t cry.”

Sanford carefully placed Michael’s hair into a small clear plastic bag. ‘A DNA test would reveal everything,’ he thought.

Teresa ran into Jennifer downstairs at the hospital. Evelyn had just gotten her turn and was waiting outside. Jennifer said, “I went to your room to look for you, but Mike said you’d gone downstairs. How did Evelyn’s checkup go?”

“Yesterday’s CT scan came back clear. She just had the MRI done, and we’ll get the results this afternoon.”

Teresa glanced at Jennifer. “So, what are you doing here?” she asked sharply. “Actually concerned about mom, or just here to visit?”