Chapter 197
The elevator doors slid shut. Lillian’s eyes widened. "Dad, who was that aunt?"
Hayden hesitated. "She's... a stranger, sweetheart."
Lillian frowned. "A stranger?"
"Someone we don't know," Hayden explained patiently. "Mommy and Daddy don't know her either."
Lillian's face brightened. "Oh! I get it!"
Stacey's arms ached from holding Kevin. She set him down gently. Hayden did the same with Lillian. "Staying in Nostralis a few more days?" he asked.
Stacey nodded. "Amusement park tomorrow with the kids."
Hayden smiled. "Have fun. I'll take you to meet Mr. Fraley the day after."
"Okay," Stacey replied.
Hayden left after seeing them to their room. Stacey wanted to invite him in, but he declined politely. "Need to follow up on some things from the product launch," he said.
Stacey closed the door, her thoughts immediately turning to Eugene – Mr. Fraley. She rushed to her computer, eager to learn more.
As she began her research, social media exploded with news about Janet, the actress. Headlines screamed: "Janet's Not a Mitchell!" "Janet and Becky are Sisters!" "Becky Divorced Because of Janet!" "Becky Abused by the Mitchells!"
Stacey initially ignored it, until frantic calls from Lynn and Charlie urged her to look. She logged on, overwhelmed by the torrent of articles and videos. "Janet isn't a Mitchell?" she whispered, disbelief flooding her.
An online essay, filled with photos and reports, detailed the story. Over twenty years ago, Gary and Karen Mitchell's IVF attempt failed. Their doctor mistakenly implanted the embryo of another couple, Fraser and Goldie Levine, into Karen.
Nobody would have known, except that Fraser and Goldie's own IVF attempt, after their initial failure, resulted in a son, Derek. A year ago, Derek needed a kidney transplant. Remembering their relative's jokes about Janet resembling them, they investigated.
Desperate, they collected Janet's DNA – hair and a toothbrush from her hotel room, posing as cleaners. The paternity test confirmed: Janet was their daughter.
Further investigation revealed the mix-up at the fertility clinic. The ensuing conflict between the Levines and the Mitchells culminated in a paternity test confirming Janet's true parentage.
The Mitchells were humiliated, becoming the subject of gossip. The gossip centered on Rebecca, their adopted daughter, and Stacey, the daughter they’d lost for twenty years, now reunited with the Carters. Why had Becky, now Stacey, changed her name? Was she ungrateful?
A popular blogger’s serialized essays detailed the Mitchells' treatment of Becky. The former nanny testified to beatings, food deprivation, and leaving Becky to shiver in the cold without blankets. Stacey opened the next installment.