“Your mother and I met one night, and it was only one night. She dropped you off when you were days old and Mel had just miscarried. It wasn’t a great situation, but Mel said that it was meant to be. She would have my baby, and there was no doubt that it was mine.” He cleared his throat. “That you were mine.” He shifted in his chair. “I didn’t know that those DNA reports were still around, but when you mentioned the Volunteer Project, I knew that they would do more tests and dredge it back up.” He leaned forward. “Mel is your mother. Never doubt that, but that other woman, Emily, she just gave birth to you and abandoned you. You owed Mel. You owed us for staying with you, for raising you.” Cleo sighed and waved at the screen. It shut off. “Don’t you want to see the rest?” She rubbed her forehead. “No. I wanted to know. I know. I am sure that the Alliance is stalking my birth mother in an effort to find another Lrrko offspring to bargain with.”
