Chapter 155
Chapter 155
BLAKE
I watched Aria's face drain of color as she answered her phone. Her hand trembled. My heart stopped. William—something had happened to William.
"Dr. Hall? Yes, I'm with Blake right now." Her voice caught. "Wait, what did you say?"
Her eyes widened, tears forming. But these weren't grief tears.
"We'll be right there."
She hung up, staring at me with shocked disbelief.
"What happened?" I demanded, grabbing her shoulders. "Is William—"
"They found a match," she whispered, voice breaking. "Dr. Hall says they found someone compatible with William's bone marrow."
The world tilted. Hope rushed back so violently it hurt.
"Who?" I managed to ask.
"He wants to tell us in person. Now."
---
We ran through the hospital halls. My mind raced. Who could it be? The registry had found nothing for months. No relatives matched. Even Victoria, who shared our blood, was only a partial match—and now couldn't donate because of her HIV.
Dr. Hall was waiting in his office, more excited than I'd ever seen him. He'd been treating William since the diagnosis and was usually much calmer.
"Mr. Morgan, Ms. Taylor, please sit down."
"Tell us who it is," I said, too impatient for pleasantries.
Dr. Hall nodded. "During routine blood work for a patient named Rebecca Mitchell—"
"Rebecca?" Aria interrupted, leaning forward. "My Rebecca from Nouvelle?"
"Yes, the same. She was admitted after a fall down stairs. During standard typing, we discovered something extraordinary. Her blood type matches yours exactly, Mr. Morgan."
Aria gripped my hand so tightly her nails dug into my skin.
"So?" I asked, not understanding.
"I ran additional tests. Her DNA shows markers consistent with being your full biological sibling. And her bone marrow compatibility with William is nearly 99.8%."
The room seemed to shrink. A sister? Could it be that my little sister has shown up?
Dr. Hall pushed a folder across his desk. "The DNA doesn't lie, Mr. Morgan. Rebecca Mitchell is almost certainly your biological sister—same mother, same father."
Aria jumped ahead of me. "Rebecca is Elizabeth's daughter? The one she thought died after birth?"
"The timeline fits," Dr. Hall confirmed. "Twenty-three years ago."
"You're saying Rebecca, who works for Aria, who Victoria pushed down stairs, is actually my lost sister? My mother's real daughter?"
Dr. Hall nodded. "And she can save William's life."
I collapsed back into my chair. A sister. A real sister. Not Victoria, my father's illegitimate daughter, but someone who—even without knowing our connection—had been kind, hardworking, loyal to Aria.
The door burst open. Victoria stood there, pale and shaking, a nurse trying to hold her back.
"I heard everything," she hissed. "This is total crap! She's not a Morgan! She's nothing but a gold-digging fraud!"
Aria stood, her eyes flashing with anger. "Victoria, this isn't about you. The tests don't lie."
"Tests can be faked! She's working you all! She planned this!"
I almost laughed. "Planned being pushed down stairs? Planned having compatible bone marrow? You're completely delusional."
Victoria turned to Aria. "She's been working for you for months! Don't you see the setup? She got into Nouvelle, got close to you, and now suddenly she's a long-lost Morgan?"
Aria's voice cut through the room. "Rebecca started at Nouvelle around three months ago. She doesn't know anything about her birth parents."
"LIES!" Victoria screamed, lunging toward Aria.
Something snapped inside me. No one threatens Aria. No one.
I intercepted Victoria with a kick that sent her flying into the wall. Blood trickled from her mouth as she slid to the floor.
"Anyone touches her, she has HIV," I announced coldly. The medical staff backed away.
Dr. Hall cleared his throat. "Mr. Morgan, Ms. Taylor, I should mention—Rebecca doesn't know any of this yet. I wanted to inform you first."
Aria nodded, straightening her shoulders. "We'll tell her. She deserves to hear it from family, not strangers."
Family. Rebecca was family. My real sister.
"Let's go," I said, taking Aria's hand without thinking. It felt right there.
Behind us, Victoria screamed and sobbed on the floor, begging not to be abandoned, crying about dying alone covered in sores. I didn't even look back.
---
Rebecca's hospital room was quiet when we arrived. Mother sat beside her bed, both of them sharing an orange. They looked... right together. Connected.
Mother looked more relaxed than I'd seen her in years. And Rebecca—despite her bandages and bruises—seemed content.
"Oh, there you are," Mother said, noticing us. "You rushed out so quickly earlier. Is everything okay with William?"
Rebecca's eyebrows drew together with concern. "The surgery didn't have complications, did it?"
Aria and I exchanged glances. How do you tell someone their entire identity is about to change?
"William is stable," Aria said carefully, her voice gentle but firm. "But we have something important to tell you, Rebecca."
"What is it?" Rebecca asked, putting down her orange slice.
I took a deep breath. "When they did your blood work, they found something unusual. Your DNA... it matches mine."
Rebecca blinked. "What does that mean?"
"It means you're my sister. My full biological sister."
Mother gasped, standing so quickly her chair fell backward.
"Blake, are you certain?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
I handed her the DNA report. Her hands shook as she read it.
"Twenty-three years ago," I told Rebecca, "my mom had a baby girl. My dad actually swapped Victoria for her. They told her the baby died. Turns out you ended up with the Mitchells."
Rebecca stared at us, her mouth open. "I'm... a Morgan?"
Mother moved to Rebecca's bedside, tears streaming down her face. "My baby," she whispered. "My little girl. I felt it the moment I met you. Something in my heart recognized you."
She pulled Rebecca into a gentle embrace, mindful of her injuries. "I've looked for you in every young woman's face for twenty-three years."
Rebecca looked overwhelmed. "So Elizabeth is my birth mother, Blake is my brother, and Aria is my..." she trailed off, looking at Aria.
"Sister-in-law," I said firmly, taking Aria's hand. "Aria is your sister-in-law."
Aria shot me a surprised look, but I held her gaze steadily. I was done pretending. William's illness, Victoria's betrayal, and now finding Rebecca—life was too short for games.
"This is... a lot," Rebecca said quietly.
"There's more," Aria said, her voice warm and caring. "Your bone marrow is compatible with William's. You could save his life."
Rebecca's eyes widened. "William is my nephew?"
I nodded. "We would never pressure you. It's your choice."
"There's no choice to make," Rebecca said immediately. "Of course I'll help William. I'd have done it even if we weren't related."
I felt something warm spread through my chest. This was my sister. My real sister.
"Rebecca," I said, voice rough with emotion, "I'm sorry you grew up without us. I'm sorry for everything Victoria did to you. But I promise you'll have everything that should have been yours all along."
"I don't want anything," she replied. "I'm just glad to have found my family."
She turned to Aria. "I should apologize to you, Aria... I never thought to get tested as a donor for William. If I had known earlier—"
"Don't," Aria interrupted, embracing Rebecca gently. "You're saving him now. That's all that matters." Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, the mother bear protecting not just her cubs but now her newfound family.
Mother wiped her tears, straightening her shoulders. "My daughter has come home."
I stepped into the hallway, signaling to my head of security. "I want a team here 24/7. No one gets near her without clearance."
Aria followed me into the hallway, her face serious. "You need to treat Rebecca well, Blake. She's been through so much already."
"I promise," I assured her. "She'll never get the Victoria treatment from me."
"Good." Aria nodded, satisfied.
"I'm going to prepare my mother's old suite for her. Victoria's room will become storage." I stepped away to make the call.
When I returned, I saw Richard, Elaine, and Olivia stepping out of the elevator. Their faces were etched with concern.
"Aria, we heard Victoria has HIV and can't donate to William anymore," Richard said anxiously.
Olivia touched Aria's arm. "William will find a match. I know it."
Aria smiled—the first genuine smile I'd seen in days. "Victoria can't donate, but Rebecca has agreed to help William."
"Rebecca?" Elaine asked, confused.
"She's actually the true Morgan daughter—Elizabeth's long-lost child. Her bone marrow is a perfect match for William."
Richard's jaw dropped. "That's more dramatic than any TV show I've ever seen."