Chapter 26 Chapter 26
“So what happens now?” Iris asked. Her phone began to ring. It was her four adoptive brothers; their mother must have told them. “Sorry, I’ll be right back, it's my teenage and preteenaged brothers.”
Iris stepped away from the group, her portfolio still clutched protectively against her side as she answered the call. Her brothers' voices tumbled over each other in an excited cacophony that was both familiar and comforting amid the day's chaos.
"Is it true?" Buck demanded, his fifteen-year-old voice cracking with excitement.
"Are you really a rich person?" Finn added, clearly fighting his twin for possession of the phone.
In the background, Iris could hear the younger twins, Jakob and Nikolaus, shouting questions of their own. The normal Maxwell household chaos transported her momentarily away from the tension of the library.
"Guys, calm down," she said, a genuine smile crossing her face for the first time since this ordeal began. "Mom shouldn't have told you until I had a chance to process this myself."
"But you're famous now!" Nikolaus's voice carried clearly even without the phone. "Can we come visit your mansion?"
Iris sighed, glancing back at the table where both families waited. "I don't have a mansion, Nik. And nothing's changing right now. I'm still your sister."
"But with rich parents," Jakob pointed out with eleven-year-old practicality. "Do they have a swimming pool?"
The simple, childish questions grounded Iris in a way nothing else could have. While the adults at the table calculated implications and strategies, her brothers cared only about swimming pools and whether she'd still be home for Finn's hockey tournament next month.
"I have to go," she told them, her voice softening. "I love you guys. I'll call later with more details."
"Love you too," came the chorus of young male voices before the call ended.
At the table, Richard Lawson watched Iris's expression soften as she spoke with her adoptive brothers. A complicated emotion twisted in his chest, gratitude that his daughter had been loved, mingled with grief for all the moments he had missed. He would never hear "Dad" spoken in that tone of familiar affection, at least not from the daughter he had searched for twenty years to find.
Helga Kennedy observed the interaction with calculating precision. The girl's attachment to her adoptive family could complicate matters, but might also provide leverage if properly exploited. Julius caught his wife's expression and frowned slightly, recognising the familiar signs of her machinations.
"Helga," he murmured, too low for the others to hear, "tread carefully here."
Tony watched as Iris returned to the table, noting that the call with her brothers had restored some of her equilibrium. The Iris he knew, practical, determined, self-possessed, was reasserting herself after the shock of the DNA results.
"Sorry about that," Iris said as she rejoined them. "My brothers just heard the news from my mom."
"No apology necessary," Richard said warmly. "It's good that you have such a close family."
Theodore nodded in agreement. "We would love to meet them all. Perhaps they could join our family for Christmas? I know I’d like to meet the brothers who have been doing our jobs to keep boys away.”
Iris felt a strange flutter in her chest at Theodore's words. The idea of her boisterous Maxwell brothers meeting these polished, serious Lawson men created an almost comical image in her mind. Yet something was touching about Theodore's immediate inclusion of her adoptive family.
"That's very kind," she said carefully, "though I think everyone needs time to adjust to this news before planning holidays."
Richard nodded, understanding her caution. "Of course. We've had twenty years to hope for this moment. You've had less than an hour to process it."
Bryce couldn't contain his excitement despite his attempts at professional demeanour. "But you will consider visiting the family home? Mother would..." He stopped abruptly, emotion overwhelming him. "Our mother has waited so long to see you."
The mention of Dianne Lawson, her biological mother, sent a jolt through Iris. Somehow, in the chaos of the revelation, she hadn't fully processed that finding her birth father meant finding her birth mother as well. A woman who had carried her, given birth to her, and then lost her on the same day.
"Your mother," Iris said softly, testing the concept. "Does she know about this meeting?"
Richard's weathered face softened with a complicated mixture of love and pain. "Not yet. After so many disappointments over the years, I didn't want to give her false hope. But I'll call her as soon as we're finished here."
Across the table, Helga Kennedy assessed the shifting dynamics with shrewd calculation. The girl, Roxanne Lawson, regardless of what she called herself, clearly held all the power in this situation. Both Richard and his sons were desperate for her acceptance, which meant they would likely agree to almost any terms she set.
"Perhaps," Helga suggested smoothly, "what Miss Maxwell needs most right now is space to process this revelation. Along with the assurance that both families are prepared to support her continued education and career aspirations."
Tony shot his mother a suspicious look, recognising the strategic shift in her approach. Now that Iris's identity was confirmed, Helga was pivoting from acquisition to alliance, a classic Kennedy maneuver.
"My mother is right about one thing," Tony said, carefully choosing his words. "Iris needs space to process all of this. Without pressure from any of us." He looked directly at his parents as he emphasised the last sentence.
Julius Kennedy studied his son with newfound respect. Tony had never directly challenged them before, certainly not in a business context. His obvious feelings for the Lawson girl had awakened something in him, a backbone Julius hadn't been certain existed.
"Antony is quite right," Julius agreed, placing a restraining hand on Helga's arm. "This is a family matter for the Lawsons and the Maxwells. Our presence is no longer appropriate."
Helga's perfectly manicured nails dug slightly into her palm, the only outward sign of her frustration at Julius's retreat.