Tobias looked down at his hands. “I cannot answer that. But he deserves to face this.”
Thirty minutes later, August Rainer swept into the room with the brisk energy of a man accustomed to controlling every situation he entered. He stopped cold when he saw Jaxon. His expression held something Tobias had never seen on him. Not anger. Not annoyance. Something more vulnerable. Almost fear.
“Tobias,” August said slowly. “Explain.”
Tobias gestured toward Jaxon. “He says his mother was Mara Mirek.”
August’s face changed, though he tried to hide it. “What do you want from me,” he asked Jaxon.
Jaxon straightened. “The truth.”
August exhaled. His hands trembled slightly, though he kept them folded. “Your mother and I knew each other for a short time. She told me she was expecting. Then she vanished. Years later she contacted me asking for help. She had two infants. She insisted both were mine. A test was arranged. Before it could happen she disappeared again. After she died, I tried to locate the children. Only one adoption record existed. Tobias’s. The agency claimed they had no knowledge of a second child. I believed she had fabricated the story under stress.”
Jaxon nodded tightly. “She did not lie. I was the one who fell out of the system.”
Tobias felt every word like a blow. His life, which had always felt stable and mapped out, suddenly felt fragile.
“This can be fixed,” Tobias said softly.
August looked at both boys with an expression Tobias could not interpret. “If you are my son, I will take responsibility.”
“Words are not enough,” Jaxon replied.
“Then we will take the test,” August said.
Five days later, the results arrived. Tobias tore open the envelope in his father’s study. The city sprawled behind them in a winter haze. Jaxon stood motionless at the window. August sat stiffly on the edge of his polished desk.
Tobias read the paper slowly. “Probability of paternity. Ninety nine point nine seven percent.”
Jaxon closed his eyes, breathing in sharply. August sank into his chair.
“I am sorry,” August whispered. “I failed both of you.”
Jaxon did not answer right away. His expression flickered with pain, relief, resentment, and something that looked like exhaustion. “What now.”
August clasped his hands. “If you will accept it, I want to support you. Housing, school, whatever you need. And I want you to be part of this family.”