No, Dr. Blanchard was wrong-this was no lucky coincidence. This was utter disaster. The worst timing in the world. A catastrophe. And the case was anything but closed.

Dr. Blanchard shook Ian's hand again. "I'm sorry to put you through this, Ian. Glad your good name is cleared." He looked at us. "Nice to meet you two."

He disappeared back into his office, leaving the rest of us in stunned, awkward silence. Tessa went back to her desk and ostensibly back to work. Though I had the feeling she was still spying on us.

Ian walked over and unlocked his office door, studying Seth the entire time. "Let's talk. Come on in. I'd like to get to know my sister's boyfriend." He ushered us into his office. "Tessa, I don't want to be disturbed."

Which elicited a most curious look from her. It was like he'd issued a challenge to her sense of curiosity.

Ian locked the door behind him. The three of us stood staring at each other. The two guys I loved most in the world were looking at me with hurt and questions in their eyes.

"Well, looks like your meeting went well," I said. "Good that's all cleared up. Mistaken ident.i.ty, who knew?"

"Maddie, you had something urgent to tell me?" Ian pointed to Seth. "I take it this is it?"

I nodded lamely and tried to smile.

Seth was deathly quiet, the kind of quiet that usually indicates rage. The scary quiet. Ian seemed to be taking things better, so I engaged with him first. "Ian-"

"You're dating a guy who looks just me. I guess I should be flattered?"

"Ian." I screwed up my courage. This was where my world could fly apart. One way or the other, I was doomed. "This is Seth Butler. His dad is Rick Butler?"

I studied my older brother, looking for glimmers of recognition.

"Butler?" Ian c.o.c.ked his head like he was thinking and trying to place the name. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

I nodded. I prompted him. "His dad dated our mom in college?"

I glanced helplessly between Seth and Ian. Surely Seth had to be piecing this all together by now? But what in the world was he doing here in the first place?

The two guys sized each other up.

Ian looked suddenly uncertain, like things were beginning to dawn on him.

"Ian, I think..." I took a deep breath, feeling sick inside. "I believe..." Tears formed in my eyes.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. This wasn't how Olivia and I had rehea.r.s.ed things.

"I think you two are brothers." I spat the words out as fast as I could.

There. I'd said it.

The words hung in the air, undigested for a second.

"s.h.i.t!" Seth was wearing his beanie. He pulled it lower on his head with a nervous gesture. "You really do look like Dad."

Ian ran his hand through his hair and studied Seth as if he was scrutinizing his own reflection in the mirror.

"I don't know for sure," I said, ping-ponging my gaze between them, looking for signs of hope. "It's all circ.u.mstantial. All the evidence just sort of piled up bit by bit."

I was pleading with them, but neither one of them was listening.

Seth turned to me, hurt shining in his eyes. "How long have you known? Why didn't you tell me? Were you using me for fun? How could you, Maddie?"

He turned abruptly on his heel and stormed out.

"Seth! Wait! I can explain." I started after him.

Ian grabbed my arm. "Let him go."

I started bawling.

Ian shut and locked the door again and pulled me into his arms, cooing to me like I was still his baby sis. "It's okay. He needs time to process. Give him a little s.p.a.ce. He'll come back."

He guided me to a chair and gently sat me in it, and poured me a gla.s.s of water from his water cooler.

He handed it to me. "Drink this."

"Water, it cures everything." I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and sniffed.

Ian handed me a tissue. "Water is calming."

He pulled up a chair next to me.

"Are you okay?" I said through my sniffles. "This isn't the way I wanted you to find out. I didn't ask Seth to come here today. I don't know why he was here." I wiped my eyes. "I was going to tell you and ask your advice about what we should do and how I should tell Seth."

Ian nodded.

"You're taking this well," I said.

He nodded. "I'm not completely surprised. I mean, I am totally surprised that my sister is dating my brother."

"Yeah, that's crazy," I said. "Completely insane. A trick played by fate. Almost Oedipal."

"Not quite." He took my hand between his. "You and he aren't blood related." He stated it as simple fact. "I'm not surprised that I have a brother or that Dad isn't my biological dad. I've known he wasn't for a while now."

"That's why you came here," I finished for him. "That's what you hinted at, about finding out more about Mom and Dad's story."

"I always knew you were bright, sis." He squeezed my hand.

"What made you suspect?" I asked.

"Little things. The way I looked nothing like Dad or any of his side of the family. The way Mom treated me differently from you. The way you were Dad's obvious favorite. The stories I overheard from Mom's sister and from Grandma about how surprised they were when she married Dad. That he didn't seem like her type. That she'd never mentioned him during the school year and the courtship was so quick. About how the quiet ones could surprise you, but he never seemed the type to knock a girl up. And hadn't she been so crazy about that frat boy? What had happened between them? Why didn't she act all gaga like that about Bruce? Maybe she'd grown up and gotten past the silly stage.

"The way Mom and Dad never talked about college or how they met. When asked, they were totally vague." He paused, looking thoughtful. "You know how a lot of little kids think they're adopted? Even ones who aren't?"

I nodded.

"I've had that feeling forever, that I was adopted."

I nodded. Ian and I were both intuitive that way. In fact, my feeling about this semester being life-changing was right on target. Just not in the way I'd thought it would be.

"Then one time I overheard Grandma speculating to her sister, Great-Aunt Rebecca, about how she'd always wondered if I really was Bruce's son. That sealed it for me. I was positive I was half adopted. That I wasn't Dad's." He hesitated again. "I have a confession. I did something crazy, Mads."

I looked at him, surprised. "What?"

"I had a paternity test run on myself."

I was sure my eyes went wide. I was stunned. "What?"

He nodded.

"When? How? Dad is...gone."

He looked apologetically at me. "A few years ago. You can't tell Mom. I just had to know. I got a DNA sample from Uncle Will. The paternal DNA can be matched to a male relative. If he was my blood uncle, we'd share the same male DNA from our Y chromosome."

"And you didn't?"

"No."

I was dumbfounded. "Dad's brother agreed to that? How did you approach him? How did you talk him out of it? And swear him to secrecy?"

He shrugged. "I didn't ask him. I stole it."

I just stared at my brother, in awe of him. "Like, pulled a hair out of his head?"

"Something like that." He looked like he was trying not to grin over his cleverness.

"And kept it a secret for years?"

He nodded.

"And didn't tell me?"

He shook his head.

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

He looked almost guilty. "No. Not unless I had to. Bruce raised me like his own. He claimed me. He's the only dad I've ever known. He is my dad. He didn't want anyone to know I wasn't his biological son. I felt I owed him that respect and loyalty." His eyes misted over. "I loved him, too, Mads."

Fresh tears welled in my eyes. I realized something else. "I'm only your half-sister."

"You're my sister. Period." He paused and looked at once hopeful and sheepish. "Do I have any others?"

I smiled through my tears at him. "If you're hoping for a better sister, you're going to be disappointed. If I'm right about Rick Butler being your dad, I'm the only one. And, by the way, he was a frat boy. Just another bit of corroborating evidence." I bit my lip. "You had another half-brother besides Seth."

"Had?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry. He pa.s.sed away years ago. When he was twelve." I hesitated. "He was almost exactly your age."

Ian took a minute to take that in. "My suspected father got two girls pregnant at once?"

I nodded. "And, from what I've pieced together, married the first one who told him she was going to have a baby-Seth's mom, Colleen." I took a deep breath. "I wanted to hate him, but Rick is a good guy."

"You've met him?" Ian looked surprised.

"I spent the last weekend of spring break with Seth at his dad's. Mom doesn't know. I lied to her about where I was going. I suspected things. I had to find out."

Ian whistled softly. "Now I'm impressed."

"If it's any consolation, I don't think he knows about you. That you exist at all. That Mom was ever pregnant. I don't think she told him."

"We're talking like he's a sure thing," Ian said.

"The evidence is circ.u.mstantial, but pretty monumental and convincing. I'll tell you everything I know. How this all happened. How I found out. How I started dating Seth."

I broke my hands free from his and scooted close enough to throw my arms around his neck. "Just please don't judge me. This all piled on me one bit of circ.u.mstantial evidence at a time."

"I would never judge you, baby sis. You know that." He sounded fierce and protective.

I believed him. Ian had always been my rock.

"I love Seth! I need your help to get him back. He had no idea he had another brother. No idea that brother is my brother, too. It's all such a mess."

Ian stroked my hair. "He's had a shock. He needs time. If he's really my brother, he'll come around. I've had a couple of years to digest the information that Dad wasn't my biological dad."

I gulped and nodded, trying to smile. "I have to text him and offer to explain." I felt even paler. "And warn him that Rick doesn't know about you."

"You're right," Ian said gently, seemingly unconcerned his dad might accidentally find out about him. "Text him and then we can talk. We have all day."

Chapter 18.

Seth I raced out of the room, out of the offices, out of the building. Out into the fresh, cool spring air. To the edge of the mall. I had to get away.

I ran to the parking lot and collapsed against my car. How could Maddie do this to me? How long had she known?

I have a brother. A living older brother.

The thought was startling. Did Dad know? Had he kept it from me, too?