Chapter 12 - A Stranger In The House
The doorbell of the Mercer household rang repeatedly at eight o'clock in the morning, shattering the tense silence of the empty home. Dean walked out of the master bedroom, rubbing his tired eyes and pulling on a sweatshirt over his t-shirt.
He opened the front door to find a woman in her late thirties standing on the porch holding a heavy canvas travel bag. She had short dark hair and sharp hazel eyes that looked strikingly familiar to anyone who had seen Aaron Reed’s photos.
“Are you Dean Mercer?” the woman asked, her voice sharp and direct with a noticeable Chicago accent. Dean stared at her, suddenly connecting the dots. “You must be Aaron’s sister.”
“Maya Reed,” she confirmed, stepping past him into the hallway without waiting for an invitation. “I received an urgent notification from the national registry early this morning regarding a genetic match to a critical infant named Theo.”
May you like
Dean crossed his arms over his chest, blocking the hallway leading toward the living room with an intimidating posture. “That baby is not my responsibility, and whatever business your brother had here is dead and buried.”
Maya stopped walking, turning to face Dean with an expression of cold, unyielding defiance. “I didn't come here to talk about my dead brother’s love life; I came here because my blood nephew is dying in a hospital downtown.”
