Chapter 3

George Thompson stepped forward, a smug look on his face.

"Well, that's settled then. Sarah, perhaps it's best if you leave now. This is a family reunion."

Sarah smiled, a small, chilling curve of her lips.

"Oh, I don't think so, George. The party isn't over. In fact, it's time for the real truth."

She gave a subtle nod towards the entrance.

The doors opened again. This time, two attendants entered, pushing a young man in a wheelchair. Another young man walked beside him, his movements jerky, his eyes unfocused. He made soft, distressed moaning sounds.

The young man in the wheelchair, Cody, looked directly at Mark and Brenda. His resemblance to Brenda was striking. Tyler, the other young man, also shared her features, though distorted by his condition.

"Mark, Brenda," Sarah's voice cut through the stunned silence. "Meet Cody and Tyler Thompson. Your actual biological sons."

Mark's face went white. Brenda recoiled as if struck.

"No! That's impossible! Those aren't... they can't be ours!" Brenda shrieked.

"Oh, but they are," Sarah said, her voice like ice. She produced a set of notarized documents from her clutch. "DNA test results. Conclusive. You, Mark, are their father. And you, Brenda, are their mother."

She handed copies to a gaping Mark and a trembling Brenda. The Thompsons stared, horrified.

"Let me explain," Sarah continued, her voice resonating in the suddenly silent room. "Eighteen years ago, when you faked your deaths to escape your responsibilities and debts, I discovered something interesting. Brenda, you had just given birth to twins. Cody and Tyler."

She paused, letting the words sink in.

"They already showed signs of serious health issues. Cody, a congenital condition affecting his mobility. Tyler, severe developmental problems. You, Mark, and you, Brenda, had planned to abandon them. Leave them at a hospital, disappear without a trace."

Mark started to protest, but Sarah silenced him with a look.

"Shortly after your 'deaths,' I discovered I was pregnant. With twins. My own healthy babies."

She looked at Alex and Ben, her eyes softening for a moment.

"So, I made a decision. A long-term plan. I swapped them. I publicly claimed to be raising Mark and Brenda's 'orphaned' twins – who were actually Alex and Ben, my sons, conceived with a sperm donor after I knew you were truly gone from my life, Mark."

Alex and Ben gasped, looking at Sarah with dawning understanding.

"Cody and Tyler," Sarah gestured to the two young men, "your real children, I placed in a high-quality, private long-term care facility. It was funded by your life insurance policy, Mark, the one I controlled. I told the facility they were distant relatives of mine, with no other guardians. I've overseen their care from a distance ever since, ensuring they had everything they needed."

Alex stepped forward, his eyes blazing, no longer with confusion, but with fierce loyalty. Ben was right beside him, flanking Sarah.

"You protected us," Alex said, his voice thick with emotion. "And them."

Sarah nodded. "I did what I had to do."