Chapter 1

The wrench clicked, a satisfying sound under the Nevada sun.

Alex Miller, grease on her cheek, leaned deeper into the engine bay of a sputtering Ford F-150.

"Almost got you, old boy," she muttered, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Miller's Auto & Care wasn't fancy, but it was honest, and Alex knew every nut and bolt in the place.

Her adoptive dad, Joe, watched from the office doorway, a proud smile on his face.

"Any luck, Alex?"

"Just a sticky valve, Pop. She'll be purring in a minute."

She gave a final twist, then wiped her hands on a rag.

That's when the black Mercedes sedan, windows tinted like a secret, crunched onto their gravel driveway.

It looked like a spaceship landed in their dusty lot.

A woman stepped out, elegant, dressed in clothes that probably cost more than their shop's monthly profit.

She looked around, a little lost, a lot out of place.

Joe walked out, wiping his own hands. "Can I help you, ma'am?"

The woman' s eyes, a startling shade of blue, scanned the garage, then landed on Alex.

They stayed there, fixed.

"I'm looking for Alex Miller," the woman said, her voice quiet but clear.

Alex stepped forward, curiosity piqued. "That's me."

The woman took a breath. "My name is Eleanor Vance. And I believe... I believe I'm your biological mother."

The air in the shop suddenly felt very still.

Alex just looked at her. No gasps, no tears.

Her mind, always quick, started processing. Adopted. She knew that. The Millers told her when she turned eighteen, a gentle conversation filled with love and reassurance.

"Okay," Alex said.

Eleanor seemed surprised by the calm. "Okay?"

"Yeah. My parents told me I was adopted. So, you're saying there was no agency? It was you?"

Eleanor fumbled in her expensive handbag, pulling out a folded document.

"There was a hospital mix-up," she began, her voice trembling a little now. "A wildfire, eighteen years ago. The hospital had to evacuate, it was chaos in the nursery... they gave me the wrong baby."

She held out the paper. "This is a DNA test. It confirms it."

Alex took the paper but didn't look at it immediately.

She glanced at Joe and Mary Miller, who had come out of the office, their faces a mixture of shock and concern.

"A hospital mix-up," Alex repeated, more to herself than anyone. It sounded like something from a movie.

But the woman, Eleanor, looked genuine. Her pain was visible.

"I've been looking for you for a long time," Eleanor said softly.

Alex finally looked at the DNA report. A bunch of scientific jargon, but the conclusion was clear. Match.

She folded it carefully. "So, what happens now?"

Eleanor' s eyes welled up. "I want you to meet your... your father. Richard. And your... well, the family."