“H-He told me to sleep with Dexter so he could get Dexter to forge the paternity results,” Iris stammered, her eyes welling with tears as she looked around the room. Her confession hung in the air, and the crowd's murmurs filled with confusion and disbelief. Desperate, Iris turned to Ivan, reaching for his hand, but he immediately wrenched himself away.

“How dare you speak lies about my father,” Ivan muttered, his expression hardening with contempt. The disgust in his eyes was unmistakable, and it felt as if every gaze in the room bore down on her, judging her, mocking her. She hated it.

“It’s true, Ivan,” she insisted, her voice...