~Jeremy’s POV~

Teyana kept asking what was wrong, but her voice was slipping away, thinning into the background like a radio with bad reception. My ears were ringing too loudly—Vance’s words replaying over and over, slicing through every other sound.

A full match.

Zayne’s DNA and my father’s…

Zayne and I shared the same father.

Zayne is a Carter.

I stared out the windshield, but nothing held shape anymore. The streetlights blurred. I felt myself retreating into that familiar cold room in my head where I locked up everything I couldn’t face. I could feel the door sliding shut.

I had hoped I wouldn’t visit this part of me anymore,...