Chapter 143

Ramon POV

“One month,” Rhodes finally said. “We give it one month. Let Ollie recover, let Lake start therapy, let things stabilize. But Ramon—after that month, you need to tell him. Because he deserves to know. And the longer you wait, the worse it’s going to be when the truth comes out.”

One month. I could do one month. Could pretend for one month that everything was normal, that Ollie was just the child I’d chosen to love rather than the biological son I’d unknowingly created.

“There’s something else,” Rhodes said, returning to his desk and pulling out another document. “I ran Ollie’s full genetic panel while we had the sample. Just to check for any hereditary conditions we should be aware of. And Ramon—you need to see this.”

He handed me a paper covered in medical terminology I didn’t fully understand. But one section was highlighted: *Genetic markers consistent with familial Mediterranean fever, carrier status.*

“What does this mean?” I asked