Nick leaned back in his chair, scrubbing his face with his palms. His foot bumped the leg of the kitchen table, and the personal access tablet set upright in front of him shook with the force. With a frustrated groan, he lowered his hands and crossed his arms over his stomach, keeping his slouched position.
 
The small monitor glowed with the video Caitlin had brought him. Nick had programmed it to magnify and loop over the same thirty-second strip, focusing again and again on Michael's face as he first spoke to the doctor, then turned and looked into the camera.
 
Again and again.
 
Michael.
 
It was unsettling and almost bizarre. Looking at Michael was like looking at himself, the resemblance was so close. There was no denying they were kin. His son…the thought choked him and made his eyes ache. Nick rested his head on the high back of the chair, the heels of his hands pressed against his eye sockets until spots of light flashed in the darkness.
 
He heard the door open and her soft footsteps approaching across the living room, accompanied by the clicking of Dog's toenails as they approached the doorway of the kitchen. She stood there for several moments, watching him. However, Nick didn't move. 
 
“I don't have all the answers, but I'll tell you what I can,” she finally said, her voice soft and rough.
 
“How do you know he's my son?”
 
“The people who gave me this information were able to access a limited amount of his medical and personal records. He was born on 14 March 2026 in Richmond, Virginia.”
 
Nick's throat closed in, and he swallowed painfully, lowering his hands to look at her. She stood with her shoulder against the doorjamb, her arms crossed and her elbows grasped in her hands. The breeze outside had mussed her short, blond hair, leaving it in soft curls around her cheeks and chin. He saw the glimpse of cobalt blue earrings through the curls, setting off the color of her eyes. 
 
“The records list his paternal contributor to be Captain Nicholas Michael Tanner. Michael's entire DNA profile was kept in his medical files and has been compared to your own in your military records. Your DNA matches with ninety-eight percent certainty. You are his father. And his maternal contributor is an Areth scientist named Kathleen.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, and her words split through his head like a spike. 
 
Nick shot out of the chair with such force that it fell backwards, bouncing off the edge of the sink before it hit the floor. “Kathleen wasn't…she died giving birth to our son,” he shouted. His stomach twisted, and he curled his fists, forcing himself to tamp down the rage. “My wife was not Areth,” he forced out through clenched teeth.
 
Caitlin's eyes glistened bright with unshed tears, but she didn't look away from him. He watched as she swallowed, pressing her lips together, before she spoke. “I'm sorry, Nick. She was. And as far as we know, she isn't dead.”
 
His heart pounded in his ears, and he couldn't think. Nick pressed his wrists against his temples, trying to push back the chaos. He needed air and headed for the door. Outside, he drew oxygen in through his nose and gripped one of the porch posts to keep himself upright. She followed but kept a safe distance back to stand in the doorway.
 
“Where is he?”
 
“An Alliance facility outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico.”
 
“What kind of facility?”
 
“Genetics research is the official designation.”
 
Pain shot down the side of his neck as he ground his teeth together. “How long has he been there?”
 
Caitlin stepped onto the porch beside him, her hand resting on the post below his own, but not touching him. She leaned into it, her cheek close to the wood. When she looked into his eyes, his gut clenched in a vicious amalgamation of hate and pleasure that just added to the burning fury.
 
“Twenty-two years.”
 
Nick's knees could no longer hold up his weight, an unseen fist punching his gut. He dropped into a crouch, letting his back brace against the porch railing. With his elbows on his bent knees, he pressed his thumbs to his forehead and closed his eyes. His chest hurt, and Nick wondered if this was what a heart attack felt like as spots of light danced in his vision and his temples throbbed.