Page 164 of Bound By Crimson

This wasn’t possible.

The handwriting in the journal looked the same as the note that was left with the blanket and adoption papers.

The matching pillow to the handmade blanket was in the attic.

Is Eden my birth mother?

It seemed crazy—insane, even. But the proof was in her hands.

Still… nothing made sense.

Lyric pressed her hand over her stomach, tears slipping free before she even felt them coming.

The pressure behind her ribs grew unbearable—like her whole body was trying to contain something that couldn’t be held anymore.

Malachai knew.

He had to have known.

From the beginning.

And now, so did she.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

A Truth Too Heavy

The journal lay open in her lap, but she couldn’t read anymore.

She had read those passages once. Twice. A third time.

Still the words didn’t change.

Still the truth clawed at her.

Her name is Lyric.

Not Edwina.

Lyric.

The clock ticked faintly in the corner, but she barely heard it.

Her breath came in short, ragged pulls.

It felt like her entire body was turning inside out.

She closed her eyes, but that only made the memories crash in faster—brutal and sharp.

The box—hidden away in the back of her parents’ closet. Discovered only after they were gone.

The tiny pink blanket—folded neatly, tucked between brittle papers.

The note—Her name is Lyric. Please take care of her. The similar handwriting rushed and desperate, like whoever wrote it had been running out of time.

The adoption papers—incomplete—no real names listed, no history.

Just blank spaces where a life should have been.