His hand shifted again. "The third is Archivalt. He works as a programmer." And finally, "The fourth Gage. He’s in the military."

Each introduction was concise and controlled, but there was an underlying weight to his words, as if he were carefully constructing something fragile, piece by piece, hoping it wouldn’t collapse before it had the chance to stand.

As Apollo spoke, he guided his brothers forward one by one with a firm hand on their shoulders, presenting them with an ease that bordered on casual authority, as if their weight meant nothing under his grip.

None of them resisted. They simply allowed it, their expressions unchanged, as though this was a dynamic long familiar to them, something ingrained from years of growing up without a mother, where his presence had quietly taken on that role, even if his methods were sometimes rough around the edges.

But when he turned to the woman standing slightly apart, that roughness softened.

His hand gentled as he drew her forward, the shift subtle but unmistakable. And again, none of the others reacted, confirming that this contrast was just as natural as everything else. Ashley noticed it all, the way they moved, the way they held themselves, the unspoken understanding between them, as she tried to piece together the reality unfolding in front of her.

"This is Aunt Lavinia," Apollo said, his voice lowering slightly. "She’s the daughter of our family’s longtime caretaker. She’s been the one looking after us all this time, and..."

He paused.

The rest of the sentence lingered unspoken, caught somewhere between intention and restraint. For a moment, it seemed like he might say more, something heavier, something closer to the truth, but he stopped himself. It was too soon. Too much for a first meeting.

Beside him, Aunt Lavinia’s composure wavered. Her eyes glistened as she looked at Ashley, her gaze soft yet brimming with emotion, as if the girl before her was a reflection of someone she had long lost and had never truly stopped searching for.

"As Ace explained earlier," Apollo continued, his tone steady but measured, "we believe you’re our missing sister. He had his suspicions before with Clarissa, but this time..." He paused briefly, as if choosing his words more carefully. "This time, he was almost certain."

His gaze flicked toward Ace for a moment before returning to Ashley. "While you were unconscious these past three days, he contacted us and asked us to come. And while he was waiting for our arrival..." Another slight hesitation followed, but he continued. "He took the liberty of conducting a DNA test."

Apollo’s expression softened slightly, though the tension beneath it didn’t fully disappear.

"I hope you won’t take that against us," he added, more gently now. "We didn’t mean to overstep. We only wanted to know the truth... and to show you the truth we found."

When Apollo realized that Ashley wasn’t reacting with anger, wasn’t accusing them of invading her privacy or making a scene over the DNA test they had conducted without her consent, something in his expression eased.

If anything, she simply sat there, quiet and composed, waiting for him to continue. That alone made him look at her more favorably, a faint shift in his demeanor softening the rigid control he had maintained until now.

Reaching into the inner pocket of his coat, he carefully pulled out an unopened envelope.

"On my way here, I collected the results from the lab," he said, holding it up slightly, his fingers tightening just a fraction around its edges. "I haven’t opened it yet." His gaze flicked between her and the others before settling back on Ashley. "I wanted all of us to see it together... and to show you that this isn’t some act we’re putting on."

A brief, uneasy breath left him, betraying the tension he had been holding back.

"In case you think we’re trying to deceive you... or worse, that this is some kind of scheme to take you away under the pretense of family," he added, his voice quieter now, edged with a nervous honesty that didn’t quite match his otherwise composed exterior.

Seeing him like that, so uncharacteristically nervous, his composure cracking just enough to show through, Ashley almost let out a small laugh. The man who had seemed so intimidating moments ago suddenly looked... softer. Almost endearing. It didn’t erase the weight he carried, but it made him feel more human, more real.

And more sincere.

The fact that he was going this far, explaining himself so carefully, could only mean one thing: he cared about how she saw them. He didn’t want her to misunderstand, didn’t want her to think badly of them. It was, in its own way, a good sign.

At the same time, she understood why he felt the need to say all of it. From their perspective, she was someone who had just escaped traffickers and someone who had nearly died from her injuries.

It would be natural to assume that something like that would leave scars, fear, distrust, and a wariness toward anyone who approached her, no matter their intentions. To them, this was reassurance. Proof that she was safe, that they meant no harm.

But the truth was... he was overthinking it.

And he had no way of knowing.

Because Ashley’s hesitation wasn’t rooted in fear of them, it was something far more complicated. It came from the quiet, growing doubt unraveling inside her, from the way everything she thought she knew about herself was beginning to fracture, piece by piece.

While Ashley was still lost in thought, Apollo had already torn open the envelope. The paper gave way with a soft rip, louder than it should have been in the quiet room, and he pulled out the documents inside with careful, almost restrained movements.

Since the lab had only used Ace’s blood sample alongside Ashley’s, there was no parental comparison listed. Instead, what showed was the Sibling Index (SI).

His eyes locked onto the figure.

99.99%.

For a moment, he didn’t even realize he had been holding his breath until it left him in a slow, unsteady exhale. Around him, the same tension broke. His brothers, even Aunt Lavinia, all released the breath they had been unconsciously holding.

They had believed it in their hearts from the beginning that Ashley was the one they had been searching for all these years, but belief alone had never been enough. They needed to show her some evidence to make her believe their belief. Something undeniable.

Ace had always resembled their mother the most among them five brothers, the resemblance strong enough to not make them forget how she looked like.

But the rest of them... they were different. They had inherited their father’s features, which were sharper and more imposing. Especially Apollo. There was an innate authority in his bearing, something aristocratic and unyielding, as if it had been carved into his bones. It made him intimidating without effort; his presence alone was enough to unsettle people. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It was why he wore glasses, not out of necessity, but as a deliberate choice. A way to soften the edge of his gaze, to dull something that might otherwise drive people away.