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Rhys waved a hand "Just soround We still don’t kno she’s Irina According to everything we know about her, she can’t be"

This was farthan old manuscripts Malachi shoved the box to the side "I knoould be unheard of, but could an Irin have fathered her?"

"No" Rhys see

"But is it possible? I know she is her ether, but could her father--"

"No"

"So--"

"Malachi, I’ you no"

"Maybe artificial insemina--"

"That’s not possible either" Then he cocked his head "Well, I suppose it ht be possible for an Irin male to… hmm… But in Ava’s case"--he looked back at Malachi--"no"

Malachi let out a frustrated breath "How can you be so sure? I knoe’re not meant to touch hu it’s not even possible that so in this case, it’s not possible"

He glared at Rhys "How can you know for sure?"

"Because--" He lowered his voice "Because there was a paternity test, Malachi"

He frowned "A what?"

"A paternity test To prove Jasper Reed was Ava’s father She doesn’t know about it The records were sealed, and her father and mother never wanted her to know"

Malachi felt a flare of anger "Why would he question it?"

Rhys sighed "Reed regretted it, but there was a tier… His career had already taken off He’d been successful before, but he was starting to attract ide attention Awards were co in And--to be completely honest--Jasper Reed has always been a bit of a mess Soles with depression He takes cocktails of drugs There’s no doubt he’s incredibly talented, but I don’t kno ser at the ti about the baby Convinced him to ask for a paternity test Her mother objected; it went to the courts There’s a record of it, though I had to dig to find it"

"There’s a record," he repeated, furious at Ava’s biological father on her behalf According to everything he could find out from Leo, the only support Ava had received from her father was financial in nature Jasper Reed hadn’t held her when she cried or protected her in any way Those jobs had belonged to Ava’s mother, and later, nannies and other household staff