The scream burst in the main hall like a glass shattering on the floor, and for a second, even the music ran out of air.
“That pendant belonged to my wife!” roared Sebastian Cole, the most feared magnate in Silver Bay, standing by his table, his face twisted by a fury that made anyone step back.
His finger pointed directly at the chest of a young woman in a gray uniform, holding a dirty rag in her hand. Ivy froze. She felt the blood freeze in her veins, and instinctively, she dropped the rag and covered her neck with both hands, protecting the golden medallion hanging there.
“Sir… I didn’t steal anything,” she stammered, stepping back. “I swear.”
Sebastian wasn’t listening. He kicked a chair that was in the way and advanced toward her like a storm. The diners stepped aside, not scared by the scene, but by the raw pain that emanated from the man.
“Don’t lie to me!” he snarled, cornering her against a column. “I’ve been looking for it for twenty-three years. Where did you get it? Speak!”

The restaurant manager, Mr. Harris, appeared running, his face red with panic.
“Mr. Cole, please… my deepest apologies…” he interjected between them with his hands raised. “This girl is new. If she stole something, we’ll fire her. Ivy, you’re fired. Get out, before I call the police!”

Harris grabbed her arm roughly, trying to drag her toward the kitchen. Ivy let out a cry of pain, but before she could free herself, a strong hand closed around the manager’s wrist.
It was Sebastian.
“Let go of her,” he ordered in a low, dangerous voice. “If you touch her again, I’ll shut this business down tomorrow.”

Harris instantly released her arm, trembling.
“But… sir… she’s wearing her medallion…”
“Shut up and get out,” Sebastian cut him off without looking at him.

Then he turned back to Ivy. They were so close that she could smell the expensive liquor on his breath and saw something raw in his gray eyes: not just rage, but an open wound.
“Give it to me,” he demanded, extending his hand, palm up. “Now.”

Ivy shook her head, holding on to the pendant as if her life depended on it.
“It’s mine. It’s the only thing I have from my mom. I’ve worn it since I was a baby.”

Sebastian slammed his fist into the column.
“YOU’RE LYING! My wife wore it the night she died in the accident. No one survived. No one.”

Ivy swallowed, trembling, and yet something of dignity rose up her back like a spring.
“If it’s really yours… tell me what the engraving says on the back,” she challenged him with a broken voice. “If you know it, you should know.”

Sebastian froze. The rage was frozen halfway.
“It says…” he whispered, and suddenly his voice filled with endless weariness. “It says: ‘S + E forever.’”

Ivy turned the medallion, showing the worn gold. Under the light of the hall, the letters shone: S + E forever.

A strangled sound escaped Sebastian. He ripped it from her with brutal care and rubbed it over and over with his thumb, as if trying to make sure it was real.
“No… this can’t be…” he murmured, lifting his gaze. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”
“When is your birthday?”

Ivy shrank.
“I’m not sure. They found me… on December twelfth.”

Sebastian’s world stopped. December twelfth. Virgin Day. The same day as the accident. The day he buried Evelyn… and the baby they told him never breathed.

“Come with me,” he suddenly said, grabbing her elbow, no longer with fury, but with delirious urgency.
“No!” Ivy pulled her arm away. “Give me back my medallion! And let go of me!”

Sebastian took out his wallet and threw a wad of bills on the nearest table without even counting them.
“I’ll pay you. Ten thousand for speaking with me for ten minutes. Twenty thousand if you come now.”

The restaurant went silent, as if everyone were listening to a trial.
Ivy looked at the money, then at the richest man in the city, with eyes pleading for something she didn’t even understand.
“Thirty thousand,” she said, her heart pounding in her throat. “And you return it to me when we’re done.”

Sebastian nodded.
“Deal.”

He ordered a private room, locked the door, and paced back and forth, dialing a number with trembling fingers.
“Dr. Reynolds… this is Cole. Come to the Skyline right now. Bring equipment for an urgent DNA test. Yes, urgent. It’s… life or death.”

When he hung up, he pointed to a black sofa.
“Sit.”

Ivy stayed glued to the wall.
“You said it was to talk. I want my money and to leave.”

Sebastian loosened the knot of his tie as if it were strangling him.
“You’ll get your money when the doctor finishes. And you’ll tell me everything. What did they tell you about the place they found you? Who left you?”

“I don’t know… I was a baby,” she replied, choosing each word carefully.

“What did they tell you at the orphanage?” he insisted, coming so close that Ivy felt the weight of his shadow. “Nobody just appears out of nowhere.”

Ivy pressed her lips together.
“Sister Margaret told me it was early in the morning… it was horrible weather. A storm. They rang the bell at the shelter. When she opened… there was no one. Just a basket with a baby… wrapped in an old leather jacket, dirty… it smelled of tobacco and grease.”

Sebastian grabbed her shoulders.
“Leather jacket? What was it like?”

“You’re hurting me!” Ivy pushed him.

He released her immediately, raising his hands.
“Sorry… keep going. Please.”

Ivy rubbed her arms.
“Sister said it looked like a mechanic’s… or someone from the street. And the medallion… it was tied with a double knot, tight, like they were afraid it would fall off.”

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
“Sebastian! It’s Dr. Reynolds.”

Sebastian opened it. A graying man with glasses and a medical briefcase entered. He looked at Ivy and then at Sebastian, incredulous.
“What is this madness?”

“DNA. Paternity. Now,” Sebastian said.

“Sebastian, you’ve taken…” the doctor began, but stopped when Sebastian pulled out the medallion. “Oh my God…”

“Take the samples,” Sebastian ordered.

Ivy crossed her arms.
“Thirty thousand first.”

Sebastian grabbed a checkbook and wrote without breathing.
“Fifty thousand,” he said, leaving the check on the table. “For the scare. Now, open your mouth.”

Ivy looked at the amount with wide eyes, put the check in her pocket, and let him take the sample. Then Sebastian did the same.

“How long?” he asked.
“If I wake someone up from the lab and pay triple… four hours.”
“Do it.”

When the doctor left, Ivy tried to leave. Sebastian blocked the door.
“You’re not leaving.”
“This is kidnapping!”
“Call it whatever you want,” he replied coldly. “Until I get the results, you’re my guest.”

Ivy looked at him with wet rage.
“I’m your prisoner.”

Sebastian didn’t deny it.

He took her in a black car to his penthouse. They took her phone and blocked the private elevator. The living room looked like a museum: expensive art, expensive silence, expensive loneliness.

Minutes later, his lawyer, Daniel Ross, arrived, immaculate, leather briefcase, soulless smile.
“Sebastian, you’re crazy,” he spat. “Do you know the scandal?”

His eyes scanned Ivy dismissively.
“This one? Classic scam.”

“I’m not a scammer,” Ivy said.

“Of course,” Daniel sneered.

Ivy demanded to call the orphanage.

The voice answered.
“Santa Maria Residence… Sister Margaret.”

The testimony followed.

The clock moved slowly.

At three in the morning, the phone rang.
“Ninety-nine point nine percent. Sebastian… she’s your daughter.”

Daniel dropped his pen.
Ivy collapsed.
Sebastian fell to his knees.

“You’re alive…”

“Dad…”

Twenty-three years ended.

But danger followed.

The detective arrived: Detective Carter, scarred, sharp-eyed.

The truth unraveled.

The final betrayal was Daniel Ross.

The arrest came.

At the cemetery, Ivy whispered:
“Hello, Mom…”

And for the first time, family meant home.

The end.