Chapter 318: Hidden Truths

After hanging up, Sierra waited anxiously for Johnathan. Thankfully, he returned not long after—but to her surprise, he didn’t come home alone. Her eyes widened when she saw the child in his arms. “Dora?”

New place, unfamiliar people—by the time they’d gotten Dora calmed and asleep, it was well past midnight.

“Thanks for helping,” Johnathan said quietly.

He hadn’t wanted to bring Dora home, but with Quinn in no condition to care for her, and with no other options, there was no way he could leave a three-year-old girl out on her own.

“I’ll call around tomorrow—see if I can find a full-time daycare for her.”

He’d already decided on that on the way back.

Sierra waved it off. That wasn’t what mattered right now. “What happened?” she asked.

“Quinn… she’s in the hospital. She fainted while we were out this afternoon. The test results weren’t good.”

He summarized a few key data points.

Sierra’s expression changed immediately. As a researcher herself, she knew exactly what those numbers meant. It wasn’t technically leukemia, but it was dangerously close.

She and Johnathan were clearly thinking the same thing. “What about Dora?”

“No idea yet. I’ll take her in for tests tomorrow.”

He sounded tired—exhausted, even.

Then something clicked. “You called earlier. What was wrong?” he asked.

Sierra had originally planned to ask about the data Shane showed her—but now clearly wasn’t the right time. She shook her head.

“It’s nothing serious. You said you’d meet up after work, then I didn’t hear anything from you. I just got a little worried.”

“Sorry,” Johnathan said, pulling her into a hug. “She fainted so suddenly, and there were a ton of tests to run. Plus someone had to go pick up Dora.”

And his phone had been on silent during the meeting. He hadn’t even realized she’d called.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Sierra said, hugging him back. “No one wants something like this to happen.”

She glanced toward the bedroom. “I just hope Dora’s okay.”

A child that young… if she had a blood disorder too—it was too awful to think about.

The next morning, Sierra went with Johnathan and Dora to the hospital. Without needing to discuss it, they went straight to the lab for bloodwork before heading to see Quinn.

As she heard you’d be there, she agreed without hesitation. Dora really likes you.”

“Don’t mention it. What matters now is that you rest and take care of yourself. We’ll look after Dora in the meantime.”

Sierra didn’t know Quinn well, nor what she’d gone through—but knowing she was a divorced mom raising a child on her own stirred some sympathy. And since Johnathan clearly cared about her, Sierra would help however she could.

“Thank you,” Quinn whispered, gently stroking Dora’s hair. But there was worry in her eyes.

Sierra had wanted to tell her not to worry—but with those test results, any words of comfort felt hollow. All they could do now was hope Dora’s results came back clean.

The hospital had a long-standing relationship with Johnathan, so the test results came quickly—sent straight to his phone. Sierra saw his brows draw together the moment he looked. Her stomach dropped.

She quietly pulled him out into the hallway. “The results are in?”

Johnathan nodded and handed her the phone. One glance was enough. Sierra’s face turned pale. She had expected Dora’s numbers might be off—but not this bad. In fact, they were worse than Quinn’s.

“That’s not possible,” she murmured. Even if Quinn had passed something to Dora during pregnancy, it shouldn’t be this severe.

“Quinn doesn’t know?”

It seemed hard to believe. If things were this serious, symptoms should’ve shown already. But Quinn had insisted she had no idea.

Johnathan’s face was even darker than hers. If Sierra had figured it out, he definitely had—and more. Quinn had clearly hidden a lot from him. He didn’t know why—but this entire situation left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He turned abruptly, ready to march back into the room. Sierra quickly grabbed his arm.

“Dora’s still in there.”

She knew his temper—if he exploded now, he wouldn’t care who was watching.

“I’ll take Dora out for a walk. You talk to her—but stay calm, okay?”

She was sure there had to be more to the story.

“…Fine.”

Johnathan took a breath, held back his frustration, and walked back into the room with her.