"Mother?"

"My mother?!"

No, it couldn't be.

I retreated, distancing myself from her as the comforting warmth of her hand slipped away.

"But I already have a mother," I blurted out, the shock evident in my voice.

Her lips tightened into a thin line as she pulled back her hands, holding them gracefully in front of her.

"Aliyah, Claudia is not your birth mother. She adopted you before I... before I died."

My heart pounded in my chest, the revelation ...