That night, no one in the examination room dared to speak.
The two families sat facing each other, their expressions tense. Between them were two girls who had no idea why their lives had suddenly changed.
Aurel was still clutching Adrian's hand.
“Dad...” Her voice was soft. “I'm your daughter, right?”
The question left Adrian speechless.
For eighteen years, he had never imagined hearing such a question from his own daughter.
He looked at Aurel with tears in his eyes.
“You're still my daughter.”
“But you said we had to take a DNA test.”
“Because I want to know the truth.”
Aurel shook her head as she cried.
“I don't care about blood.”
Adrian fell silent.
“I just want you to keep thinking of me as your daughter.”
Those words struck Adrian's heart harder than any DNA test result could have.
He immediately pulled Aurel into his arms.
“You won't lose me.”
On the other side, Alya stood silently.
She watched Adrian and Aurel embrace.
For some reason, she felt something strange in her chest.
As if she were looking at something that should have been hers, but wasn't.
Mira felt Alya's hand growing colder.
“Sweetheart?”
Alya turned to her.
“Mom... if the results are true and I'm not your daughter, will you still want me?”
Mira immediately hugged her.
“Don't ever think that.”
“But what if I'm that family's daughter?”
“Blood can't erase the eighteen years we've lived through together.”
Alya cried in her mother's arms.
Meanwhile, the doctor took out two small tubes for the DNA samples.
“We'll collect samples from Aurel, Alya, Mr. Joko, and Mrs. Mira.”
Adrian nodded.
“Do it.”
The samples were collected quickly.
But for the two families, a few minutes felt like several hours.
When everything was finished, the doctor took the samples to the laboratory.
“We'll need a few hours for the results.”
Joko, who had been silent until then, finally asked,
“Doctor... is it really possible that our baby was switched?”
The doctor looked at him.
“Medically speaking, it's possible. Especially if the hospital records show that something unusual happened on the night the two babies were born.”
Mira lowered her head.
“The power went out for a while.”
Adrian turned to her at once.
“The power went out?”
Mira nodded.
“Not for long. But after the power came back on, Alya's identification bracelet had already come off.”
Adrian fell silent.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Was there a nurse with you at the time?”
Mira tried to remember.
“A female nurse. Her name was...”
She stopped.
“What was her name?”
Mira furrowed her brow.
“I forgot.”
The doctor looked serious.
“Try to remember. That information could be important.”
Mira closed her eyes.
Eighteen years had passed.
The nurse's face had almost completely faded from her memory.
But suddenly, an image appeared in her mind.
A woman standing beside two incubators.
Wearing a nurse's uniform.
And holding two baby identification bracelets.
Mira opened her eyes.
“Her name was Sari.”
The doctor immediately reached for his notes.
“Sari?”
“Yes. If I remember correctly.”
Adrian stood up.
“Can we find her records?”
The doctor nodded.
“We'll check the hospital's old archives.”
Several hours later, the hospital grew even quieter.
Aurel sat in the hallway with Elena.
“Is Dad still mad at me?” she asked.
Elena looked at her in confusion.
“Why would he be mad?”
“Because it turns out I might not be his biological daughter.”
Elena took Aurel's hand.
“Listen, Aurel. Being a mother isn't just about giving birth. The same goes for being a father.”
Aurel's tears fell again.
“I'm scared.”
“So am I.”
“But I'm even more scared.”
Elena hugged her.
“You're still our family.”
Not far away, Alya sat with Mira.
For the first time in her life, Alya felt that the home she had always known might not be the only place she could call family.
She stared at the laboratory door.
“Mom... what if the results show that I'm their daughter?”
Mira drew a long breath.
“Then we'll face it together.”
“Will you tell me to live with them?”
Mira fell silent.
The question broke her heart.
“I won't tell you to leave.”
“But they're rich.”
Mira looked at Alya.
“Being rich or poor doesn't determine who loves you most.”
Alya gave her a faint smile.
“Don't cry, Mom.”
Mira quickly wiped away her tears.
“I'm not crying.”
“Liar.”
For a moment, the two of them chuckled softly.
But their laughter quickly vanished when the laboratory door opened.
The doctor stepped out carrying a white envelope.
Everyone immediately stood up.
Adrian stared at the envelope.
“Doctor...”
The doctor nodded.
“The results are in.”
Everyone's hearts seemed to stop.
Aurel clutched Elena's hand.
Alya clutched Mira's hand.
Joko stood beside his wife, his face tense.
The doctor opened the envelope.
“I suggest everyone prepare themselves to accept these results.”
Adrian took a breath.
“Read them.”
The doctor looked at the test report.
“Based on the DNA test results...”
He paused for a moment.
“...Aurel is not Adrian and Elena's biological daughter.”
Aurel covered her mouth.
Elena immediately hugged her.
But the doctor wasn't finished.
“And based on the test comparing Alya with Joko and Mira...”
Mira held her breath.
The doctor looked at them.
“Alya is not Joko and Mira's biological daughter either.”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
Joko's voice was barely audible.
The doctor lowered the test results.
“That means... neither girl is the biological daughter of either family.”
Adrian stared at Aurel.
Mira stared at Alya.
Confusion filled the room.
“Then...” Adrian said softly.
“Where is our daughter?”
No one answered.
The doctor looked even more serious.
“There is still one possibility.”
“What?” Joko asked.
The doctor looked at them one by one.
“A third baby.”
The room suddenly fell silent.
“Based on old records we just found,” the doctor continued, “another baby girl was recorded as being at the hospital that same night.”
Adrian's eyes widened.
“A third baby?”
The doctor nodded.
“And that baby's name...”
He looked at the old document in his hand.
“Was never recorded as having been discharged.”
Adrian felt his body tense.
“Then where is that baby now?”
The doctor shook his head.
“That's what we have to find out.”
But outside the hospital, someone stood behind a window.
An old woman wearing simple clothes.
Her hand clutched a faded photograph of a baby.
A name was written on the back of the photograph.
Aurel.
The woman stared at the hospital building, her eyes filled with secrets.
“It's time,” she whispered.
“After eighteen years... the truth will finally be exposed.”
She turned and walked away.
Without anyone realizing that the person who had kept the greatest secret about the night of the switched babies all this time...
had finally returned.