Well my beloved readers, I'm so thrilled that you still following my story. The next part is waiting for you to be read :)

Ten minutes later Logan walked hand in hand with Rory to the conference room. On their way to the conference room, they were greeted with curious glances from the staff. Rory looked at her husband with a confident smile and squeezed his hand when they were standing in front of the door.

"We can do this together..." Rory whispered and together they entered the conference room.

As soon as they had closed the door behind them, Kate turned to them. She was surprised to see Logan accompanied by his wife.

"Good morning Logan, Mrs. Huntzberger," she greeted them with a smile.

She was happy to meet Logan's wife, the famous writer of her daughter's favorite book series "The Gilmore Girls." But wondered why his wife had come to Vienna. She hoped to get an autograph for Emma before the Huntzbergers left.

"Good morning Kate, I know we were scheduled to discuss further steps to get the newspaper back on track, but my wife and I urgently need to talk to you in a private matter," Logan said and felt pretty uncomfortable.

"Um ok, if it is of a personal nature, perhaps we should go somewhere private. This is a building full of reporters after all. The walls have ears. We could go to my place. It isn't far away from here," the dark-haired woman suggested in a timid voice. She was curious and a bit nervous as to what Logan and his wife wanted to discuss.

"Yes, that may be best. I'd rather be in an undisturbed place where we could talk about everything. Perhaps you could ask your husband Max if he can come too," Logan said.

"Ex-husband, unfortunately. We have been divorced since 2012. But if it is that important, I can call him. I guess he's having his day off from work today." she corrected him with a half-hearted smile.

"Oh yeah, your daughter mentioned it," he mumbled, and Kate looked at him surprised.

"How do you know my daughter? Oh! Are you Liam's godfather?" Katherine asked connecting the dots.

"Yeah, I am. I met your daughter yesterday when we had dinner at Skopik and Lohn," Logan said. It was so hard for him not to blurt out the truth right away. And it was even harder for him to call Emma Katherine's daughter.

"Wow! That's what I call a coincidence. I am happy that my Emma met such a great boy. They make a cute couple. And Mrs. Huntzberger, my daughter is a huge fan of your books. I think she has read the Gilmore Girls books so many times that she can quote almost anything from them."

"Um, that's good to hear," Rory said. She was shocked the girl had read her book and knew more about her than she did about her daughter. It was also a comforting thought to know she had that small connection with her daughter.

"Please call me Rory. I insist," she said and forced herself to smile.

Rory fought hard not to show any weakness. In truth, she already felt sorry for Katherine. Rory couldn't imagine that she knew that Emma had been kidnapped as a little baby. Knowing this woman would also be hurt very soon was hard for Rory.

"Well then please call me Kathy or Kate. I guess we should head to my place," she nodded with a slightly insecure smile.

Rory attempted to keep things friendly for the time being. She said, "Great and I'm glad Logan decided to save your paper."

"Oh yes, your husband made us an offer that we just couldn't refuse. And just between us, I am also glad that it is HPG helping us to get back on our feet and not some random company who will get rid off our talented staff."

Rory just politely nodded as the woman continued to speak of her company and future plans.

Fifteen minutes later they were in Katherine Hofmann's large living room with a pot of coffee and tea. On the mantle were some photos of Emma and her sister Sophie when they were little children. On the living room table, Emma's school papers were scattered around. Rory glanced around feeling the familiar feeling of a home with a teenage girl.

"Please excuse the mess. Emma has once again forgotten to put her school books away. Actually, she was supposed to study for her math exam, but today instead she is spending the rest of the day with Melinda because Liam is ill today.

But you probably know that well enough," Kate smiled at the two embarrassedly continuing, "so Logan, go ahead and shoot. You wanted to discuss something privately with me. Max is on his way.." She paused as there was a knock on the door. She said, "Aah speaking of the devil... I'll be right back..."

Logan and Rory just nodded. They could only hope to gather enough strength to tell Max and Kate as gentle as possible that they were the parents of their adopted daughter.

Less than five minutes later Katherine entered the living room with a blonde man in his late thirties. Logan and Rory got up from the couch.

"You must be Logan and Rory Huntzberger. My daughter Emma couldn't stop talking about you.

A year ago she had a school presentation about your company and got an "A" for it. But, anyway, I understand you and your wife wanted to tell us something?" Max greeted them friendly shaking their hands.

"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Hoffmann. I appreciate it that you come. I hope we don.."

"Oh no, you don't bother me at all. Don't worry and please call me Max. So tell us what's the matter," Max said taking a seat next to his ex-wife and looked at them curiously.

"Well, it's not that easy…", Logan began, stopped for a brief moment closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried hard to find the right words. But were there any suitable words to explain this horrible situation? Rory looked at her husband and saw him struggling with his words and emotions.

It was her duty now to step in and help her husband, but before she could say anything Logan cleared his throat, "It's about your daughter Emma. About thirteen years and six months ago our six-month-old baby girl Norah, twin sister of our daughter Nathalie, was kidnapped by strangers.

Half a year later the investigations were closed by the FBI. We never found our baby girl... until I met your daughter. "

For the next few minutes, it was eerily quiet. Nobody said a word. The only thing you heard was the quiet ticking of Max and Logan's Breitling wristwatches. "No...no that can't be..." Katherine mumbled apathetically while Max stubbornly looked into the middle of nowhere.

He angrily said, "Why should we believe you? We need solid evidence, and how would we know you're telling us the truth?"

"Max, please. Sorry, Logan, I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to say, but Max is right. What proof do you have of this?" Kate said in a trembling voice.

"I know that it isn't to comprehend, but we believe Emma is our biological daughter. I'm so sorry.

You can't imagine how much. I know it must sound crazy to both of you. Of course, we have proof." Logan said and took his iPhone from his briefcase. Logan paused for a moment and then searched for the pictures.

"Here this is Emma. And this is my daughter Nathalie. Look, only the hair color is different." He explained and trying not to freak out while he was showing pictures of his daughters Norah and Nathalie to them.

"Oh my god, they are identical! Max, how should we explain this to Emma? Actually, we wanted to wait until her 18th birthday to tell her that she is adopted. That's like a bad nightmare. It'll turn her life upside down..." whispered Kate as she stood up jerkily from the couch and went to the fireplace, tears gathering in her eyes.

Max just shook his head and felt the rage, helplessness, and fear accumulating in him with full force.

Of course, he knew that Emma was not his biological daughter. But when he saw her for the first time, she stole his heart and never gave it back. She was his little princess and brought so much joy in his and Katie's live.

Katherine stood with her shoulders slumped in front of the fireplace, took a picture from the mantelpiece and was overwhelmed by sobs.

Rory could only imagine what was going on in Kate's mind now. Fear, hopelessness and above all the feeling of failure. Sluggishly she rose from the couch and walked towards Katherine.

"Kate, I know exactly how you feel now." Rory began to speak hesitantly with a soft voice as she stood next to her in front of the fireplace, tentatively reaching for her hand to squeeze it.

"I...I don't know what to say on it now. Except that I'm quite afraid. Afraid to lose Emma today. Afraid she'll never speak to Max or me again because we betrayed her and didn't tell her the truth..." she whispered in a rough voice and now felt the rage paired with so many other emotions spreading through her mind.

"Emmy and my daughter Sophie are my one and only. They grew up too fast. Please don't take her away from me," Katherine stopped for a moment and looked at the picture which she was still holding in her hands.

It showed her daughter with a happy smile and an almost too big school backpack on her shoulders on her first day of school. Tears were pooling in Kathy's eyes, and Rory took the crying woman in her arms.

"Kate we'll find a solution and…"

"What if we don't find a solution? The whole news will turn Emmas.."

Max spoke up, "Look, I will admit the girls have a striking resemblance to each other, but we can't just hand over OUR daughter because you show us one picture!"

Logan looked at the man. Max was barely holding it together. Logan understood and wanted to make this as gentle as possible for these people. He felt badly for them but wanted his daughter back. He said, "I happen to have access to a discreet lab that will perform a DNA test to prove that Emma is our daughter."

Max, still angry, said, "I don't know if I want to put my daughter through all that."

Gently, but very firmly, Logan said, "Max, I will get a court order for her to be tested. I am convinced that is my daughter. I want the truth."