Chapter 123: He Might Be Our Biological Brother
Ella was generally good at reading people, but she could never quite figure out Henry.
She stared at Henry for a long time, unable to tell if he was lying. Eventually, she sat down silently on the chair next to Henry's hospital bed, catching him off guard.
He couldn't understand what was going on with Ella.
"By the way," Henry asked to break the awkward silence, "did you talk to your brother?"
Ella glanced at Henry but didn't answer.
Earlier that day, she had called Bryan home for lunch. Their father, Cole, and mother, Aurora, were particularly happy. The family rarely had meals together, except on New Year's Eve.
Ella questioned Bryan about why he wanted to marry Victoria and betray Isabelle.
Aurora had scolded Bryan countless times about this, but he always ignored her. Aurora opposed Bryan marrying Victoria but also didn't approve of his relationship with Isabelle.
When Ella confronted Bryan, Aurora watched him intently, hoping to hear the truth from him.
Cole, on the other hand, remained silent, pretending to be a father who didn't interfere in his children's marriages.
Bryan retorted, "Why do you like Henry and betray Matthew and Erick?"
As soon as he said this, Cole and Aurora simultaneously asked, "Who is Henry?"
Ella picked up her drink and threw it in Bryan's face, angrily shouting, "How did I betray Matthew and Erick? What do they have to do with me?"
She then stood up, ready to go around the table to hit Bryan.
Bryan immediately got up and ran around the table, shouting, "You all see this? Since childhood, she hits me whenever we disagree. If I don't come back anymore, don't blame me!"
"Cole!" Cole sternly said, "You're an adult now. Act like a woman."
In the past, Ella was most annoyed by her mother's nagging and most revered her father.
But after hearing from Henry that her father had kept Victoria as a mistress, her father's once lofty image had vanished.
Still, out of long-standing habit, she didn't dare challenge her father's authority.
Seeing her father scolding her, she silently returned to her seat.
Aurora, delighted, placed her hand on Ella's arm and asked, "Who is this Henry Bryan mentioned? How old is he, what does he do, where is he from, what do his parents do..."
"Eat, eat!" Ella interrupted her mother, looking annoyed.
After Bryan sat back down, he smugly said, "Henry, male, twenty-four years old, from the poor mountain village of Summit Ridge, the son of hardworking farmers who died young!"
Aurora was momentarily stunned but then said, "A farmer's son, that's good! Your grandfather was a farmer too, wasn't he? Since his parents are deceased, he's an orphan. That's good; a son-in-law is like half a son. We can have him live with us, so we don't have to endure your temper anymore!"
Ella glared at her mother but didn't have a chance to defend herself before Bryan added, "The key point is that Henry is an ex-convict who served six years in prison. If we take him in as a son-in-law, given Ella's uniform, it would be like sentencing Henry to life imprisonment. We'd be doing a good deed."
Cole and Aurora looked at Ella in shock.
Ella couldn't be bothered to respond and focused on eating.
Cole was stunned, looking at Ella incredulously, "This isn't a joke, Ella. If you were in any other job, it wouldn't matter, but you're in uniform. If you date an ex-convict, it would be national news, not just in Harbor Springs!"
Aurora's eyes darted, and she glared at Cole, "It's not as dramatic as you make it sound! Ella is a sensible person. She didn't like Matthew or Erick, so Henry must be quite good. Ella, is Henry really an ex-convict?"
Ella simply said, "Yes," and continued eating.
Aurora looked bewildered at Cole, who was rolling his eyes in frustration.
Aurora's eyes darted again, and she scolded Bryan, "Don't talk nonsense! You know what your sister does. She must be on some mission involving this ex-convict."
She then watched Ella out of the corner of her eye.
Bryan scoffed, "Vanessa, you're the CFO of The Davis Family Group and known for your insight, but you can't see your daughter's hints?"
Aurora angrily replied, "No wonder your sister always hits you. If she didn't, you'd be out of control. Tell me, what hints did your sister give?"
Bryan coldly laughed, "I said she liked Henry and betrayed Erick and Matthew. She only denied betraying Erick and Matthew but didn't deny liking Henry."
Cole and Aurora, both highly intelligent, had indeed picked up on Ella's hints earlier, which was why they had asked who Henry was in unison.
But when they heard Henry was an ex-convict, they couldn't believe it.
"Mom," Ella suddenly asked, "Do Bryan and I have a younger brother you and Dad gave away?"
She glanced at her parents as she spoke.
Cole and Aurora were both stunned, their faces changing.
Bryan also looked at Ella in surprise.
Aurora quickly said, "Ella, what's gotten into you today? First, you talk about this ex-convict Henry, and now you ask about a younger brother? When you and Bryan were born, we were well-off. If we had another son, we'd be thrilled. Why would we give him away? By the way, about you and Henry..."
Ella put down her bowl and chopsticks, "Yes, Henry is an ex-convict and my boyfriend!"
With that, she stood up and left.
"Sis, sis—" Bryan chased after her, catching up and asking, "Hey, do you also know about Dad keeping Victoria as a mistress and are trying to upset them? Now you understand why I want to marry Victoria, right? But I'm me, and you're you. I can treat marriage as a joke, but you can't! That Henry..."
Before Bryan could finish, Ella, with a blank expression, said, "He might be our biological brother!"
"What?" Bryan couldn't believe his ears, "What did you say?"
Ella stopped and turned to Bryan, "I said Henry might be our biological brother, given away by our parents!"
Bryan stared at Ella, dumbfounded.
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