Chapter 940
The little girl in the photo had features and contours that looked strikingly like Ambrose.
The moment he saw the photo, he felt a strange sensation, the same feeling he had when Phaedra rushed into the hospital room and clung to his leg.
No wonder Lillian thought this was his and Calliope's daughter.
But Ambrose quickly dismissed the idea as absurd. He couldn't remember ever having anything with Calliope.
Where did this child come from?
He and Calliope hadn't met many times, yet the child's appearance and Calliope's evasive attitude seemed to suggest that Phaedra really was connected to him.
Ambrose gripped his phone tightly. The patient information he had just seen listed Phaedra's age.
He calculated back from Phaedra's age, frowning as he thought about events involving Calliope from four or five years ago.
As fragmented memories surfaced, he recalled an incident he had long discarded.
He remembered attending a party where he drank more than usual because a few of Oberon's close friends were there. Already tipsy, he ran into a former colleague of his biological mother, and the conversation led him to drink even more.
Later, feeling unwell, he was taken to a room upstairs in a daze.
The memory of what happened next was very hazy, and now it was a complete blank.
Ambrose remembered waking up the next morning in his own bedroom at the Kelly Manor, with Anouk lying beside him.
Anouk's clothes were disheveled, her eyes slightly red, and she shyly snuggled up to him.
She said that after he got drunk, she had brought him home, helped him to his room, wiped his face, taken off his jacket, and then he had pulled her into bed and done those things to her.
Ambrose was shocked and confused, his head aching. His fuzzy memories did include some chaotic and intimate scenes, but they definitely didn't involve Anouk, nor did they take place in his bedroom.
He had always seen Anouk as a sister, and he couldn't do such things to her, even if he was drunk or drugged.
He was certain of this.
When he questioned her, Anouk's answers were inconsistent and contradictory. Eventually, she ran out crying, embarrassed by his reprimand.
Later, he checked the house's surveillance footage and saw that Anouk had indeed brought him home after he got drunk.
He didn't think much more of it, assuming the fragmented intimate scenes were just dreams induced by the drugs.
He also investigated the drugging incident at the party and found out it was a misunderstanding. The spiked drink wasn't meant for him; it was an accident.
After that, Ambrose stopped pursuing the matter, and it quickly faded from his mind.
Now, thinking back, if Phaedra really was his daughter, it could only have been from that night.
Ambrose enlarged the photo of Calliope on his screen, staring intently at her features, trying to piece together her image from his hazy and chaotic memories.
Unfortunately, he had dismissed it as a ridiculous dream back then, and now, years later, it was even more impossible to recall anything.
"Ambrose? Are you still listening? What's going on? You're driving me crazy here!"
Lillian's cheerful voice snapped Ambrose back to reality. He realized he hadn't hung up the call with her.
He asked in a low voice, "Lillian, have you done a DNA test on the child?"
He knew that at Frane Hospital, getting a DNA test for Phaedra would be very simple.
He was anxious to know if Phaedra was really his daughter.
"No, we didn't think it was appropriate. When I noticed Calliope's daughter looked like you, I called you right away. Ambrose, are you saying you're not sure if Phaedra is yours?"
Lillian frowned, finding it hard to believe.
Ambrose was a man; how could he not be sure if he had done something that resulted in Calliope's pregnancy?
Ambrose wasn't the type to have a chaotic personal life.
The only reason could be that Ambrose didn't trust Calliope and had doubts about her.
Lillian frowned slightly. "Ambrose, I asked, and Phaedra has a trigeminal nerve condition. The doctor said it's very rare in children and quite painful. But look at how well Calliope, as a single mom, has taken care of Phaedra. She's lively, adorable, and incredibly well-behaved. It shows that Calliope is a great woman and a wonderful mother. She left the entertainment industry for her child, something many people wouldn't do. I don't think she's the type to have a chaotic personal life, you..."
Ambrose, realizing she misunderstood, interrupted her with some frustration.
"I know, I don't think that either. It's a long story. Can you do me a favor?"
Ambrose couldn't explain the situation to Lillian clearly, as he himself was confused. He just wanted to find out if Phaedra was his daughter.
Hearing that Phaedra had trigeminal neuralgia reminded him of something.
A while ago, Calliope had asked him to help her find a neurologist, claiming it was for her mother. But it was clear she had lied.
She was seeking help for Phaedra, deliberately hiding Phaedra's existence from him.
Lillian seemed to understand what Ambrose needed.
"Ambrose, if you want a paternity test, you can go directly to the head of the hematology department. He'll help you arrange it."
Ambrose acknowledged and quickly hung up the phone, heading straight to the hematology department.
After leaving the hematology department, Ambrose rubbed his temples.
The paternity test would take at least half a day. He was anxious and couldn't focus on anything else.
He checked the time on his phone and glanced towards the inpatient building.
Clearly, Calliope didn't want to tell him the truth.
Even if he went up now to question her, she probably wouldn't tell him anything.
There was one other person who knew what happened that night. Anouk.
Ambrose turned and headed quickly towards the parking lot.
Once in his car, he made several phone calls before starting the engine and driving away.
Forty minutes later, Ambrose arrived at the visitation room of the detention center and saw Anouk, who was being held there.
Anouk hadn't expected anyone to visit her. Since she had been there, no one had come to see her.
When she was brought in and saw the handsome man sitting on the other side of the glass, her emotions surged, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
She rushed to the visitation window, trembling as she picked up the phone, crying with joy.
"Ambrose, you came to see me. You finally came to see me. I'm not doing well here at all, you..."
Anouk had cut her hair short and unattractively, and she had lost a lot of weight. Her complexion was sallow, her hair dry, and dark circles under her eyes.
There were even bruises visible at the collar of her prison uniform, indicating that she was indeed having a terrible time.
At just over twenty years old, she already had fine lines at the corners of her eyes.
Anouk cried pitifully and joyfully, thinking that Ambrose had come to visit her out of the bond they shared growing up together.
However, Ambrose interrupted her sobbing, saying, "You're not doing well because you brought it on yourself. In a place like this, doing well would be strange."
Anouk looked at him in disbelief. "Ambrose, you didn't come to see me; you came to kick me while I'm down?"
She couldn't accept this reality, and her whole body trembled.
Ambrose didn't want to waste words with her and said, "I'm not interested in kicking you while you're down. I want to know about the business party at the Royal Hotel in July years ago. Do you remember? What happened after I lost consciousness that night?"
Anouk didn't expect him to ask about this, even though it had been four or five years.
But because Ambrose was very disciplined in his life and rarely got drunk, especially considering what happened that night, she knew exactly what he was asking about.
Her expression briefly showed panic and resentment. She quickly lowered her head, looking confused.
"What party, Ambrose? Which one are you talking about? It was four or five years ago; how could I remember?"
Seeing her uncooperative attitude, still trying to deceive him, Ambrose's expression darkened, and he coldly said, "Fine, you better never say anything."
With that, he hung up the phone and stood up to leave.
Anouk panicked at his reaction.
Ambrose wouldn't have come to her without a reason; he must have discovered something.
If that was the case, whether she told him or not might not matter much. If she kept hiding it, Ambrose might retaliate against her once he found out the truth.
Her life was already miserable, and Jackson had likely instructed people here to give her special "attention."
If Ambrose added his retaliation, how could she survive?
"Ambrose, I'll tell you!"
Anouk banged on the glass window in desperation. The guard immediately stepped forward, forcefully pressing her shoulder against the glass.
Anouk cried out in pain, but fortunately, Ambrose stopped and picked up the phone again.
Seeing this, the guard released her, and Anouk sat back down.
"I have little patience," Ambrose warned coldly.
Anouk choked up. "I can tell you what happened that night, but I need you to pull some strings and make my life here a bit better. I can't take it anymore; they..."
"Tell me about that night."
Ambrose had no interest in Anouk's experiences or life in the detention center.
Although they had grown up together, and he had genuinely cared for her as a sister before discovering her true nature, those old feelings had long been worn away by Anouk's actions.
Not to mention, her involvement with Ruby in trying to kill Lillian was unforgivable.
Anouk thought he had agreed and looked at him nervously, her eyes darting around.
"That night, you were initially taken to a hotel room by a waiter. Calliope saw this and, with bad intentions, tried to seduce you by knocking on the door. When I found out and rushed over to save you, you two were already..."
Seeing Ambrose's face grow darker and his hand tremble as he held the phone, Anouk's voice weakened.
"Ambrose, Calliope did it on purpose. She wanted to have a relationship with you to climb up. When I got there, she was scared and only agreed to leave after I gave her two million dollars."
Ambrose's eyes grew colder. Anouk didn't know if he believed her, and her tears fell more pitifully. She continued.
"I saw you unconscious and worried she might have done something to your body, so I had you taken home and called a doctor. Ambrose, I did it for your own good, to keep you from being entangled with a woman like her. That's why I hid it from you. Did you meet Calliope? Did she tell you something?"
Ambrose didn't answer her. He just gave her a cold look and was about to hang up the phone.
Anouk panicked. "Ambrose, you promised me..."
Ambrose paused, looking at Anouk, and then, under her hopeful gaze, cruelly said, "What did I promise you?"
"You promised to protect me and improve my situation here if I told you!"
Seeing him deny it, Anouk was desperate and wanted to smash the window again.
But her shoulder still hurt, so she held back, looking at Ambrose with a broken expression.
Ambrose's lips curled into a smile, but it held no warmth.
"Anouk, you caused me to be separated from my daughter for years, and you expect me to help you? Do you think I'm that kind?"
Daughter? Did that mean Calliope had a child from that night? She had given Ambrose a daughter?
Before Anouk could process her shock and jealousy, Ambrose had already hung up the phone and was walking away with a cold demeanor.
Seeing this, Anouk felt a chill throughout her body. She was terrified of Ambrose's retaliation.
She dropped the phone and tried to follow Ambrose, shouting to stop him and beg for his help.
But it was useless. She was quickly grabbed by the guards and dragged back inside.
Anouk's eyes were filled with despair and fear.
Leaving the detention center, Ambrose sat in the back seat of his car and immediately opened the photos Lillian had sent him.
This time, looking at Phaedra's little face, his eyes grew warm, and his emotions surged with a completely different feeling.
His daughter. This was his daughter.
As Ambrose's emotions remained turbulent, his phone rang.
He glanced at it and quickly answered. After listening for a moment, his expression changed.
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