Chapter 434 This Child Seems Familiar
The old man and the little girl locked eyes for what felt like forever. Michael was still in a daze, just staring at Danielle's rosy cheeks.
His mind wandered back to two years ago, at the bottom of Blue Bay Apartments. Danielle had told him not to sit on the flower bed, saying it was too cold and the tiles would freeze his butt. She mentioned her mom was really nice, that she didn't have a dad, and then a middle-aged woman led her away, her little figure bouncing with joy.
Could it really be this kid?
Michael suddenly tossed off the thin blanket and sat up, still fixated on Danielle's face.
Seeing Michael's shocked expression, Seraphina shot him a cold glance, gripping Danielle's little hand tighter to keep her from getting scared by Michael's wide eyes.
Michael tried to stand, but he was too weak from waking up so suddenly. With Fred's help, he got up from the recliner and pointed at Danielle, "I've seen this kid before. How could she..."
"You've seen her?" Seraphina finally spoke, but with a glare that warned him to choose his words carefully.
Jessica overheard and couldn't help but glance at Gabriel.
She had no idea when Danielle had met Michael. When did this happen?
Gabriel looked at Michael for a moment and asked, "You've seen her?"
"Yes, I've seen her. I'm sure of it! Fred, remember I told you last time, when I was at the bottom of Blue Bay Apartments, I saw a little girl. I didn't realize back then how much she looked like the young Gabriel, but a few days ago, when I saw his childhood photos in the album , I knew it was her!" Michael said excitedly, almost ready to walk over.
But Seraphina pulled Danielle behind her leg, clearly not letting Michael get any closer, "What are you doing? Don't scare my great-granddaughter with your urgency!"
"Great-granddaughter, she's really my great-granddaughter? " Michael, like a broken record, stopped in his tracks, looking at Danielle peeking out from behind Seraphina and staring back at him.
He had been furious these past few days after hearing about Gabriel and Jessica, waiting for them to come back and explain.
How could a great-granddaughter just appear out of nowhere?
Wasn't she the daughter Jessica had announced to the public back then?
But all those questions seemed pointless the moment he saw Danielle.
He had just looked at the album a few days ago, and Gabriel's childhood face was fresh in his mind. Just one look and he could tell Danielle looked a lot like Gabriel.
But how did she grow up so fast?
How could Jessica's daughter be Gabriel's daughter?
Michael pushed all his questions aside, just looking at Danielle with great excitement, "I really have a great-granddaughter?"
"This is my great-granddaughter. What does it have to do with you? Didn't you drive Jessica away? Didn't you refuse to acknowledge her daughter? Jessica raised the child all by herself to this age. Do you think you can just acknowledge her whenever you want? You pushed them away and now you want to claim her? Even if you want to acknowledge her, Danielle might not want to acknowledge you!"
Seraphina's words hit hard, making Jessica's eyelids twitch.
Michael's face froze for a second, then he shot a sharp look at Jessica, "Jessica, is this child really yours..."
"Grandpa, long time no see." Even though Seraphina's words stunned her, Jessica kept her cool, nodding politely to Michael, silently confirming Danielle's connection to her.
Catching Jessica's look, Michael's eyes darted between her and Gabriel, then back to Seraphina.
What on earth had happened?
Michael was totally confused.
"I don't believe it. Come here, let me take a closer look," Michael suddenly said to Danielle.
Danielle, standing behind Seraphina, was about to step forward, but Seraphina held her back, keeping her protected, "Don't think you can just look at her up close! If you don't believe it, then forget it! If she weren't Gabriel's daughter and had to come back to this family, do you think I'd let her face you, you old fart?"
Michael was both anxious and angry, "I just want to see clearly! Let me look at the child."
"Can't you see well enough? Don't you remember what your own grandson looked like as a kid? The child's parents are right here. You don't need to dig into the past; just look at her face now and you can see she has all the best features of her parents. You can't even recognize your own great-granddaughter and still have the nerve to say you've seen her before?"
Danielle seemed to finally remember. She peeked out from behind Seraphina's leg and looked at Michael, whose face was almost red with urgency, and asked in a small, uncertain voice, "Sir, I think I remember you. Are you the grandpa with a cane who was walking alone outside and wanted to sit on the flower bed because you couldn't walk anymore?"
Hearing Danielle speak to him, Michael's eyes lit up with excitement and he quickly nodded, "Yes, that's me. What's your name? Are you Danielle?"
Danielle nodded. She didn't know how to imitate her great-grandmother, thinking there was really some bad person here, so she hadn't dared to speak. But seeing Michael standing there so anxiously, she felt a bit sorry for him. So she no longer hid behind her great-grandmother, but moved to stand beside her, looking up at Michael, "My name is Danielle Jenner."
"Jenner," Michael paused, his gaze suddenly falling on Jessica.
Thinking of what he had said to Jessica back then, each word, though not meant to hurt, had been aimed at Jessica's unwillingness to wrong her child, so she had made her choice without a word of complaint.
If this child really was from the Harriman family...
No, she was from the Harriman family!
She looked so much like Gabriel, how could she not be?
Michael didn't know the details, but after Gabriel publicly acknowledged Jessica and her daughter, he knew it was significant. Even now, not knowing the details, seeing Danielle walk in, he recognized her as his great-granddaughter.
Fred, standing nearby, also had wet eyes, remembering that Michael had mentioned in the car two years ago that Danielle seemed familiar.
Wasn't she familiar?
She was his great-granddaughter, his own flesh and blood, with a natural resemblance to Gabriel as a child, evidence of their kinship everywhere!
Now, this lively and vibrant Danielle was really standing right in front of him!
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