Chapter 362 No Blood Relation
For Natalie, Oliver’s call was like some kind of medicine. The words of someone who held a special place in her heart possessed significant influence over her emotions. However, her mood, which had improved slightly, took a nosedive with the arrival of another call. This call was from Susan.
Unlike calls from Lilian, Emily, and others, Natalie found it impossible to ignore a call from Susan at this moment.
"Hey, Susan."
"I’m going back to Tycoon City tomorrow,” Susan said directly.
“I’ve heard. Oliver told me,” Natalie replied, managing to keep her emotions in check. "Susan, I’m really grateful for what you’ve done this time. Please take care of yourself. I’ll be there to host you again if you visit Rosewood Estate again.”
Susan felt a surge of irritation at Natalie's words.
Why did it seem like there was an underlying message in Natalie's words? Was Natalie hinting at the intimate conversation she had with Oliver, or flaunting her status as the lady of Rosewood Estate?
However, when she thought about how she had saved Natalie, she did not think it was possible for Natalie to suspect her or guard against her. It must be her own thoughts running wild.
Susan said, “There’s something I want to say, but I don’t know if Oliver has told you about it.”
Natalie frowned instinctively as a foreboding feeling rose in her heart.
Susan said, "Oliver was the one who facilitated Hailey’s release from prison.”
Natalie chose to remain silent.
"Why are you so quiet?” Susan mistook Natalie's silence for rage, and she smiled smugly. She continued to say, “It’s all my fault. Hailey once did me a favor, so I wanted to repay the debt. When I persuaded Oliver to release her, I didn’t expect to bring harm to you.”
"So?" Natalie's calm inquiry caught Susan off guard.
"What?" Susan's smile faltered.
"I was made aware of Hailey's release as soon as it happened," Natalie revealed, her voice steady.
Susan was taken aback, at a loss for words. She wanted to cause a rift between Oliver and Natalie, but Natalie had known about it all along. How could Natalie not resent her at all?
"Susan, please rest and look after your injury. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up first,” Natalie said. Her voice remained steady, but her hands were tightly clenched, fingers digging into her palms.
After ending the call, Natalie was in a daze, and she felt drained. She slumped onto the sofa. Her thoughts were torn between Oliver's gentle demeanor toward her and Susan's revelation about Oliver's decision to release Hailey.
The anguish in her heart, the current tension with Oliver, and her present despicable state of mind, she realized, were partly Oliver's doing.
Upon learning of Hailey's release, she should have understood that the situation would be far from simple.
Seated alone on the cold, steel bench of the hospital, clutching the test results, the chill of the metal seemed to permeate her being, mirroring the shock she felt reading the report - Natalie and Lucas were not related by blood.
She had never shared her late mother or Robert's characteristics, whereas Lucas was the combination of their mother and Robert's finest traits. Clearly, Lucas was part of the Watson family.
In conclusion, she had no blood relations to the Watson family at all.
Her mother was not her birth mother, which shed light on the mistreatment she endured.
At her lowest, she had even questioned her biological connection to her mother, and now, it was confirmed - she truly was not her mother's child.
To Natalie, her mother had failed in her role, and Robert had been a neglectful father. Despite their shortcomings, she had always believed they were family. But now, she found herself without a family. She was lost, not knowing where she came from or where she belonged.
This realization was suffocating.
There was also Lucas. What would he do when he found out the truth?’
Lucas was the most important person to Natalie, and she was worried that there would be a rift between him and her.
Lucas had been deeply immersed in his work on weapon designs when an unexpected phone call interrupted him. "Lucas, Natalie is at the hospital…”
Before the other party could finish speaking, Lucas sprang from his seat and asked anxiously, "What happened?"
There was a brief, stunned silence from the other end before the other party said, “Don’t worry. Natalie is fine. It’s just that we found out someone submitted your DNA for testing, and that person is Natalie.”
As an integral member of Well, Lucas's security is paramount. Consequently, the organization found an insider at the hospital, which held his sensitive information.
Lucas sighed in relief and asked, “So?”
He thought, ‘So? Is this DNA test a trivial matter to you?’
Although Lucas was smart and mature beyond his years, he was a different person in matters regarding his sister.
“Lucas, Natalie is testing her DNA sample against yours."
Lucas was momentarily stunned. When realization dawned on him, his paintbrush clattered to the floor. He asked shakily, “Which hospital is she in?”
Lucas had long been aware that Natalie was not his biological sister. He had been shocked when he discovered this but accepted it very quickly. How could his mother, with her nature, give birth to someone as resilient and compassionate as Natalie?
Perhaps it was precisely because Natalie was not her biological child that Natalie was abused - from taking on the role of caregiver to her younger brother at a young age, cooking, and handling nearly all household chores.
Their mother would, without provocation, lash out and verbally assault Natalie.
Lucas, though her biological son, found it unbearable to witness his mother's cruelty. Powerless in his youth, he once dreamed of defending Natalie when she was mistreated. Alas, he was too young at that time and did not even have the strength to lift the stick.
To Lucas, it did not matter that they did not share the same blood. Countless families bound by blood still engage in manipulation and betrayal for wealth and power.
Lucas had hoped that as long as Natalie remained unaware, she would always be his sister. But... the truth, inevitably, could not stay hidden forever.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
