Chapter 271 Daughter's Identity Exposed!
Anna was ready to leave, and she turned around to go.
"Anna, shouldn't we have a chat?" Unexpectedly, Katherine's voice rang out again, and her tone was anything but friendly.
Anna frowned. Did she do something to upset her today? Their unexpected encounter explained why she came over first, but why did she want to chat now? What could they possibly talk about?
She didn't want to hear Katherine boasting about her relationship with Giorgio. She couldn’t care less about how loving they had been the night before; she wasn’t in the mood to endure her arrogance either.
She replied, "We have nothing to talk about. I need to get back to work. Goodbye."
"Is that so? Are you sure we shouldn't talk about your daughter?" Katherine asked lightly, her tone laden with malice.
Anna's steps suddenly halted, and her slim figure stiffened.
The next moment, she gritted her teeth and said firmly, "My daughter has nothing to do with you. We don't need to talk."
With that, she made a deliberate effort to walk away, unwilling to reveal anything.
To her surprise, Katherine sharply and decisively blocked her path.
"Stop pretending. I know Penny is your biological daughter!"
This sentence hung in the air, like a weighty bombshell.
Anna trembled violently, and her face turned pale.
She knew?
How could she know?
Realizing that Anna was frozen in shock, Katherine sneered coldly, "Now, can we talk?"
The cafe.
An industrial chic and minimalist establishment.
Elegant and soothing music filled the air, offering a respite from the city's hustle and bustle and infusing a hint of romance into the otherwise relaxing setting.
In a corner by the window, Anna and Katherine sat facing each other.
Both of them bore tense and uneasy expressions.
After a few seconds, she finally mustered the courage to ask, "When you said you knew before, are you sure you weren't joking?"
"Yes, the first time I saw her at the gathering, I recognized her as your daughter just by looking at her face. I had her investigated; your adoptive parents don't have a daughter. Your excuses may deceive others, but not me," Katherine's voice was firm and cold.
Anna's fleeting hope was dashed in an instant.
She hadn't expected Katherine to have known about Penny's identity for that long.
But she didn't understand why Katherine hadn't said anything earlier.
What Katherine said next cleared up her confusion.
She said, "Do you want to know why I didn't expose it? The reason I didn't say anything is simply out of sisterly consideration. Since you wanted a daughter, I decided to leave her with you. Besides, there's no benefit for either of us in exposing it now.
I thought your intentions were the same as mine; I thought you wanted a companion which is why you kept your daughter. It seems your intentions are different after all..."
Her lingering tone carried significant implications.
Anna's face paled, and she immediately spoke, "No, my intentions are indeed the same as yours. I didn't intend to keep my daughter on purpose. We didn't have a prenatal check, and I almost died in labor in the car you arranged, which is how I gave birth to my daughter. Since she looked so weak and pitiful, and knowing you had already given the child to Giorgio, I begged the driver not to tell you.
Over the years, I have never sought you out or exposed my daughter. All I want is to raise her in peace.
Things out of my control kept occurring and now my daughter and Charlie have become quite close. I knew you would see her sooner or later. I couldn't even sleep last night; I was so restless.
Please, pretend you don't know, don't take her away, or harm her. I swear, I will never let Giorgio know that Penny is his daughter, and I will find a way to minimize their contact."
When it came to her daughter, Anna was weak and humble.
She didn't want to lose her daughter, even the thought of it was unbearable.
Katherine looked at her pleading and scoffed, "Perhaps things are as you say, but what is the outcome? Penny not only came into contact with Charlie but also repeatedly showed up in front of Giorgio. How do you expect me to believe you? How can I be sure that you don't want to blow the lid off everything and have Giorgio accept Penny, destroying everything I've built?"
Her sharp counter-questions turned Anna pale.
Katherine continued, "Anna, haven't I been good to you? If I hadn't covered for you all this time, your reputation would have been ruined by now. Even if you did marry Giorgio through your child's influence, people across the country would condemn you, and your children would live under the stigma of being illegitimate. Is that what you want to see? Why don't you show some gratitude instead of constantly trying to make your presence felt and expose yourself and your daughter?"
Each word was piercing, hitting right at the center of Anna’s heart.
Anna found herself speechless and unable to counter.
She had never intended to expose herself, but from the second Giorgio appeared, everything changed, and the situation spiraled out of control.
Yet she said, "Not all the blame can be placed on me. If you hadn't accidentally fallen into the water, I wouldn't have replaced you, nor would I have stayed in Crownhaven so long. I would have returned to Vista Heights and resumed my quiet life."
Katherine was momentarily taken aback, and her fingers slowly tightened around her coffee cup, "You can return to Vista Heights now and resume your peaceful life."
Anna was stunned.
Now...
She had signed a contract with the company. It would be hard for them to let her go, right?
But Katherine knew about her daughter's identity. Wouldn’t Giorgio and the others soon find out the truth?
If she stayed, there would undoubtedly come a day when everything would be revealed.
"I will consider leaving," Anna said weakly.
"I hope you follow through. Otherwise, if anything happens, the consequences would be more than you can handle."
Katherine left these threatening words behind, picked up her designer bag, and departed with pride.
Anna felt her mood plummet.
She thought she could finally live for herself and change her destiny.
But now, it seemed she was still too naive.
From the day she got involved with Giorgio, her future looked bleak and all her hopes were tossed into an abyss, never to see the light again.
Half an hour later.
Dormitory.
Seeing Anna finally return, Sara was both anxious and curious, "Anna, we need to be there by eight to start working. Why are you only coming back now? Do you know the staff called several times to rush us? I got an earful because of it."
"Never mind, I've prepared all your clothes and props. Let's head over now, and you can change in the car."
"Anna hurry and grab your bag. We need to leave."
"Sara, wait," Anna called out. "I might not be able to work here temporarily. I need to talk to the manager about terminating my contract."
"What?" Sara exclaimed in surprise, dropping everything in her hands to the floor. She turned around, her face pale, and looked at Anna disbelievingly, asking, "Why? Everything at work is going well, even our colleagues are good to us. You're on track to having a successful career. How can you stop working here and break the contract? Did something happen to Penny? Did they recognize her?"
Sara blurted out a stream of thoughts, then suddenly realized that this might be the issue. She slumped onto the sofa and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done such a stupid thing yesterday. It's all my fault."
"It's not your fault, and it has nothing to do with last night. Katherine recognized Penny as my daughter back in Vista Heights." Anna reassured her.
What?
"She knew Penny as your daughter this entire time?"
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