Quincy stood quietly nearby, waiting without saying a word.
After a long pause, Caitlin drew a steady breath, opened the envelope, and pulled out the report inside.
Her brows knit tightly as she scanned the lines. Just then, Sebastian returned from seeing Federico and Magnus off. “Well? What does it say?”
“See for yourself.”
She passed him the report. Sebastian read it carefully, then nodded. “Exactly what you suspected. No blood relation whatsoever. It rules out a biological mother-daughter link.”
“If she’s not my mother,” Caitlin murmured, “then where is she?”
That was what tormented her most. The hand behind all this had planted someone who could mimic her mother so well it was almost flawless. Yet her real mother remained missing.
“Then we take her,” S
“Yes. I found Esme, thanked her in person, and invited her to visit our country someday.”Heather had secretly worried her son might fall for Esme or even bring her back home, but clearly she’d been overthinking.“Good. Then this matter is settled. You should focus on state affairs now.”“Of course. And this is a gift I brought back for you.”Magnus handed over the present before leaving. Heather accepted it with a smile. “Go, help your father with his burdens.”“Yes, Mother.”Magnus left her chambers and made his way to the king’s study. There, he found his father bent over documents.“Father, I’m back.”Leif VI stopped writing, set down his pen, and looked up at the man entering the room. “Well? Did everything go smoothly?”He maneuvered his wheelchair out from behind the desk. Magnus stepped forward to push him
“Look here, Liliana. She’s Hector’s daughter with his second wife. Right now she’s the executive vice president of TGV Perfumes and their chief perfumer. She’s also recognized as the number one socialite in D country. I know her.”“You know Liliana?”“Yes. Seeing her photo reminded me. Back when I competed in Paris, she and I crossed paths. She was easy to talk to, and we got along well. She won runner-up at that competition. Afterward, she even invited me to join TGV Perfumes. Of course, I had no idea at the time that the Jonathan family was connected to Walter.”Sebastian nodded. “That could work. If you can get her to introduce you, you’ll have a natural way into the Jonathan family.”“Exactly.”Caitlin flipped through the file again and found another useful detail. “It says here Liliana’s birthday banquet will be held tomorrow night at th
Wendy heard his words, but without looking back, she ran straight into the house.Benjamin stood there watching her retreating figure vanish. Thinking of what he had just done, he slapped himself hard across the face—twice. Fear gripped him that Wendy might never forgive him.Wendy closed the front door behind her. She had wanted to collapse into tears, but the housekeeper intercepted her.“Miss, Caitlin is here.”“Caitlin? Where is she?”“In the dining room.”Wendy walked in to find Caitlin sitting with Rebecca, feeding her dinner. Caitlin paused when she saw Wendy. “You’re back. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”“Thank you. You two eat first, I’m fine. I’m not hungry. I’ll just go upstairs for a while.”Wendy forced a thin smile and hurried off.Caitlin caught the redness in her eyes. She knew Benjamin must have been i
Wendy pulled her hand free from his grip. “Go wash up first. I’ll take care of it after. Where’s the first-aid kit?”“On that cabinet.”Benjamin pointed, then rushed toward the bathroom, still anxious. “Don’t you dare sneak off. Don’t leave!”Wendy gave a small nod, and only then did he disappear inside to clean the blood from his face and shirt.By the time he came back out, Wendy was waiting on the sofa. He sat down beside her, trying to steady the storm inside him. “I’m here.”She lifted her gaze. His handsome face was marred with cuts and swelling, the cleaned skin making every bruise stand out.Wendy disinfected the wounds with alcohol, then rubbed ointment into the bruises and covered the obvious scrapes with bandages. Once she finished and began to put the kit away, Benjamin caught her hand and held her eyes with his own.“Wendy, please&he
“Benjamin! Don’t be so reckless!”Wendy clung to his arm, then turned to Dennis. “I’m so sorry. Please, just go!”She hated that Dennis was getting dragged into this mess because of her.“I’m not leaving. I live here. Why should I go? He’s the one who should leave.”Dennis calmly undid the buttons on his jacket, ready for a fight. Benjamin shook Wendy off and lunged again. The two men clashed hard, fists flying.“Stop it! Benjamin, stop!”Wendy cried as tears streamed down her face, her voice breaking. Her heart was torn in two as she watched the man she loved brawl with someone else, fists cracking against bone, blood already drawn.Dennis’s cheek split under Benjamin’s punch. Seeing him hurt made Wendy feel even more guilty. Then Benjamin took a blow himself, his nose bleeding. That sight made Wendy’s heart ache unbearably.She was
Caitlin held the envelope in her hands. It was light, but to her it felt impossibly heavy.Quincy stood quietly nearby, waiting without saying a word.After a long pause, Caitlin drew a steady breath, opened the envelope, and pulled out the report inside.Her brows knit tightly as she scanned the lines. Just then, Sebastian returned from seeing Federico and Magnus off. “Well? What does it say?”“See for yourself.”She passed him the report. Sebastian read it carefully, then nodded. “Exactly what you suspected. No blood relation whatsoever. It rules out a biological mother-daughter link.”“If she’s not my mother,” Caitlin murmured, “then where is she?”That was what tormented her most. The hand behind all this had planted someone who could mimic her mother so well it was almost flawless. Yet her real mother remained missing.“Then we take her,” S