I absentmindedly looked to Anthony for his reaction. His face was darkened as he sat frozen in his seat.
After a brief pause, he looked up and instructed Joseph, “Send Ms. Stanhope home.”
His tone was frostier than before, and there was a subtle sense of urgency about it.
Joseph, too, seemed surprised at the outcome and took a while to recover. He then duly gestured to the door, saying, “After you, Ms. Stanhope.”
I did not get up right away, turning to the side instead. “Mr. Featherstone!”
It was the ties that bind. I refused to believe that Gregory’s attachment toward me came out of nowhere. We must be missing something.
Even though I was unable to convince myself, I would not be able to accept this if the results currently in Anthony’s hands had been tampered with.
Anthony seemed to disregard me as he reprimanded Joseph with severity. “Must I repeat myself?”
I remained in denial. “Perhaps there was an issue with the DNA sample you got from me. Maybe we could…”
Anthony was in no mood to listen to me any longer. He calmly took the report from the doctor and inspected it carefully once more.
I did not know how I mustered the courage to vocalize the fury I felt inside at the sight of his aloofness. “Anthony Featherstone!”
That outburst finally seemed to yield some response from him. However, he merely paused in the act of reading; he did not look up at me.
I tried to make a dogged attempt to state my case but was cut off firmly by Joseph. “We should be going, Ms. Stanhope.”
Even if that was not something I wanted to hear, I felt the man’s good intentions. He was merely concerned that I might anger Anthony.
Left without alternatives, I could only back off. For now.
I had to break into a jog in order to keep up with Joseph’s lengthy strides. “Are you sure the result of the test is reliable, Mr. Campbell? Surely you must know the truth, having worked for Anthony for as long as you have?”
“Don’t worry yourself over this, Ms. Stanhope. Rest assured that Mr. Featherstone will look into it.”
Joseph brought me to the rear exit and issued some instructions to the chauffeur before he turned back.
The more I thought about it, the more I sensed something amiss. I decided to go back and question the examining doctor.
I backtracked to the house which I had come from and saw a young lady enter as I turned the corner.
The door was ajar, so I sneaked up and stood outside to eavesdrop.
Anthony was still in there while two people were engaged in a heated exchange. The woman sounded agitated as she snatched the paternity test report from Anthony’s hands. “Why are you looking at me like that? How could you suspect me because of something someone else said? I’m your own sister!”
The woman was so upset that she was heaving as she hurled the report onto the floor.
The doctor had already been dismissed earlier, so the only ones left inside were Anthony, the woman, and Joseph, who had just gone in.
The latter hesitated before he checked with Anthony if he should pick up the report. “Mr. Featherstone?”
Anthony calmly got to his feet. “Let’s go.”
The woman did not seem like she was going to let up and seized ahold of Joseph. “You! Who allowed you to come back?”
To his credit, Joseph remained unperturbed. “It’s been a while, Ms. Hall. Mr. Featherstone was the one who sent for me.”
“So he’s the one stirring things up here. Moving out from the Hall family on the account of an outsider? We’re your real family. Is this how you’re going to treat us?”
This Ms. Hall sounded increasingly indignant, as though she was genuinely hurt by how Anthony was handling this situation.
Anthony was unmoved, and there was even a hint of frivolity in his inflection. “Perhaps then, someone could explain what the deal was with Sienna’s obituary?”
“I see that you’ve found out about it.” The woman paused before she continued defiantly, “So what if I was the one who issued it under your name? You ought to know that I’ve sent people out to search for her until we finally found the body two years ago. I was afraid that you and Gregory would be saddened, so I took the initiative to take care of things of my own account.”
A coldness flashed across Anthony’s eyes as he adjusted his tie.
For a man of few words like him, such an untimely gesture betrayed his sentiments. I could sense his mounting hostility within the house even from a distance.
Anthony snorted, “More than a few people had told me that Sienna’s still alive.”
The Hall woman sneered as she looked askance at Joseph, “Did he tell you that? Or was it that good- for-nothing from the Stanhopes? The body we found was verified by DNA testing. It was without a doubt Sienna’s.”
Anthony smugly raised his chin. “Since we both appear to have a case, it seems only right for me to look into the identity of that woman who looks just like her.”
His chilling voice seemed to have frightened the woman.
She appeared a little rattled as she ranted, “Don’t you believe me, Anthony?”
“The truth trumps debate, wouldn’t you agree?” Anthony’s eyes swept meaningfully over her before he started for the door.
I was jolted to my senses and went on to hide in the emergency exit nearby.
The two men had only just left when the agitated voice of the woman emanated from the inside. “Find out exactly who my brother met up with recently! Be thorough about it!”
Only then did I slip away to the entrance and hired a ride out.
En route, I mentally tried to piece together what had just transpired.
However, I was not able to grasp the nuances within.
Emery did not seem the type to mistake anyone for someone else. Anthony did not blow up in my face; he had merely sent me away so he may question his own sister.
One was a Hall and the other a Featherstone. Yet both were siblings. This was intriguing indeed.
So Anthony was completely unaware of the obituary. If that was the case, why was he not surprised at the appearance of someone who looked exactly like his ex-wife?
Sienna Stanhope’s DNA was found on that corpse two years ago. Gregory and I have no blood relations. Was this the truth?
If only I had not lost my memories.
There would be no problems had I not forgotten the past.
I would be able to know if I liked the child, what kind of enemies I had, and who I loved.
No one would be able to lead me by the nose then.
When I reached the hospital, I sat outside the corridor for a while before returning to Marcus’ ward. A few people plain-clothes policemen were inside.
Marcus was having his statement taken, and he smiled when he saw that I had returned. “Hey Letty, you’re back.”
“Yeah.” He explained the situation when I walked to the side of the bed, “The police would like to get a better understanding of the case in order to solve it sooner.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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