Peter Sawyer thought I’d softened, and his eyes lit up.
To make him cooperate, I said deliberately, "You claiming you’re my biological father doesn’t prove anything. Unless... we do a paternity test. If the results show we truly are father and daughter, I’ll consider your suggestion. After all, blood is thicker than water—I don’t want to drive you to your death either."
Peter Sawyer’s joy showed all over his face. He seed very confident and replied, "Zoe, you’re only old enough to be my child. There’s no way I’m wrong. But it’s fine to do one. That way, you can officially return to the family."
"Then let’s draw blood now. I think this hospital has a paternity testing center."
Peter Sawyer had no objections at all.
Just like that, I went with him to have our blood drawn.
The staff at the testing center told us there’d been a lot of requests lately, so no expedited service was available. They could only promise results within a week.
To confirm my suspicions—and clear my mom’s na—I talked Peter Sawyer into the test.
When we left, the worry had faded a lot from his face. He smiled and said, "Zoe, you really are as sensible as your mother. I’ll wait for the good news then. Don’t worry—the results will prove we’re father and daughter."
"Okay, take care. Don’t co lately, though. I don’t want my mom facing more attacks from your wife."
I couldn’t even stand to look at this "father." I held in my disgust just to get him out.
I’d thought at least Peter Sawyer would wait for the paternity results before making his next move.
But maybe because the attacks against him online kept getting worse, he was forced to act quickly.
What I didn’t expect was that the way he stepped up to "clear the air" was by apologizing for cheating during his marriage and admitting I was his illegitimate child.
"I’m sorry, everyone. When I was young and impulsive, I did so wrong things—Eleanor Thorne and I had an illegitimate daughter. From now on, I will abide by moral standards, return to my family, and make it up to my wife and daughter."
He looked devastated in the video, as if he deeply regretted his actions.
To my surprise, there were actually far fewer hateful comnts in the replies.
"Admitting your mistake and going back to your family makes you a good man. Who hasn’t made mistakes when they were young? Professor Sawyer is a top research expert in the country—we have to give him chances so he can keep improving dical technology for us."
"It’s all Zoe Ellison and her mom. If the mother’s bad, the daughter can’t turn out good. The Sawyers have suffered enough! What guy could resist a filthy seductress who throws herself into his bed?"
"Our Serena hasn’t posted on X for days. She must be heartbroken. I could just cry! Zoe Ellison, that fucking bitch, is really her father’s illegitimate kid. Disgusting!"
These comnts made realize just how shockingly forgiving society is towards n.
Peter Sawyer’s short confession got him forgiven by most netizens.
anwhile, everything he said implicitly accused my mom of seducing a married man and having out of wedlock.
Now, the entire Sawyer Family was cast as victims—while only my mom and I were still enduring vicious abuse and relentless attacks.
...
At the company, because Ethan Xavier had invested fifty million, they didn’t fire outright.
Instead, they told to get this settled before coming back to work.
So, these days I’d been staying at the hospital with my mom.
During this ti, Katherine Sheldon also ca by.
I thought she just wanted to see . But after a little small talk, she hesitated, then finally spoke up.
"Zoe, Auntie Katherine wants to ask you for a favor."
She looked at anxiously.
I said, "You want to stay away from Ethan Xavier, right?"
Katherine’s face was knotted with worry as she said, "Ethan’s been running around everywhere because of you lately. Honestly, I don’t mind—after all, you’ve been friends since childhood. But this ti he went to Aurelia to find Julian Sinclair for you, and Timothy found out. Now Timothy’s targeting his father’s company. We... are really at a disadvantage."
My heart sank hard and fast.
The hate and abuse online just made angry. But Timothy Xavier kept invading my life from every direction.
Every ti, he had to drive the knife in deeper.
He wouldn’t help —but he wouldn’t let anyone else help , either.
Katherine went on, "Back then, Ethan’s dad and your mother-in-law divorced, and he gave up everything. He’s struggled so much over the years to finally get back on his feet in the business world. All he can leave Ethan is what he has now. I’m really afraid Ethan, being rash, will offend Timothy."
"I understand, Auntie Katherine."
I nodded and assured her, "I’ll talk to Timothy and Ethan. Don’t worry."
...
Not long after Katherine left, Timothy Xavier arrived.
I looked at the face I’d known for twenty years, and for the first ti, he felt like a stranger.
"So you’re just going to lie down and give up?"
He saw the bedding I’d laid out on the small sofa in my mom’s hospital room, and frowned. "How long are you going to hide?"
I looked him steadily in the eyes, voice calm but firm. "My mom and I haven’t done anything wrong. We don’t need to hide!"
Timothy’s lips curled with a hint of disdain. "Peter Sawyer has already admitted it. Why bother with useless denials? I didn’t co to verify anything—I’m only here because of our marriage. To give you a hand."
I had zero expectations of him now, but I still wanted to see how cruel he could get.
So I asked him, "And how exactly will you help?"
His expression was cold and controlled, as if this wasn’t even about . "Take your mother and go abroad for a while. Wait for this to blow over, then co back."
I didn’t expect his request to be exactly the sa as Peter Sawyer’s!
Who knew if he and the Sawyers had cooked this up together, or if it was just that as n who’d both cheated, they inherently shared the sa rotten instincts!
Through clenched teeth, I said, "My mother and I aren’t going anywhere! Timothy Xavier, go take care of Serena Sawyer—I don’t need you here!"
I’d barely finished when his face darkened and he stalked toward , cornering against the wall.
His eyes glinted with an intimidating chill as he stared hard at . "You ’don’t need’ ? So who do you need? Ethan Xavier? If he helps you, it counts, but if I help, that’s aningless?"
I shot back sarcastically, "You really think you’re helping ? If you actually cared, you’d tell the public clearly what our relationship is. You can hold a press conference for Serena, but when I’m being vilified online, you join in with everyone else!"
Timothy gave a cold laugh. "In the end, you’re just jealous of Serena. Back in school, didn’t you hate Ethan? Now, just to get back at , you cozy up to him. Zoe Ellison, you’re childish!"
I smiled faintly. "Yeah, I used to hate Ethan. But for soone I hated that much—even he trusted my mom, and , at a ti like this. Unlike you. People change. He changed. So did you."
Timothy stared at in silence for a long ti, then nodded. "Fine. Guess I wasted my ti coming here."
As he was leaving, I said to him, "Ethan and I are just friends. Could you just leave him out of this?"
Timothy’s icy expression took on a touch of contempt. "You’re giving yourself too much credit. I’m going after Ethan, and it’s got nothing to do with you."
After he left, only the cold air remained, closing in around .
Yeah, I was overestimating myself.
If Timothy was going after Ethan, it was because their fate as enemies was decided from birth. It had nothing to do with .
The only person who could affect Timothy’s emotions was Serena Sawyer. I was irrelevant.
...
The next day, Ethan Xavier ca to the hospital.
I rembered Katherine’s request, and said coldly, "Stop worrying about my business from now on. We’re not even that close."
Ethan just chuckled. "My mom talked to you, didn’t she?"
"No, she didn’t."
I kept my expression blank, not wanting him to sense anything.
Ethan stuck his hands in his pockets and drawled lazily, "Alright—if you say so, I’ll leave. I actually found soone who can help clear your mother’s na, but if you don’t want that, I won’t waste my energy."
With that, he pretended to leave.
I quickly said, "Wait—what did you just say?"
Just then, Jenna Sutton ca in holding Madam Sinclair’s arm.
I stared in surprise. "Madam Sinclair?"
"Aw, look at how swollen your eyes are!"
Madam Sinclair gazed at with compassion. "These days must have been so hard on you. Taking care of your mom, enduring all that horrible slander..."
If I could put on a strong front before, because of Madam Sinclair’s words, tears instantly welled up in my eyes.
She ca over, gently holding my hand. "No more tears, child. I’ve co to help you figure this out. Trust . Everything will be alright."
Jenna explained, "Zoe, Madam Sinclair really does have a way! Ethan and I found nothing at University of Aurelia, and she got in touch with Ethan herself. Turns out she knows your mother."
I helped Madam Sinclair sit down, shocked. "You know my mother?"
She nodded, her expression taking on a faraway look. "Rember at the party, when I heard you playing piano, I said your style reminded of one of my students?"
I paused. "That student was my mom?"
"Yes. Your mother was my proudest student back then. She was incredibly talented with the piano. If she’d gone further, she might have beco an exceptional pianist. Unfortunately, in high school, she t Peter Sawyer. In order to be with him, she hid her plans from and gave up her audition for the conservatory."
With a sigh, but also so pride, Madam Sinclair said, "Good thing your mother was also excellent academically and got into University of Aurelia. I was angry with her for a long ti over that. For all her university years, we had no contact. After she graduated, she ca to the Sinclair ho herself to invite as her witness for her wedding."
Alarm bells went off in my head. "That wedding—was it to Peter Sawyer?"
"Yes, the groom was Peter Sawyer."
Madam Sinclair nodded with certainty, a trace of either sadness or regret in her expression. "I didn’t stay in touch with her those four years, but I kept an eye on her from a distance. Your mom’s talent in scientific research was no less than Peter Sawyer’s, but she got married straight after graduating."
I looked at my mother in her hospital bed, forcing a bitter smile. Our paths were surprisingly alike.
Both of us gave all our passion to soone—only to be let down by them in the end.
I asked, "Madam Sinclair, do you know why Peter Sawyer ended up marrying Faye Warren instead? What happened between him and my mom?"
Madam Sinclair sighed. "After their wedding, Peter Sawyer had no roots in Aurelia and ca from an ordinary family, so he had to leave for a university in a smaller city to do research.
Your mother actually got a job offer to stay at University of Aurelia, but gave up her bright future to follow him to another city.
We were far apart. At first, your mom still called sotis, so we’d keep in touch. But then one day—I couldn’t reach her anymore. She just vanished..."
At this point, Madam Sinclair’s tears stread down her face. She softly stroked my mom’s hair on the hospital bed, like she was her own child.
I felt awful, too, but I was worried about Madam Sinclair getting so emotional at her age, so I tried to comfort her for a long ti.
After she cald down, I asked, "When you went to my mom’s wedding, did you keep any photos or anything?"
If we had photos or invitations, that would prove Peter Sawyer was lying!
She shook her head. "I did get your mother’s wedding invitation, but at that ti, my son—that is, Julian’s father—died in an accident. Both a wedding and a funeral collided, so I could only choose to see to my son’s funeral."
"I’m sorry, Madam Sinclair, I... I didn’t know..."
I felt terribly guilty for bringing up such a painful mory for her.
She said with grandmotherly warmth, "It’s okay, child. Now I’m just sad for your mother."
After what she said, I calculated Serena Sawyer and Miles Sawyer’s ages in my head.
I’m 25, and so is Miles.
Which ans Peter Sawyer got together with Faye Warren while still married to my mom—they couldn’t have married after the divorce.
He was already with Faye Warren during his marriage—and already had Miles with her.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
My mom and I, Serena and her mom—the paths we’d walked really were just copy-pasted versions of each other.
The two of them stole soone else’s husband, then played the victims and positioned themselves as morally superior.
I was actually so disgusted I wanted to throw up.
"Thank you for telling all this, Madam Sinclair."
I looked gratefully at the kind old lady in front of .
She said, "From now on, you can call Grandma, just like Ethan and Jenna do! Jenna only just t but started calling Grandma right away!"
Jenna giggled. "That’s because I never had a grandma growing up. The grandma in my dreams always looked like you, Madam Sinclair."
Ethan made a face and teased her for being a kiss-up.
But Madam Sinclair was pleased, and asked Jenna if she had a boyfriend.
Ethan clicked his tongue. "Grandma Sinclair, if you’d asked her two months ago, maybe she and Julian still had a chance. But now, soone’s already taken."
Madam Sinclair sighed. "How co all the girls I like are already spoken for? And my grandson still can’t find a match."
Jenna said with a grin, "Grandma Sinclair, if you help Zoe clear her na, maybe she and your grandson will end up together!"
Ethan and I spoke in unison, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Clearly, no one had told Madam Sinclair yet that I was actually Mrs. Timothy Xavier.
But she took it seriously, smiling as she said, "Jenna’s not entirely wrong! Don’t worry, Grandma will help you and your mom clear your na—no matter what!"
"Do you have any good ideas?"
The three of us juniors all listened attentively.
Confidently, Madam Sinclair said, "Even though I didn’t go then, your mom invited her old piano classmates from my lessons to the wedding. All we have to do is contact them. If everyone testifies, the Sawyers’ wretched lies will collapse!"
Her tone turned severe. "For all the filth they’ve thrown at you and your mother, I won’t just shut them up with evidence—we’ll have my grandson sue every one of them!"
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