Chapter 82
Just as the room fell quiet again, a crisp ringtone cut through the air, snapping everyone's attention toward its source. It came from Edward's phone.
A faint crease formed between his brows, a flash of irritation flickering through his eyes.
He answered the call. On the other end, a familiar voice rushed out. "Edward, where are you right now? Do you have a minute to come over? I need you. It's urgent."
Paxton sounded unusually rattled, his words tumbling out faster than normal.
The phone's default volume was a little too loud, so Victoria—standing right beside him—heard every word clearly.
Urgent?
Her lashes fluttered before she could stop herself, her mind spiraling into possibilities.
Paxton was a doctor, wasn't he?
If he needed Edward to come over, did that mean the hospital?
Her thoughts immediately darted toward the worst, then she forced herself to slam on the brakes.
'Don't think about these pointless things.'
There was no way something had happened to Edward.
She was just overthinking—again.
"Urgent?" Edward echoed, his frown tightening. "Explain."
He could hear the tension in Paxton's voice, sure—but he knew this man too well.
If things were truly dire, Paxton would have barged in already instead of politely calling his cell.
Which meant this so‑called emergency, could very well be about him.
Paxton clearly hadn't expected him to be this blunt, and the brief silence on the line crackled with annoyance.
"Edward, this is about you. If you don't come, you're going to regret it, I swear."
He hesitated for only a breath before blurting out more than he meant to. "I've been suspecting that the DNA test with that kid wasn't accurate, and while going through some files recently, I accidentally discovered that your DNA sample was tampered with. Which means the result you got before was completely fake."
Maybe it was his panic talking, because he spilled the entire thing in one rapid stream.
He was gearing up to say more when Edward cut him off. "Enough."
Edward shut his eyes for a beat, his voice chilling. "I'm coming now."
A falsified DNA result?
His eyes snapped open again, sharp as broken glass.
It might have been a small incident on the surface, but the hospital was under the Windsor Group. To alter his DNA report, the culprit had to be someone from the hospital or the company—and not someone low‑ranking.
The fact that he was only discovering this now meant those rats had dug themselves deep.
Too deep.
A strange, unreadable emotion flickered through his gaze. After sliding his phone back into his pocket, he turned slightly toward Victoria. "You can stay here, or—"
He didn't even finish before she spoke, her voice too quick to hide her anxiety. "You're going to Paxton, right? I'm coming with you!"
She had heard everything—every rushed sentence leaking through the speaker.
The problem wasn't with Edward.
It was the DNA test.
And that had to be tied to Yara.
No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't stay behind. The thought of waiting made her skin crawl; she needed to be there, needed to see for herself.
"You sure?" Edward asked, brows drawn. When she didn't waver, his posture eased by a fraction. "Alright. Let's go."
Eventually, she would learn the truth anyway.
Going now or knowing later made no real difference.
Meanwhile, Aiden—who had been ignored so thoroughly he might as well have been furniture—bristled, though one cold stare from Edward made him shrink back half an inch.
"You still haven't answered my question. How can you just walk away like this?"
Trying to hold onto the last scraps of his pride, he forced out something that was meant to sound tough. "And you still expect me to believe there's nothing going on between you two? At least put some effort into the lie. Do you really think I'm that stupid?"
His tone tried for strength, but neither Edward nor Victoria spared him even a glance.
"Aiden, if you're really that bored, maybe go to the office for once. I remember Creative Haven had several projects sent back this week?"
Victoria was too worried about Yara to bother sugarcoating anything.
Aiden's face darkened instantly, his jaw clenching until the muscle twitched. "You just wait."
With Edward standing right there, he didn't dare act on his anger.
Instead, he spat out one last threat. "If I find out you said something you shouldn't have… you won't like the consequences."
If he hadn't been drowning in problems lately, he would've already made sure Nolan—the man rotting in prison—paid for his silence.
But it wasn't too late.
They clearly had something important to deal with.
Which meant this was the perfect chance to act.
The moment that thought hit him, his shoulders loosened, and a smug smile curled on his lips.
Victoria, even if you clawed your way into the Windsor Family… so what?
As if Edward could keep track of everything.
As if he had time to worry about some prisoner like Nolan.
Heading toward his car, Aiden pulled out his phone and dialed. "The plan I told you about? Time to move forward."
His smile sharpened. "Pick a moment when no one's around. Make sure he can never speak about what happened back then."
Victoria, of course, knew nothing.
She followed close beside Edward, both of them moving quickly toward the hospital.
"There was sound coming through the phone earlier, and I overheard a bit."
In the car, watching the scenery blur past her window, she finally let the question spill out. "He mentioned something about the DNA report. Does that mean… the test for you and Yara had a problem?"
Her nerves knotted tight.
Up until now, it had only been an agreement—bringing Yara to the Windsor family for a few polite appearances.
But if the test result had been wrong… If Yara really was Edward's daughter…
She had no idea what she was supposed to do.
Her chest was a mess of contradictions.
Part of her dreaded the possibility of someone taking Yara away from her.
Another shameful, quieter part fluttered at the thought of being tied to Edward in any way at all.
None of these feelings were "appropriate," she knew that.
But she couldn't stop them.
"Nothing's confirmed yet. It's all speculation," Edward said, eyes fixed on the road, his calm almost infuriating. "And whatever the result is, it won't change reality. There's no point overthinking it."
Right. Victoria lowered her gaze, a stiff little laugh brushing the back of her throat.
No matter what the truth was, nothing would change for Edward.
Her panic was her own burden, born from her own foolishness.
People really shouldn't compare themselves to others.
She never should have let herself imagine anything.
In the end, it would only ever be a fantasy.
She wasn't a match for Edward. She shouldn't have been anywhere near his world.
She had been wrong.