Chapter 4 Paternity Test
Dylan coughed twice, and thinking of the task Marcus had given him, said softly, "Ms. Windsor, are Oliver and Celeste treating you well?"
Catherine looked up calmly, but her gaze somehow made Dylan feel inexplicably uneasy.
Catherine was only eighteen now—how could her eyes be even more intimidating than Marcus's?
It was as if she could see right through him.
Catherine withdrew her gaze, lowered her raven-like lashes, and looked at the design drafts in her hands.
Sensing Dylan's concern, she said lightly, "Not bad. Dylan, what's the scenery like in Tranquil County? I've never been there."
"Tranquil County? Juniper Windsor does research in Tranquil County, managing a 500-acre chicken farm. The person who called you last time was from the research institute. If you're interested, I'll take you to visit next time. But we're not going there—your family is waiting for you at home in Imperia City."
Imperia City, the political and economic center of all Stellara, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. Being able to buy a house in Imperia City for the whole family to live in, even just a small house, would cost quite a bit.
Yesterday, Clara had wanted to buy a house in Imperia City for college, but Oliver had refused, saying the investment wasn't cost-effective.
He said that besides money, you also needed connections to buy a house you liked in Imperia City!
Oliver's connections and money barely qualified him as the richest person in the smallest district of Serenitia City.
And that was only because Catherine had secretly given him a lot of resources for Elodie's sake—otherwise, Oliver couldn't even afford a villa now.
But this "richest person" title probably wouldn't last much longer!
At the Smith Mansion, after seeing Catherine off, the three of them sat together in the living room.
Clara asked somewhat uncertainly, "Mom, if Catherine doesn't do well in the future and gets tired of feeding chickens, will she come back looking for us?"
Celeste said coldly, "Let me tell you, Clara, from now on we stay away from her. People of our status and farmers like her are not in the same class."
Clara's earlier comment was out of worry that if the Smith family saw Catherine living too miserably, they might mercifully take her back.
Hearing Celeste say this, Clara felt much better.
"But just now a helicopter flew over—it couldn't have been Catherine, could it?"
Oliver also laughed and playfully tapped Clara's nose, saying indulgently, "What a joke! That was the latest combat helicopter. This technology was just developed—how could Catherine's parents possibly have that kind of capability? She definitely took the bus. She's probably bouncing along on the road right now."
Come on, the kind of important person who could ride in that helicopter was someone Oliver would never meet in his lifetime.
If that were true, he'd fry fish for Catherine in the palm of his hand.
"Then they..."
Celeste interrupted impatiently, "Didn't your dad just say? She definitely took the bus back, covered in dust—just looking at her is unlucky. This afternoon, Mom will take you shopping and get you lots of jewelry and clothes!"
Clara smiled sweetly and snuggled into Celeste's arms. "I also want Quinn's new collection!"
If Clara could get even a small handkerchief from Quinn's designs, she could become famous in high society circles.
Celeste readily agreed.
The housekeeper walked in with a package. "Sir, your delivery has arrived."
Oliver received so many document deliveries every day that he couldn't even remember what he'd ordered.
When he opened it, the contents left Oliver stunned!
Inside were two paternity test reports.
One was between him and Clara.
One was between his wife Celeste and Clara.
The results of these two reports proved that Clara was Celeste's daughter, but not Oliver's daughter!
Oliver's hands were trembling as he looked at the strings of text and numbers.
"What is this?"
Celeste quickly leaned over, and seeing those two documents, suddenly remembered what Catherine had said about the gift she was leaving them when she left.
That damned Catherine, insisting on exposing the secret she'd hidden for over a decade—how vicious!
Celeste said through gritted teeth, "Honey, Catherine must have done this. This report must be something she had someone forge to drive a wedge between you and us. Paternity tests cost so much money, and I never gave her any allowance—where would she get the money?"
"She just wanted to go live a miserable life, and before leaving, she wanted to harm Clara!"
"Honey, Clara looks so much like you—you can't doubt her, or you'll be falling into her trap!"
Clara on the side was also crying her eyes out, her face covered in tears.
Oliver looked at her somewhat suspiciously, and indeed saw his own features in Clara's face.
He also didn't believe Catherine had the money or connections to secretly do a paternity test on him.
Thinking this way, Clara should really be his daughter.
He put down the documents and said wearily, "I'm not doubting you and Clara. I just don't want to recognize the wrong daughter, especially since this has already gotten out. It must be Catherine—that child is really psychologically twisted, sowing discord. Thank goodness we cut ties with her."
Someone so vicious—sending her away was truly the wisest decision!
After Oliver left, Celeste finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She instructed Clara, "I've enrolled you in a class to learn all kinds of micro-expressions. As long as your expressions and mannerisms match your dad's in daily life, he'll think he was overthinking and won't doubt anymore."
Clara didn't dare disobey Celeste, and knowing the consequences if this matter were exposed, she could only mumble her agreement. "Then buy me one more Quinn designer piece—I want a matching hair clip from the same collection!"
Celeste hugged her and smiled with great affection. "Alright, I'll buy them all for you."
Clara smiled with satisfaction.
Catherine probably didn't even know who Quinn was—from now on, their lives would be completely worlds apart!
On the plane, Catherine looked at the messages on her phone and selectively replied.
She had also participated in developing this helicopter model—it had signal even 30,000 feet above ground.
The phone hadn't been completely wiped either; she just needed a few operations to restore it.
She had absolutely no interest in keeping anything from the Smith family.
Simon Miller: "Ms. Windsor, the new collection is up, and I've sent the pre-order information to your phone."
"This design is absolutely stunning! Just after launch, everything was already ordered, and the money has been transferred to your account. Several society ladies even got into a fight on the spot over a scarf!"
Catherine replied indifferently, "Watch the security."
Simon: "Don't worry, we'll definitely make them pay compensation—not a cent less!"
Having worked with Catherine for so long, he understood her personality best.
Simon: "Have you finished the drafts for next quarter? Of course, I'm not rushing you!"
Simon had seen Catherine draw design drafts before—in one hour, before he'd even finished his meal, she'd completed an entire quarter's worth of drafts!
Every single design was breathtakingly stunning. After seeing so many, Simon wanted to kneel down to Catherine's hands on the spot.
Everyone in the industry praised Quinn's designs as extraordinarily brilliant—if they knew these were just drafts Quinn drew during meal breaks, their jaws would probably drop!
Catherine looked at the pile of blank white paper beside her.
"They're done. I'll send them over. I'll let you know the formula for the developing solution after I've prepared it."
"Great!"
Simon knew Quinn was extremely cautious.
Each time, her design drafts were created using specially made paper and pens that she prepared herself, and ordinary people couldn't see the patterns.
Each design draft required a developing solution formula that Catherine prepared herself before the actual designs could be seen.
Even if someone somehow got hold of these drafts by chance, they would only see blank paper.
Getting Quinn's design drafts was harder than reaching the sky.
Dylan picked her up and flew the helicopter with absolute joy, happier than when he'd won the lottery a few days ago.
"Ms. Windsor, you're finally coming home. Now the marriage arrangement between our family and the Howard family can move forward."