Chapter 80
The very next day after Victoria had finally made up her mind, something else happened.
Paxton, still in his white lab coat and heading back to his office, stopped abruptly. "Isn't that the little girl people said might be Edward's daughter? Is she still here? She hasn't been discharged?"
He had heard about her being hospitalized ages ago. He hadn't expected to see her still lingering around.
He blinked, a sharp glint flickering behind his calm expression. He had been worrying about how to get DNA material from the two of them, and now the perfect opportunity was standing right there. No chance was he letting that slip.
Paxton was the kind of man who acted the instant an idea crossed his mind. So he walked forward, still holding the file he had yet to put down, and pretended to notice Yara only just now. "I remember you. Your mom's name is Victoria, right?"
With his easy smile and approachable face, he said, "I'm a friend of your mom's. What are you doing here by yourself? Where is she?"
He pointed lightly toward the hallway, his tone testing. "She's usually glued to your side. She'd never just leave you alone."
Yara wasn't alone today.
She tilted her head up, searching her memory with earnest concentration. After a moment, her face brightened. "I remember you! You were with Mr. Windsor before! Mom had things to do today, so Veda brought me."
Her sweet little voice could melt anyone's heart.
Even Paxton softened his tone. "That's right. Great memory. Which room are you in? I'll bring something for you next time. You're almost all healed up, right?"
After a brief hesitation, he lifted his hand and gently brushed her soft hair.
What had started as mild suspicion has now hardened into certainty.
If this kid wasn't Edward's, then fate was playing jokes.
The resemblance was simply too striking. If they weren't related, the universe had a bizarre sense of humor.
"Yara's fine now! Next time, you can come with Mr. Windsor too!"
Kids didn't filter anything. She didn't notice his intentions at all. "Mom would be really happy if you guys came!"
Paxton nodded along, though his thoughts had slipped somewhere else entirely.
He withdrew his hand and casually hid it behind him. "I will. But it looks like Veda is coming over. I've got something to handle, so I'll head out. I'll visit next time."
He rubbed his hidden hand lightly against his palm as he lowered his gaze. Now that he had the hair sample, he needed to run that DNA test while no one knew.
There was no way two people who looked that similar weren't related.
Yara nodded obediently and turned toward the hallway. A familiar figure approached, and Paxton had already disappeared.
Ever since he'd tried to target Victoria, Aiden's life had been a mess.
"Didn't I tell you not to bring this crap to me anymore?"
He flung the file across the table. "You dare show me this garbage? Are you all tired of getting paid? Did you forget who signs your checks?"
The employees kept their heads lowered, stuck somewhere between fury and fear.
Aiden had always had a temper, but recently he'd become terrifying—worse than any "rage disorder" rumor online.
Like today—he had approved this very proposal before, even had them revise it exactly as he wanted. But the moment it landed on his desk again, he tore them apart. No one even knew what they supposedly did wrong.
The man presenting it was seriously considering quitting. A boss like this was worse than none at all.
After venting, Aiden's emotions finally settled a little. "Whatever. You're annoying to look at. Get out."
He felt like everything had gone wrong lately. Deals kept falling through. Employees were getting harder to control. Everything enraged him.
And he blamed all of it on Victoria.
People who were incompetent rarely blamed themselves.
Victoria got off work early that day. Most of her projects were already finished, and she was resting her hands to prepare for surgery again. No overtime today.
"Aiden? What are you doing here?"
She frowned at the sight of him. "I'm pretty sure you don't work for the Windsor Group. Don't tell me Creative Haven is going bankrupt and you're here begging for help?"
She didn't bother sparing him any dignity. "If you're here to talk about your same stupid drama, turn around. No one wants to hear it."
Now that she had returned to design, her confidence had returned as well. She was no longer the Victoria he once crushed so easily.
"Tell me—were you messing around with someone from the Windsor Group before our divorce?"
Aiden's face twisted. He glared at her viciously. "Why else would Rhea be helping you behind the scenes? You lying bitch. You hid everything from me!"
He had planned to have someone grab Yara first, to use her as leverage against Victoria. But before his people even moved, another group shut him down immediately.
Investigating afterward, he learned it was Rhea's people.
Anyone protecting Yara like that had to be connected to the Windsor family. Which meant Victoria was connected too.
It had to be a scam from the beginning.
Victoria was genuinely confused. She looked at him like he'd gone insane. "What possible connection would I have to the Windsor family?"
Had he actually lost his mind?
Her life now consisted only of work, the hospital, and home. There was no room to "get involved" with the Windsors.
Then another thought hit her, and her eyes widened with fury. "Did you try to send someone after Yara again? You're disgusting. No wonder your company's failing! With that paranoid brain of yours, going bankrupt is only a matter of time!"
Shock and anger sharpened every word, stabbing directly at him.
"So what? You really think I can't deal with you anymore?"
Aiden flew into a rage, stepped forward in a few strides, and raised his hand high.
He was actually about to hit her.