Chapter 479

Chapter 479
The Truth Stained With Her Blood.

Raina's POV.

I walked to the study door, my eyes narrowing when I realized it appeared to be locked.

I wiggled the doorknob, and it clicked open.

I stepped inside and quietly searched for the light switch. I tapped repeatedly against the wall until the lights came on.

My eyes immediately settled on the half-empty bottle of liquor on the desk, with a shot glass beside it.

Richard was drinking? How late had he stayed up?

Shaking off the distracting thoughts, I headed straight for the cabinet.

My eyes narrowed when I realized it was locked.

Biting my lower lip, I ran my hands through my hair as I searched for a hairpin. I twisted it into the right shape, pushed it into the lock, and began wiggling it.

"Tsk..." I clicked my tongue at the difficulty. The lock was sturdier than I had expected.

At last, it clicked. I pulled the cabinet open.

"What do we have here?" I murmured, settling onto the floor as I began going through the files.

I moved from one section of the cabinet to another, scanning the documents.

The first and second shelves were filled with business reports.

My hand moved lower until I found a separate compartment.

I pulled it open, and a photograph slipped out.

I raised a brow as I picked it up.

It was a photograph of Susannah. My eyes narrowed.

Why would he keep Susu's photograph hidden away in his study?

My gaze returned to the separate compartment, and I reached inside.

My fingers closed around a file.

I pulled it out and shifted farther from the cabinet as I opened it, my eyes moving across the first page.

The first thing I read was my child's name.

"Child's Name:
Susannah Moranno."

It was printed in bold letters.

The next line read:

"Case ID/Specimen ID + Test Type."

My grip tightened around the file as I realized what I was holding.

It was a DNA test—a paternity test for my Susu.

"RESULT: RICHARD LAWSON CANNOT BE EXCLUDED as the biological father of Susannah Moranno.

Probability of paternity: 99.9%"

A slow gasp escaped me as my eyes widened. I read the words again and again, as though staring at them long enough would somehow make them disappear.

This... This wasn't possible.

It couldn't be possible.

How... Susu, Richard's child?

I... I... Aaron.

My chest tightened, making each breath feel shallow and strained.

I struggled to my feet, the file still clenched in my hand as I fought to steady my breathing. My vision blurred with tears.

I stumbled backward, and my back struck Richard's desk. My free hand flew across the surface, knocking into the bottle of liquor.

The bottle crashed to the floor, the sharp sound echoing through the hallway as broken glass scattered around my feet.

Richard was Susannah's father?

Why... Was this real?

I shook my head, refusing to accept it.

It couldn't be real.

Swallowing hard, I rushed back to the cabinet, ignoring the shards of glass scattered across the floor.

A sharp pain shot through my feet as I stepped forward, but I barely noticed it.

I rifled through the files, this time with frantic movements, blinking rapidly as tears threatened to spill.

Then my eyes fixed on another photograph.

My trembling fingers picked it up.

It was a picture of Raven, the woman who had abducted me.

Why... Why was it in Richard's study?

I searched deeper and found several more pictures of her. They appeared recent. Her hair was longer than it had been all those years ago, and a tattoo covered part of her arm.

What the...

"Rain."

Richard's voice came from behind me, followed by heavy footsteps approaching the doorway.

"What happened? You're bleeding," he asked, his voice rising as he hurried toward me.

His hands landed on my shoulders as he pulled me upright. He turned me around, and my tear-filled eyes fell to the blood smeared across the floor.

Only then did I fully realize that I had walked into the study barefoot.

"Why? How did the glass break? Come with me, I will clean your wounds." He said, his hands trembling slightly as he reached down to lift me from the ground.

"Get away." I said quietly, pulling my body away from him. "Get away from me," I said, my voice growing louder as I tightened my grip around the pictures and documents.

"Get away from me!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the room as I drove my elbow into him.

He pulled back, stunned by my reaction, but his eyes soon narrowed as he seemed to understand what was happening.

"Raina... We can discuss this later, okay?" He said cautiously, his eyes flicking toward the contents clutched in my hands.

"You're bleeding, and I need to tend to you, so come with me." He said, his hands hovering uncertainly at his sides as he took a cautious step closer.

"I need you to answer my questions, and I want you to be honest for once in your life." I said, my voice low as I stepped away from him.

"Are the paternity test results real? Tell me, is it real?" I asked, my voice cracking despite my attempt to keep it steady.

Even though some part of me already knew the answer, I wanted him to deny it.

I wanted him to tell me it wasn't true.

He exhaled sharply, his shoulders sinking as his gaze dropped to the floor.

"You shouldn't be here, Rain. You should be asleep, not snooping around in my study." He said, his voice strained as he glanced at my bleeding feet.

"Please come with me. I have to stop the bleeding." He said, his voice softening as he extended a hand toward me.

His concern only made my chest ache harder. I locked my jaw and tightened my grip on the documents.

"Answer me, Richard. I want you to answer me!" I said, my voice rising.

"Are these damn files real?" I demanded, my voice breaking with the weight of the question.

"Yes," he admitted, his eyes closing briefly. "Yes, they're real. Susannah is my daughter." He said quietly.

A hollow laugh escaped me as I stumbled backward, my knees threatening to give way. My eyes burned as a dull ache began pounding behind my temples.

"She's our daughter, okay... Ours. But we will have to talk about it after I have tended to your wounds, please." He said, his voice unsteady as he kept his distance.

I stared at him, my thoughts racing as everything suddenly seemed to fall into place.

Him always being around, always accessible and understanding.

He had always wanted to be close to her. He had begged me for a relationship, yet I had never questioned the way he loved her because Liam had loved me the same way, even though he wasn't my father.

This bastard had played me. He had lied to me over and over again.

Susannah was my daughter. Only mine and Aaron's daughter.