Chapter 355 Sophia is Also a Survivor of the Experiment
Bodhi's eyes sharpened, his gaze cutting across Hayden's face like a blade.
Hayden hadn't taken care of himself in ages. His hair was long and messy, covering most of his face.
His eyes, hidden beneath his bangs, were full of greed.
Bodhi waved at his two subordinates. They moved in from both sides, grabbing Hayden's arms and forcing him to the ground.
"Cut the crap. Tell me, who exactly are you?" Bodhi asked coldly.
"I'll talk, I'll talk..." Hayden cried out, struggling in fear, but both men were well-trained. He had no chance to resist.
Isabella stood nearby, her face already pale with terror, biting her lip hard, trying to make herself invisible.
"You've got three minutes. Start talking." Bodhi glanced at Hayden with contempt. He'd seen plenty of people like this.
They thought they had something on him, but really, they were just cowards who feared death above all else.
A little rough treatment and they'd crack.
Useless trash... If he weren't still somewhat useful, Bodhi wouldn't waste his time here.
Hayden's face was pressed against the cold floor. The chill made him shiver violently as he trembled and started spilling everything he knew.
Isabella stood quietly listening. The more she heard, the more terrified she became.
It turned out Sophia's disappearance 21 years ago wasn't an accident—Hayden had done it on purpose.
Olivia had always thought she'd lost the child, but actually Hayden had already arranged for people to lie in wait.
When Olivia wasn't paying attention, they took the child away.
Seraphine was his first love, the only woman he'd ever truly fallen for in his life.
To marry Olivia, he'd given up Seraphine. This was his lifelong regret.
So when Isabella was born, he spoiled her rotten, wanting to give her everything good in the world.
But fate was cruel. From birth, Isabella had a congenital heart condition.
She was too young for surgery then, so she could only survive on medication.
But at that time, Olivia controlled almost all the family money. The money he used to buy Seraphine a house and gifts was all saved up bit by bit.
Seraphine grew more and more resentful, thinking: they're both Hayden's daughters, so why should Isabella suffer?
Hayden finally couldn't resist Seraphine's pleading, plus he was sick of Olivia's control over him, so he set his sights on the child.
Sophia and Isabella were about the same age and looked somewhat similar, so Hayden started his plan.
Right around then, he happened to hear about a child trafficking organization and secretly pulled strings to contact its leader.
That leader was Bodhi, standing right in front of him.
Everything after that fell into place so naturally. Sophia disappeared, Olivia was devastated, nearly developing depression.
Hayden then suggested adopting a child from an orphanage as consolation.
At first Olivia refused. She felt her own child was irreplaceable, but Hayden kept sweet-talking her.
When they got to the orphanage, Isabella quickly caught her attention.
And just like that, she was adopted by the Brown family.
Actually, Isabella had known from the start that she was Hayden's biological daughter, but she hadn't known he would go this far for her.
Her heart swelled with emotion, tears flowing uncontrollably.
Bodhi understood now. Twenty-one years ago, they had indeed gathered a batch of children of the right age and brought them to the lab for experiments.
But two years later, the lab was destroyed, and all the experimental records and data were burned to ashes.
Some of those children were disabled, some became mentally impaired or idiots. Almost all of them died.
Only Benjamin successfully survived.
That's why they'd been lurking around the White Manor, watching Benjamin's movements.
Hayden's words were like a bombshell. It turned out Benjamin wasn't the only one who survived from that batch—there was also Sophia.
Bodhi's stern face finally showed some change. He clenched his fist excitedly.
"Is what you're saying true?"
"Of—of course it's true! I swear, every word I've said is true. If I'm lying, may lightning strike me dead!" Hayden promised desperately.
"You wouldn't dare lie." Bodhi mostly believed Hayden's words now.
His life was in Bodhi's hands—no reason to lie.
If this was true, things just got a lot more interesting.
Bodhi waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to release Hayden.
Once free, Hayden let out a huge sigh of relief and put on a flattering smile. "Bodhi, I came here with a small request."
Bodhi raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."
This man was Sophia's biological father—still useful to keep around. If it wasn't too big a deal, he could agree to it.
Hayden's heart leaped with joy. He pulled Isabella forward. "My daughter and I have been in Celestria for two years now. We want to go back to Novaria."
Bodhi's gaze swept over him, then landed on Isabella.
Isabella was still wearing a pretty white dress, her long hair draped over her shoulders. Though her face was pale, it couldn't hide her delicate beauty.
Right now, Isabella kept her head down, her white teeth biting her lower lip, as if afraid.
This kind of fragile woman could really stir up a man's protective instincts.
He withdrew his gaze and laughed coldly. "What? Need money?"
"Yes! You really are someone who does big things—you guessed exactly what I wanted to say." Hayden laughed, rubbing his hands together somewhat embarrassedly. "It would be even better if you could sort out our passports."
"You two are pretty greedy." Bodhi sneered, not immediately agreeing.
Hayden couldn't help but panic, unsure what Bodhi meant.
He looked up and noticed Bodhi's gaze had landed on Isabella. He instantly understood.
Isabella also felt the eyes on her, and a bad feeling rose in her heart.
She instinctively stepped back, wanting to escape, but Hayden grabbed her wrist hard. "Bodhi, I don't have much to offer you. My daughter is 22 this year, in the prime of her youth. What do you think..."
"Dad!" Isabella felt a chill run through her, struggling desperately to break free from his grip.
No matter how noble his earlier words sounded, Isabella knew clearly how selfish he was.
Before, when he didn't have money to pay gambling debts, he'd forced her to go to bars, clubs, all kinds of entertainment venues to meet rich people.
He'd made it sound good just now, saying everything he did was for Seraphine, but really it was all for himself.
After taking Olivia's money and starting a company, his ambitions grew—he wanted to completely take over the Brown Group.
The Brown Group's startup capital came from Olivia, so before Sophia disappeared, Olivia was the company's largest shareholder.
Later, he took advantage of Olivia's depression to trick her into signing a share transfer agreement.
So at its core, Hayden only loved himself.
His love for her and Seraphine... existed, but not much.