Blushing
The lights downstairs flickered off quickly. Alexander and Rock stopped talking.
Images of Jack's rehab flashed through her mind, and then Alexander's words resurfaced.
Have Rock infiltrated the Polar Bear Alliance because of Maxim's disappearance?
Who is that woman?
Why did Matthew hate her so intensely?
Alison's thoughts raced until dawn when she finally fell asleep.
When she stirred, it was already noon.
After freshening up, she stepped out of her room and found a maid waiting at the guesthouse door.
"Madam, the master says to have you come to the dining room for breakfast," the maid respectfully announced.
"Is Aidan here?" she asked.
"Mr, Aidan's gone to work. He instructed me to tell you to stay here and not go out."
Alison intended to ignore Aidan's orders. Today, she had two major tasks:
l. Find out where Jack was;
2. Visit YD to find any clues about Manager Foster's death, and uncover who had orchestrated the photographing of her.
She dashed down the stairs and entered the bustling living room.
Sophia and Ethan were clinging to Alexander on either side.
"Great-Grandpa, tell us a story! Quick!”
Alexander gently tapped Sophia's nose with his finger and smiled. "All right, all right. But first, let Great-Grandpa have a sip of water.”
"Okay, Great-Grandpa, have some water." Ethan promptly picked up the glass from the table and handed it to him.
"Great-grandpa, have another piece of cake! It'll give you strength to tell stories. I want to hear lots of stories!” Sophia grabbed a piece of cake from the plate and held it to Alexander's mouth.
"Mmm, delicious! Now Grandpa has the strength to keep going.” Alexander took a bite of the cake and chuckled. "Good girls, sit on the sofa with me. Otherwise, you'll pull my neck out of his shoulders."
Ethan and Sophia promptly sat down on the sofa, one on each side of Alexander.
Alison descended the stairs and said somewhat sheepishly, "Good afternoon, Grandpa."
Alexander looked up at her and said, "Come sit down."
She walked over and told Sophia and Ethan, "You two go play outside. Don't always cling to Great-Grandpa. Be good, okay?"
"Mommy, we're not clinging to Great-Grandpa! We just love listening to his stories. His stories are so wonderful!”
"Stories can't go on forever. A little each day is enough," Alison said with a smile.
"Sophia, let's go play outside." Ethan stuck out his tongue and took her hand.
"Yay!" The two little ones ran outside to play.
Alexande turned serious toward Alison.
"Alison," he said. "Tell me about your background."
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Alison paused before answering. "My adoptive parents took me in from an orphanage. I don't know anything about my real background.”
"Get a DNA test this afternoon. I suspect you and Emily might actually be related.” He commanded.
"It's not necessary, Grandpa."
"Go," Alexander sighed. "That child has suffered enough. She was raised by Matthew for over twenty years, and now she's trapped by addiction. Returning to a normal life will be incredibly difficult."
Seeing the tender look in his eyes, her heart skipped a beat. She'd always assumed that Alexander knew nothing, which was why he agreed to Rock and Emily's engagement.
"If Emily really is related to me, do you know who our parents are, Grandpa?"
"I can't be certain about that either. But judging by Matthew's attitude toward you both, I suspect you might be that woman's daughters."
“Who is that woman? Please tell me, Grandpa.”
“I can't be entirely certain yet, but I believe your mother was Daphne Green,” Alexander murmured, rubbing his forehead.
“Daphne... Green..." Alison murmured. “Grandpa, where is she now?”
“She disappeared long ago, when you were very young.”
Alison's mind went blank as she recalled Alexander's words from that night: "If not for her, your father wouldn't have disappeared either."
"If she really is my mother, could her disappearance be connected to Jack's father's?" she asked.
"I can't be entirely certain about these things yet, Alison. However, according to Rock's investigation, Daphne disappeared around the same time Maxim vanished," Alexander replied.
"Could my father be..." She held back.
If my father is Maxim, then Jack and I would be siblings, wouldn't we?
At this thought, she was slightly flustered.
"Don't worry. Sophia and Ethan are both perfectly healthy." Alexander smiled kindly.
"Grandfather, I'll get a DNA test this afternoon." Her mood grew heavy.
Who is my father?
After eating a few bites, Alison left the ancestral home. B
efore she reached the gate, a car pulled up behind her. "Mr Aidan says you should use my car for your trips now. There's no need to hail taxis, madam."