Chapter 373
It was clear as daylight that this âLillianaâ was an impostor.
Panic struck Lillianaâ as her eyes shimmered with tears. She glanced at me, then at Susan and Dorothy, before finally collapsing to her knees before Gregory. âMr. Ford, please, have mercy on me! I shouldâve never harbored such foolish dreams, never tried to pass off as something Iâm notâ¦â
Known for his short patience with others, Gregory furrowed his brows. âWhoever sent you, go beg them, not
me
âIâ¦â Susan interjected sharply as Lillianaâs gaze drifted away, âFarley, what are you waiting for? Get her out of here! Ramona, frankly, we shouldnât even keep her around. Just send her back where she came from.â
Ramonaâs eyes narrowed, piercing, but she didnât catch on to Susanâs words. Instead, she turned to Gregory. âGreg, the DNA results from abroad must have come in by now, right?â
âYes, theyâre due any minute.â Gregory nodded and glanced at his watch, âFive minutes.â
âGood,â Ramona breathed a sigh of relief.
While waiting, the quiet in the hall was so deep.
I watched Gregoryâs expression, guessing at the outcome. My heart pounded like a drum, and my palms were sweaty over and over.
Susan and Dorothy visibly grew more anxious as time ticked by. Susan kept an eye on the clock. With two minutes left, Susan couldnât sit still any longer. She turned to Gregory and said, âEven if the reports from the two institutions differ, what does it prove? Are the foreign results infallible? Whoâs to say you didnât tamper with them to suit your endsâ¦
Gregory scoffed, âYou worry too much. They got the foreign tests finished under constant surveillance. I even had them send over the video footage.â
Susan clenched her teeth, trying to maintain her composure. âWell, youâve certainly covered all bases. Fine, Iâm curious to see the outcome myself.â
I sat across from Susan, silently observing. The more I watched, the more melancholy overcame me. That was her rejection of me: And my aversion to her was just as strong, if not stronger. Could there be such animosity between a mother and her daughter?
Meanwhile, Gregory stepped out to take a call. Through the glass, I could see his lips press together slightly. As soon as he hung up, someone handed him a report. He returned, holding the report, and gave it to Ramona. âRamona, I already know the result. Please, see for yourself.â
His words said it all.
As I turned to look at Ramona, it was as if our minds were linked.
She looked back at me, her eyes filled with warmth and affection. The last time someone looked at me like that was Timothy.
Trembling, Ramona was about, to open the report when she suddenly convulsed, coughing up blood.
I couldnât be sure, but almost meanwhile, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Dorothyâs clenched hands relax.
Without a second thought, I rushed over. âRamona!â
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Chapter 373
âJaneâ¦â With her last ounce of strength, Ramona clutched my arm, racked with guilt. Her voice faded to a whisper, so soft that only I could hear, âI was wrong. I couldnât recognize you as Greg didâ¦â
And then, the hand gripping my arm slackened. Ramona had passed out!