Free Web NovelChapter 168: The truth II
Eleanor stood beside the Chairman, looking calm and elegant, as always.
"It’s alright," she said softly. "I’ll give you two a moment."
As she turned to leave, the chairman stopped her.
"Eleanor. Stay," he said immediately.
She paused, then slowly turned back.
Zara looked annoyed. "This is... sensitive," she said. "It will only take a minute of your precious time."
The Chairman’s expression remained cold. "What is it, Zara?"
Something about his tone made her stomach tighten.
Eleanor noticed it too. Although she remained silent.
Zara clasped her hands together tightly before speaking.
"I was wondering when the house would be ready. So I can move in? The one you mentioned before. This place is beginning to suffocate me."
Her words hung awkwardly in the air.
The Chairman’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Which house?"
Zara was fuming inside. Why was he acting this way? He was the one who told them he was getting the house ready for them. Since Julian’s men destroyed everything in their home.
If Andrew hadn’t ruined things with Jasmine, they wouldn’t be standing here like beggars.
"The house you promised to replace," she said simply. ƒrēewebnovel.com
The Chairman gave a short, humorless laugh. "I see."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
He stared at her for a long moment before speaking.
"It means that you have excellent timing."
Eleanor’s eyes moved quietly between the two of them, sensing something far deeper beneath the conversation now.
Zara shook her head. "You said the house would be ready soon," she reminded him carefully. "Andrew and I have been waiting."
"At the time," the Chairman said slowly, "I believed certain things."
Something about the way he said it made Zara’s pulse jump.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
The Chairman took a step closer.
"It means I’m no longer interested in providing houses, money, or protection to people who have lied to me for years."
"I don’t understand."
"No," the Chairman replied. "You clearly don’t."
Zara’s face flushed with anger. "Are you drunk or something? You’ve never been one for riddles. Speak clearly. What exactly are you accusing me of?"
The Chairman did not answer her immediately. Instead, he lifted his eyes toward Edward, who had been standing silently near the doorway the entire time.
Edward stepped forward and calmly placed a sealed brown envelope onto the table between them.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Go on," the Chairman urged. "Open it."
Zara didn’t move. She saw a laboratory seal on the envelope. "This isn’t the deed to a house."
"Open it and find out," he said quietly.
He watched as Zara raised her eyebrows and walked over to pick up the envelope. But instead of opening it, she threw it onto the floor in front of him.
"I am not in the mood for your foolish games, Grant," she hissed.
The Chairman’s eyes were bloodshot. He looked like a man on the edge of a breakdown. For a second, it looked like he was going to lose his temper and scream. But he forced himself to stay calm.
"Tell me, Zara," he said calmly. "Why are you so afraid of a piece of paper? If that envelope was the deed to a mansion, you would have opened it with a smile. But now you won’t touch it. Is it because you already know what the lab found?"
"I asked for a house," she hissed. "A house to replace the one your son destroyed. I didn’t ask for some boring science project. Stop wasting my time."
Edward picked up the envelope from the floor and handed it to the Chairman.
He didn’t even look at it, but simply held it out toward her again, forcing her to take it.
"Open it, Zara," he commanded. "Unless you want Eleanor to read it for you."
Just then, the doors opened, and Andrew walked in.
"What’s going on?" he asked sensing the tense look on everyone’s face.
"Ah. Perfect timing, my son," the Chairman said. "Your mother was just about to open this and read it for us."
Zara’s fingers finally gripped the edge of the paper, and once again threw it away.
Two night before, Chairman Grant had sat alone in his study and thought about what he would do if the boy wasn’t his.
At that time, he had stayed calm. He analyzed the situation like a business problem, processed the facts, and then put the thought away. He truly believed he could handle it.
But he had been wrong.
He hadn’t expected that facing the truth would feel this way. Even before the results arrived, the weight in his heart had become heavy. He was no longer the calm man he used to be; he felt terrible. The pain and anger he had felt had been more painful than anything he had ever felt in his life.
The Chairman stared at the envelope lying on the carpet, then looked up at Andrew, who was standing there looking confused. The silence in the room was suffocating.
"Pick it up, Andrew," the Chairman said, his voice terrifyingly quiet.
"What is it?" Andrew asked, looking between his mother’s angry face and the Chairman’s cold eyes.
"Pick. It. Up," the Chairman repeated.
Andrew leaned down and grabbed the envelope.
"He’s lost his mind," Zara hissed. "He’s had a few drinks and now he’s insulting us because he doesn’t want to give me the house. A house that was part of our peace agreement."
The Chairman ignored her and kept his gaze fixed on Andrew. "You want to know what’s going on? Open the envelope."
Andrew looked confused. "Ok! But what’s in it?"
"A DNA test."
The room went silent. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Zara blinked once. Then frowned. "What?"
She walked elegantly towards the chairman. "You already did a DNA test, didn’t you?"
The chairman nodded. "I think you would be more interested in this particular one."
"Give me that!" she said, snatching the envelope from a confused Andrew. She finally opened it. Her eyes darting across the lines.
The Chairman watched her expression change, as realization hit her.
"It says Andrew is not my son," he told her.
The words crashed into the room like thunder.
