Chapter 283: Her Real Father?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This particular floor was where the VIP wards were. Joel had booked the whole floor so that Ian could rest and recover better, so there was no one else in the quiet hospital corridor at the moment.
Right after Nora spoke firmly, a sinister and displeased voice reached them. “There’s no way the hair could have been switched. My professionalism is not to be doubted!”
Nora looked up to see someone slowly walking toward them from the darkness in front
There was no way Nora would have noticed him while he stood there. It was as if he had blended into the darkness.
But the moment he appeared, Nora immediately sensed his presence.
The man was very skinny. He was fully dressed in black and was wearing a black baseball cap. His face was very small and thin. Perhaps because he was rarely exposed to the sun, he was very pale. He had a metal stud on his left earlobe, and there was a sort of androgynous beauty to him.
He kept his head lowered habitually and walked over to Joel while touching his baseball cap.
Joel introduced the man to Nora. “This is Quentin, your second cousin.”
Since he was her cousin, then that meant that they didn’t share the same father.
Nora nodded. She observed the two men’s faces carefully, feeling like Quentin and Joel looked nothing alike.
Joel looked gentler. His fox-like eyes had a sly and wily look in them, and he looked like he was smiling. Even when he didn’t smile, he still gave off a very gentle feeling.
Not only did Quentin look different, but the aura around him also felt colder and more sinister.
While Nora was curiously observing them, Quentin glared at her and said, “What are you staring at? I’ll dig out your eyeballs if you continue to stare.”
Nora: “…”
Why did she feel like that second cousin of hers felt a little like a teen with delusions of grandeur?
The corners of her lips spasmed a little. Before she could speak, Quentin said, “Don’t think I’ll treat you differently just because you’re my cousin. I’m different from the other Smiths. They may want a younger sister, but I don’t! Also, Uncle Ian is like a father to me. If you make him unhappy, I won’t betray him, let alone like you!”
Nora: “…”
After speaking as though he was swearing an oath, Quentin finally got to the point and said, “Also, it’s impossible that your hair was switched. That man was constantly under my watch from the point he took your hair to the end of his escape that day!”
He stretched out two fingers and jabbed them forward. “It’s impossible for any of his actions to escape my eyes!”
Nora: “…”
She silently looked at Joel and asked with her eyes: ‘Is Quentin a loony?’
Joel: ‘… That’s the way he is.’
Nora retracted her gaze and said, “Alright. Assuming the hair is correct and hasn’t been switched, why not do another paternity test for me and my so-called father?”
No matter what, she didn’t find the DNA report saying they were uncle and niece believable.
Quentin sneered, “What do you mean by ‘assuming’? I told you, it’s impossible that the hair was switched! Are you still doubting my abilities?”
Nora: “…”
She straight-up ignored him and looked at Joel instead.
Joel kept quiet for a moment before he finally said, “It’s because your father may be Ryan Smith, our second uncle.”
Nora caught a keyword. “May be?”
Joel coughed and replied, “Uncle Ryan also disappeared half a year after your mother. It was later confirmed that your mother had died, but Uncle Ryan remains missing even today. We have already checked my other uncles. You aren’t their daughter, so the only remaining possibility is Uncle Ryan. Moreover, Uncle Ryan and your mother ran away from home one after the other. Before he left, he even said that he was going to search for your mother, so…”
Even if Ian didn’t believe that Yvette was such a person, the DNA test report was right in front of him. Everything that had happened back then was also fresh in his memory. One said that she had fallen in love with someone else and wanted to leave, while the other said that he wanted to look for her. With all these put together, he had no choice but to believe it.
Nora: “…”
The previous generation’s story sure was cheesy!
However, she still didn’t believe it.
She mused for a moment and asked, “Did Uncle Ryan leave anything behind? Doesn’t he have any children?”
Joel shook his head. “No, he doesn’t.”
Nora glanced at him.
Joel explained, “I’m the eldest brother’s son. Quentin and Warren are my fourth uncle’s sons. The rest of my siblings are my fifth uncle’s children.”
The previous generation of the Smiths had six sons and no daughters.
The current generation had seven sons and still no daughters, except for Yvonne, who was adopted.
Nora suggested, “… In that case, let’s do a retest for me and… Uncle Ian?”
Joel knew that she was no simple woman, and had already interacted with her before. She probably wouldn’t believe it unless she did the test herself.
Therefore, he nodded.
As soon as he did, a dissatisfied voice reached them. “Are you also doubting me, Joel?”
Joel: “…”
Quentin let out a cold snort. “When have I ever made a mistake all these years I worked for you?”
Joel: “…”
Quentin turned and walked away.
Joel ignored him and went into the ward instead. A short while later, he took some of Ian’s hair with the follicles attached and handed them to Nora.
Before Nora could say anything, Joel added, “I took the samples myself.”
Nora: “…”
Nora coughed and nodded. Then, with the DNA samples, she got ready to leave with Justin. She had only taken a couple of steps when she suddenly looked at Joel and said, “I can cure him.”
Joel kept quiet for a long while.
It had also been the Andersons’ Carefree Pills that were able to prolong his life back then. Although the Myerses had claimed that the medicine was theirs, he had already found out the truth a long time ago.
But he knew that Ian would definitely refuse to take them if he knew the medicine was from the Andersons, so he had kept it from him all this time.
Nora was saying that she could cure him…
Joel shook his head. “Uncle Ian won’t let you.”
Nora’s very existence was proof of Yvette’s betrayal and was a thorn in Ian’s heart. How would he possibly allow Nora to treat his illness?
Nora didn’t insist. She turned and started to walk out.
She had only taken a couple of steps when she suddenly sensed something. Her head whipped to the side to see that Quentin had started following beside her at some point.
Nora raised her eyebrows, but before she could say anything, Quentin had already spoken. He said, “Don’t be narcissistic. I’m not protecting you because I like you but because I have to complete the task I was given. Besides, I’m duty-bound to protect all the Smiths!”
Nora kept quiet for a moment before she said, “… I don’t need you to protect me.”
Quentin was surprised. “What’s wrong with me?”
Nora looked him up and down. He was so skinny, how strong could he possibly be?
Quentin understood the look in her eyes. He became even more arrogant.. He lifted his chin and said, “Do you know? There are fewer than five people in all of New York who can beat me! Apart from the two martial arts masters of the Quinn School of Martial Arts and the Irvin School of Martial Arts, the former’s Big Sister and the latter’s Big Brother are the only ones I can’t beat in a fight! I was the one who protected you when you were almost killed the other time. You’d better be nice to me, otherwise, I won’t protect you anymore!”
