Chapter 377: Have They Found Their Aunt’s Daughter?
"It’s nothing much, really. Even Sylvia herself doesn’t know about this. Her mother and I were worried it would affect her psychologically, so we never told anyone."
"You see, Sylvia... she isn’t actually my wife’s and my child. I found her."
"My wife was pregnant at the time, but she went into premature labor, and we lost the baby. My wife was devastated. But by a sheer coincidence, when I came home, I found a newborn baby on our doorstep. We had no idea who left her there. My wife and I both felt she was a gift from heaven, sent to ease our pain. So we adopted her and raised her as our own flesh and blood. Not even my son knows about this."
Caleb Blackwood sighed. "She was such a lovely, rosy-cheeked baby. Her eyes were bright and beautiful even then, and we felt an instant connection. It’s not that we didn’t try to find her parents, but there were no leads."
"Later, we figured she must have been abandoned. Her parents probably couldn’t afford to raise her for whatever reason. We were also afraid she’d resent us if she knew the truth, so we stopped looking. In all these years, no one has ever come looking for Sylvia."
Miles Mercer’s heart pounded. ’Could it really be Auntie?’
’Did Auntie leave the baby at our family’s doorstep?’
"Then, can you let your daughter do a DNA test with us?" Miles Mercer asked urgently.
He was desperate to know the result. ’If she’s really Auntie’s daughter, that would be incredible.’
Caleb Blackwood looked at the two of them and said deliberately, "That doesn’t seem quite appropriate... You two... This..."
"I just heard from my secretary that you two claim to be from Elandra. If she were your relative, why would she be in Lustre? That seems a bit far, don’t you think? I find it rather unlikely. Perhaps you two have made a mistake."
"Besides, she’s the daughter I’ve raised for over twenty years. Even if she is related to you, I couldn’t possibly bear to part with her."
"It’s just a test. It’s not even certain yet. Or, when you found the child, was there anything on her?" Miles Mercer, being the more impetuous one, was already getting impatient.
"There was indeed a Jade Pendant," Caleb Blackwood said.
"Quick, let us see it!" said Miles.
Xavier Mercer pulled him back. His younger brother was just too rash. They were twins, yet Connor Mercer was much calmer.
Xavier Mercer said, "I wonder what kind of Jade Pendant it is. Would it be convenient for you to show it to us, President Blackwood?"
Caleb Blackwood seemed to hesitate. "You see... the Jade Pendant isn’t actually on me. But I do have a photo."
With that, Caleb Blackwood took out his phone, scrolled through it, found a photo, and held it in front of the two brothers. "This is it."
The photo showed a Jade Pendant broken in two. It was the same one that belonged to Ivy Sherwood’s mother.
"This..." Miles Mercer covered his mouth in astonishment. "This..."
He looked at Xavier Mercer in shock. ’Isn’t this Auntie’s Jade Pendant? I’ve seen it with her before!’
’Auntie’s Jade Pendant was with a child... Doesn’t that mean this is Auntie’s daughter?!’
’We’ve found our cousin!’
"What’s wrong? Do you recognize this Jade Pendant?" Caleb Blackwood asked, feigning ignorance.
Xavier Mercer was also stunned when he saw the Jade Pendant, but he was more composed than Miles Mercer.
"This Jade Pendant does resemble one belonging to a relative of mine. President Blackwood, would it be possible for your daughter to do a test with us?" A flicker of excitement went through Xavier Mercer’s heart, but he didn’t let it show.
After all, they had been searching aimlessly for so long, like finding a needle in a haystack. Now, there was finally a glimmer of hope.
’If it’s really our cousin, that would be wonderful!’
"Well..." Caleb Blackwood looked extremely troubled.
"I can’t just take you two at your word. You... This is... all too sudden. I’m quite taken aback myself. I’m sorry, but I must refuse your request," Caleb Blackwood said, his face cold.
Xavier Mercer said, "Rest assured, President Blackwood, we’re not here to take her away from you. We have been searching for this relative for a long time. If she is indeed related to us by blood, we would like to take her home for a visit. Someone is waiting for her. And we will certainly offer you a very generous sum as compensation."
"This... this isn’t about compensation. When I first brought Sylvia home, I wasn’t thinking about any of that. I truly see her as my own daughter. What if... what if you take my daughter away? What will I do then?"
"We won’t. If she is the person we’re looking for, she’s an adult now and can make her own decisions. We won’t interfere with her choices," said Xavier Mercer.
The surprise was so sudden he hadn’t fully processed it. ’Are we really about to find Auntie’s daughter?’
’The Blackwood Family was already the top family in Lustre over twenty years ago. If Auntie left her child with them, she must have been trying to find a good home for her.’
’But why did Auntie give her child away back then? She clearly loved the baby very much.’
’Did something happen to her? The last traceable place Auntie appeared was in Aethelgard. Why would she have come to Lustre?’
Caleb Blackwood seemed to hesitate, then, as if having made a momentous decision, he finally said, "Alright, then. I’ll call Sylvia over. We’re going to the hospital for the test?"
"Yes. That will be faster."
When Sylvia Blackwood was called to the hospital, she had no idea what was going on.
Caleb Blackwood hadn’t told her anything beforehand. He wanted Sylvia Blackwood’s reaction to be completely genuine.
Sylvia Blackwood’s heart raced. ’What on earth is Father planning? This seems even more terrifying than I imagined.’
’He has been plotting for so long, and it has finally come to this.’
He hadn’t known before that Ivy Sherwood had such a background. But he had heard that the Mercer Brothers were looking for someone in Lustre. The last time Silas Blackwood mentioned that Ivy Sherwood had another side to her, Caleb Blackwood knew it was highly likely that Ivy was the person they were searching for.
The previous DNA test had also proven that Ivy Sherwood was related to the Mercer Family by blood.
Although he had used his connections to get the hospital director to secretly swap the blood samples, the director later tested that blood and confirmed the DNA matched. The kinship was established.
In other words, Ivy Sherwood was actually the long-lost child of a powerful, wealthy family. The Mercer Family had done very well for themselves overseas these past few years. If she were to be recognized by them, it would mean an unimaginable fortune.
No wonder. The fact that Yvonne Summers could save up so much money for Ivy Sherwood showed that Yvonne definitely had power and connections.
Though he didn’t know why Yvonne Summers had come to a small city like Lustre and married a useless man like Timothy Sherwood.
Therefore, this time, he could just use Ivy Sherwood’s blood from before to produce a DNA test result under Sylvia Blackwood’s name.
Once the Mercers believed Sylvia Blackwood was their family’s child, everything would be simple.
As for Ivy Sherwood, he would find a way to get rid of her.