Chapter 459
Chapter 459
Chapter 459 Blood Relations Were a Funny Thing
Back at the hospital, Rowan Solace was getting his grandfather a glass of water. “Grandpa, why didn’t you show the results of the paternity test to Madeline?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be more troublesome to take her as an adopted granddaughter?” To Rowan, having a real granddaughter seemed more meaningful than an adopted one.
“Have you boys forgotten about Annalise?” Old Mr. Solace’s sharp eyes did not miss the look of disdain on their faces when he brought up their sister. He could not help but feel disappointed. Once upon a time, the three of them had loved Annalise dearly and treated her like a princess. Now that their real sister had returned, did their affection for Annalise not count for anything any longer? That felt too heartless and cruel for Old Mr. Solace to accept.
However, Old Mr. Solace did not know that the three siblings had witnessed Annalise’s true nature for themselves. If Annalise was their real sibling, they would have instantly tied her up and taught her a lesson. Now that they suspected she was not actually related to them, they could not care less about her. On the other hand, Annalise’s behavior had gotten from bad to worse, choosing to pull such an embarrassing stunt at the engagement party today. Other guests might not have been able to tell, but the Solace siblings could clearly tell that Annalise was looking for revenge against Noah Quincy.
Blood relations were a funny thing after all. Back then when the Solace brothers had found Annalise, they had tried their best to get to know her and bond with her since she was supposedly their sister by blood. However, no matter how much they tried, they just could not seem to click with her. In the end, Oscar and Alex did the bare minimum as brothers. They bought her jewelry and all sorts of things that girls usually liked but were never involved as brothers in her life. Rowan was slightly better than his brothers. He was always willing to help Annalise out whenever she got herself into trouble, but that was the extent of their relationship.
Initially, they had chalked it up to different genders and interests, since they were all boys and Annalise was a girl. However, after meeting Madeline, they understood now that some relationships could only be forged by blood. It had nothing to do with gender or interests. Madeline was better than Annalise in every aspect. Even if she was not their real sister, they would have naturally gravitated toward her either way.
Annalise was just a counterfeit rich princess who had her eyes on their real sister’s husband. How could they not despise her?
The Solace brothers felt fiercely protective over Madeline. As Madeline’s siblings, they could choose to dislike Noah, but it was a different story if someone else tried to steal Noah away from Madeline.
“How could we forget, Grandpa? Don’t you worry. We’ll investigate exactly how she ended up in our family and find out who was the person who fabricated the lie,” Rowan’s voice was cold as he made a vow to his grandfather. If it was not for Annalise, they could have found Madeline much sooner and she would not have suffered so many years of hardship.
Old Mr. Solace did not agree with Rowan. He was still appreciative of the care Annalise had extended to him over the years, and he wanted his grandsons to treat her well instead of finding fault with her. However, based on what Rowan had said, it did seem like there was another side to this whole story. Was someone out there targeting their family? When a paternity test was done back then determining that Madeline was his granddaughter instead of Annalise, how did the test even come about in the first place?
“Is there a possibility of them being twins?” Old Mr. Solace remained hopeful.
Rowan produced two sheets of paper from a folder. One was the DNA test result between Rowan and Annalise and the other was between Annalise and Madeline. It was clear that the both of them were completely unrelated.
Old Mr. Solace’s expression turned glum once again. Afraid of agitating his grandfather, Rowan quickly comforted him. “Don’t worry, Grandpa. If we find out she’s clear of any wrongdoing, we’ll allow her to continue being Ms. Solace, like she’s always been,” he said. It was not a problem financially for the Solace family, and Annalise was already familiar with the Solace household. Now that she was about to marry Joseph Quincy, the siblings had no qualms letting her continue to be Ms. Solace, as long as she remained in their good graces.
“But Madeline is the real Ms. Solace!” Oscar cut all of a sudden. “She’s been fending for herself all these years and experienced so much hardship. I don’t agree that we should only recognize her as an adopted sister just because of Annalise.” This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.
Old Mr. Solace knew that his grandsons were clearly on Madeline’s side. He felt a deep conflict in his heart knowing that they would be biased against Annalise. Oh, how he wished his two granddaughters could get along just nicely with each other so that they could be one big, happy family!
“Madeline is my real granddaughter. Do you really think I’d mistreat her?” Old Mr. Solace questioned his grandsons sternly. “There’s another reason why I chose to adopt her instead. It has to do with your parents…”
Noticing that their grandfather had gotten more serious, the three siblings gathered closer around him.
“Twenty years ago, Imperia was in a state of chaos. Before your parents disappeared, a number of prominent people from Imperia had died. My sources told me that your parents were involved in their deaths,” Old Mr. Solace kept his voice low.
The three siblings exchange confused glances with each other. Since they were young children, they had only ever heard descriptions of their parents from their grandfather or people who knew them, and they only ever had good things to say about them. Now, their grandfather was telling them that their parents were involved in murder. It was a little too much for them to accept.
Old Mr. Solace hesitated before he continued. “I don’t know what happened in entirety, but I knew your parents did it to protect you and the Solace family,” he whispered gravely.
“So… are they dead?” there was a tremor in Alexander’s voice.
Old Mr. Solace shook his head. “I’ve always told you that they disappeared and would come back again one day. That is the truth. They disappeared, in a most mysterious fashion,” he continued.
“Was their disappearance related to the murders?” Oscar pressed on.
Old Mr. Solace shook his head again. “Your parents were honorable people. Even though I did not know what happened entirely, I still believe they did not do anything wrong. Those people who were murdered? They were all rotten criminals! But they were also influential people in positions of power. Once they died, do you think their families would let your parents go?” Old Mr. Solace felt a stabbing pain in his heart as he recalled these memories.
The siblings looked at him worriedly. They wanted to know more about their parents. If their mother had a good relationship with their father, why did she marry Bruno Grant later on?
“Not long after, your parents were hunted down by these families mercilessly. That was when your mother said she saw your father vanish in front of her own eyes!” Old Mr. Solace exclaimed.
“Vanish?!” Rowan gasped in shock. As an atheist, his first instinct was to wonder whether his aging grandfather was still lucid.