Alessia's appearance instantly became the absolute center of attention, as everyone's eyes were inevitably dazzled by her stunning presence.
Ava also maintained herself well. Despite her age, she still eRamirezded charm, but standing next to Alessia, who was like a perfectly colored flower, she couldn't help but appear somewhat overshadowed.
"Wow, the recognized Miss Ramirez is so beautiful."
"Yes, Miss Ava is indeed beautiful, but compared to her daughter, she falls short."
"The mother is not as beautiful as her daughter. It seems the daughter has inherited more of her father's genes."
The murmurs in the banquet hall accompanied the flickering of camera flashes.
And yes, Ava also invited the media today.
According to her plan, this scene would dominate the front pages of major news websites tomorrow.
Ava tried to maintain a gracious smile, but upon hearing someone comparing her unfavorably to Alessia, her smile stiffened momentarily, and a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes, impossible to conceal.
A mother being jealous of her daughter's beauty, how rare.
Fortunately, Ava still had some rationality left. Her lapse was only momentary, and she quickly regained her full smile.
After stepping onto the stage, Ava began her speech.
Her words conveyed the bitter journey of a mother losing her daughter. She choked out, "Being able to find Sia is Heaven's favor to me. Sia has made my remaining years fulfilling. In the years to come, I will devote all my love to Sia."
As Ava's words fell, thunderous applause filled the room, even moving Alessia.
The emcee handed over the microphone.
Alessia held the microphone and looked at everyone in the banquet hall. Compared to Ava, who was almost in tears, her expression seemed overly indifferent.
She didn't start by expressing her own feelings but began with a self-posed question, "Do you think I'm going to say something sentimental? I'm sorry, I might disappoint you."
"What does she mean? Does she not want to acknowledge Ava as her mother?"
"Impossible. Although she's become a famous designer, she grew up in the countryside after all. To mingle in high society, she still relies on the Ramirez family."
"Who knows, maybe because she resents Ava for abandoning her back then, she wants to expose the secrets of the wealthy! Adjust the camera quickly. Let's get better photos, so we can have a nice report by tonight."
The media invited by Ava now smelled gossip, and the whole team began to get excited, completely forgetting who had invited them to the banquet in the first place.
Ava, who was closest to Alessia, was dumbfounded, as was Harrison beside her.
Ava frowned, hiding her inner annoyance, and softly asked Alessia by her ear.
"Are you nervous, Sia? Why didn't you follow the script I gave you for the speech?"
Alessia glanced at her, showing no intention of responding to Ava. Her cold voice continued, "In fact, I lost my memory several years ago and only recently regained it."
With this sentence, Alessia completely baffled Ava about her intentions.
While she had heard about Alessia's memory loss from the orphanage director, she hadn't paid much attention to it. Why would this girl bring it up now?
Ava became even more uneasy. She cautiously tugged at Alessia's arm.
But Alessia suddenly turned her head, startling the guilty Ava.
Alessia looked at Ava and loudly exposed the little actions Ava was currently doing to her, "Miss Ava, why are you pulling me? I haven't finished speaking yet."
"I..." Ava choked up. She hadn't expected Alessia to be so disrespectful to her.
She gritted her teeth and asked softly, "What do you want to do, Sia? Today's banquet is beneficial to you. Don't ruin it. If you have anything to say, let's discuss it privately."
Alessia sneered, and the softer Ava's voice, the louder she wanted to be. "Discuss? Miss Ava, what else do you want to discuss? Discuss how you deceived me while I lost my memory?"
"What do you mean?" Ava's eyes flashed with shock, looking at Alessia in utter disbelief.
Similarly, Harrison, who was still on stage, heard the unusualness in the conversation between Alessia and Ava. He took a step towards Alessia's side and advised her in an elder's tone.
"Alessia, your mother didn't tell you about your father because there were some issues between her and your father back then, not because she wanted to deceive you. She couldn't tell you about him now."
Alessia looked at Harrison with pity and said, "Mr. Ramirez, what I meant by deception is not about this matter. It seems I'm not the only one who's been deceived."
"What's going on?" Harrison paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to Ava. He hated being played for a fool, especially since he had sacrificed even his son to climb the ladder of the Laroux family. He couldn't afford to make the slightest mistake.
Ava took a deep breath, inwardly annoyed that Harrison had been so easily swayed by Alessia's instigation, beginning to doubt her.
However, in this situation, she had to first placate Harrison. Otherwise, if trouble brewed in her own backyard, how could she continue scheming?
In a soft and gentle tone, Ava explained, "Brother, don't listen to the childish tantrums. We're siblings, how could I deceive you?"
As she spoke, she reached out again to pull Alessia closer. "It's all because I didn't educate you properly. Even if you're upset, there's a time and place for it. How could you deceive your uncle?"
She wanted to divert attention, painting Alessia as the troublemaker.
Alessia dodged Ava's touch, her eyes devoid of any emotion. "Miss Ava Ramirez, since you're still unwilling to be honest, let's let the facts speak!"
With that, Alessia looked at everyone in the banquet hall again. "Since everyone is here, let's watch something interesting together."
She gestured for everyone to look at the projection screen behind her.
As Alessia spoke, the projector immediately displayed two paternity test reports. The person running the projector was considerate, using a red pen to highlight key points to ensure clarity.
The results of the DNA comparison were circled, clearly indicating either a parent-child relationship or lack thereof.
"How can there be two different paternity test reports?" Harrison's mouth fell open in shock, his face filled with disbelief.
"This is what I wanted to ask Miss Ava. The report showing a parent-child relationship is based on the genetic sample provided by her, while the report showing no parent-child relationship is based on the genetic sample I personally obtained from her."
"So, Miss Ava, whose sample did you give me? Why did you impersonate my mother?"
Alessia's words were like a bombshell, leaving everyone in the banquet hall stunned. Some had seen melodramatic scenarios, but nothing quite like this.
Ava had gone to great lengths to organize such a grand recognition banquet. Either she was involved in a grand conspiracy, or she had gone mad.
People began to lean towards the latter, especially since Ava had once been hospitalized for mental illness.
The people in the banquet hall began to whisper and gossip, and the looks they cast towards Ava became more subtle.
Ava's lips, coated in bright red lipstick, trembled slightly. The gazes directed at her felt like tangible needles, piercing into her.
She wasn't insane; she had been forcibly sent to a psychiatric hospital.
She had planned for so long; she couldn't afford to give up now.
Ava struggled to regain her composure. Slowly, she raised her head, her face filled with pain and sorrow, as she asked Alessia in a pained tone, "Sia, even if you don't want to acknowledge me, you don't need to fabricate such baseless accusations. You're only hurting yourself, and I am really heartbroken."
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face once again, portraying the image of a mother who endured all hardships.
Because of Ava's performance, the onlookers who had just accused Ava now shifted their blame onto Alessia.
How foolish!
Alessia glanced at the media personnel holding their cameras high on one side and said loudly, "Miss Ava Ramirez, there's no need for further acting. I've already regained my memory. Several years ago, I knew you weren't my mother. If you have any objections, we can do another paternity test."
Her main purpose in saying this was to publicize through the media that she had regained her memory.
This ensured that those who were after her, including Z, would learn of it through the news.
Perhaps, even her grandfather would come looking for her wherever he was,
"Ava?" Harrison listened to Alessia and Ava's conversation, torn between the two, frowned, and looked at Ava hesitantly for a moment before saying, "Let's listen to Alessia. Let's do another paternity test."
***