"Don't cry," Emily said.
She hurriedly wiped away Diane's tears. "Since you have to think I'm your mommy, then you can call me mommy. I won't mind."
Diane covered her lips and cried out, her voice choked. "Can I hug you?"
"Sure." Emily reached out and took the little girl into her arms.
The nine-year-old Diane, who was already grew up, let out a sob on her shoulder.
Not far away, Diane's assistant hurriedly clicked several pictures, and then sighed heavily. He had been working for Diane for three years and had never seen her look so sad.
In everyone's eyes, Diane, the talented painter, was a cool girl who never cried or laughed, showing no extra expressions.
She would only smile lightly when facing her daddy and her three brothers, but that smile never reached the depths of her eyes. However, he saw her genuinely smile and also saw her cry today...
Could it be that this woman was really her mother who had been missing for four years?
When Diane's assistant was about to go online to check the previous photos of the Scott family's young lady, he saw Diane, lying on Emily's shoulder, suddenly stop crying. Her cool eyes looked towards Emily's back, and then, picking up a long hair on Emily's shoulder, she quietly stuffed it into her sleeve...
Diane's assistant couldn't help but give a thumbs up in his heart. Diane was really smart, knowing how to hide a hair to bring back for a paternity test. Just looking alike couldn't prove anything, but once the paternity test report came out, everything would be clear.
"Look at you, crying like a little kitten," Emily said, using a wet paper towel to help the little girl wipe her face. "You see how many fans there are around the restaurant; maybe people still think I'm bullying you."
Diane looked up and said seriously, "What happened today won't be on the news. Don't worry, mommy."
After she finished speaking, Diane's assistant respectfully came over. "Miss, the plane still has half an hour to take off; we have to go to the airport now."
Diane looked at Emily, her eyes full of reluctance. "Mommy, can I have your number?"
"Sure." Emily took out her cell phone, and the two added each other as WhatsApp friends.
Diane's assistant escorted Diane out with eight bodyguards and respectfully sent her to the car, which slowly disappeared into Kinnis' street.
At that moment, Emily's heart suddenly felt a little empty. She didn't go to the company again and drove straight back to the Parker family.
Meanwhile, with the Parker family, Fiona sat on the couch, exasperated. "Mom, you shouldn't have adopted her in the first place. What gives her the right to be so high and mighty?"
Simona lifted her head and looked at her daughter quietly.
"Mom, why are you looking at me like that?" Fiona said, balking a little.
"Did you make this happen?" Simona asked in a slow voice, "Did you tell Richard that Emily had a baby?"
Fiona's heart missed a beat, but she still held her ground. "I didn't say anything. Emily had a baby. Didn't you tell me that yourself, Mom?"
Simona suddenly delivered a hard slap.
"Mom, why are you hitting me?" Fiona covered her face. "I just told Richard the truth. Where did I go wrong?"
"In order to save you, that baby in Emily's belly was taken out by forced early cesarean section in less than seven months. Due to congenital underdevelopment, it was born less than two hours before it died. Emily saved you; that's the reason one. Because of the Parker family, Emily's baby is dead; that's the reason two!" Simona said firmly. "The Parker family owes her a lot; that's why we adopted her. Don't you even understand that?"
Fiona gritted her teeth. "Even so, she's not qualified to marry into the Levin family...."
"The truth is, Richard doesn't deserve Emily," Simona said in a calm voice, "And it's because the Levin family is the biggest family in Kinnis that I'm willing to let Emily marry there."
This way, with the help of the Levin family's power and connections, it might be possible for Emily to successfully find her own family. The Parker family owed Emily too much.
Fiona grunted defiantly.
Simona said helplessly, "I'll show you something, and you'll understand." Simona took out a sandalwood box from her bedroom. As soon as she unveiled it, the box emitted a brilliant light.
"Wow, what beautiful jewelry!" Fiona lovingly took out the contents of the box—a pair of pearl earrings, a navy blue diamond necklace, and a light blue gemstone bracelet.
Simona said in a slow voice, "When your father brought Emily back from the beach, she was wearing these pieces of jewelry."
Fiona's entire body froze. Although the Parker family was wealthy, the most expensive piece of jewelry she owned didn't cost more than a million dollars. The value of the jewelry set that Emily wore four years ago equaled the entire possessions of her family...
"Her identity is still a secret, but I’m sure that she is not simple," Simona said in a hushed voice. "To cure you, your father and I concealed these things, fearing her family would discover her. Now that you're cured, I want to help Emily find her family. After all, she call me mother."
"If that's true, it's all the more reason not to let her marry into the Levin family," Fiona's eyes flashed. "If she finds her family, they will surely investigate the last four years thoroughly. When that happens, we won't be able to hide the fact that the child in her womb was sacrificed to save me in the first place."
Simona pursed her lips. "This matter is known to all three of our family members. There is no fourth person who knows about it."
It was precisely because three years had passed since this incident, and all the records and documents related to the surgery had been cleaned up, that she dared to let Emily marry into the Levin family...
For the past three years, Simona had nightmares every night.
In order to save her daughter's life, she drained Emily's entire body of blood and terminated the pregnancy.
In her nightmares, there would always be a child.
She had been tormented by these nightmares for three years, and she hadn't slept a wink every night during that time.
The only way Emily could find her family was to marry her off, and through the Levin family, she could connect with the prominent families.
It might lift Simona's demons...
Late at night at the Scott family.
It was eleven o'clock when Diane finally arrived at home. Her three brothers had already gone to bed, and only the light in the study remained on. Hurrying up the stairs, she pushed open the study door.
"Daddy!"
Tears streamed down her face as soon as she spoke. Derek, engrossed in reading a file, quickly rushed over at the sound of Diane's cries.
"Diane, what's wrong?"
Diane, still sobbing, wrapped her arms around Derek's neck.
Derek gently coaxed, "Are you upset with me for not picking you up from the airport today?"
Diane shook her head.
"Is someone bullying you, then?" Derek continued to guess.
Diane continued to shake her head.
"Daddy, I found Mommy..."
Diane choked out the words. Derek's entire body froze, suspecting he had misheard. In shock, he asked, "Diane, what did you just say?"
"Daddy, I saw Mommy. She's right there in Kinnis!"
Diane stopped crying and fumbled to retrieve her cell phone from her pocket. Tapping on a few pictures, she showed Derek the face that had haunted him for four years. It crashed unexpectedly into Derek's eyes.
He quickly picked up his phone and zoomed in on the photo, making the face clearer. The familiar face, the tenderness in her eyes, all made his heart beat wildly in his chest.