“Alright!”
Nicole didn’t think drawing blood was a big thing.
It was pretty common. Moreover, she was touched that Audrey would try to help her solve the problem.
Although she didn’t know how big the chance would be, having some hope was always good.
Though Nicole agreed, Audrey didn't feel better.
“Come with me,” she whispered, “there's a blood collection room.”
“OK.”
Nicole obediently followed Audrey.
Along the way, many people greeted Audrey, but she didn't seem to hear them. She was somewhat
absent-minded.
Although Nicole felt that Audrey was strange, she didn't ask any questions.
After they arrived at the room, Audrey said to the man inside, “Collect a blood sample for her.”
“OK, Minister”
The man quickly collected Nicole's blood.
Audrey said to Nicole, “Nikki, you can go to the office and wait for me there. I have something to do
now. I'll go back later.”
“Alright.”
Nicole didn’t suspect her words and directly went back to Audrey's office.
Seeing that she was far away, Audrey said to the man, “Refine the blood sample. In addition to
archiving it, I need some of her blood for another purpose.”
“Alright, Minister Shaw. Please wait a moment.”
The man quickly saved up Nicole's blood and gave a portion to Audrey.
Audrey took the blood sample, drove away from the embassy, and arrived at a big hospital.
“I want to do a paternity test. How many days will it take?”
“Two to three days at the fastest.”
The lab technician was an acquaintance of Audrey. Seeing that she was anxious, the lab technician
added, “If you are in a hurry, we can give you the result in a day and a half. However, we have to work
overtime.”
“Many thanks.”
Audrey handed over two blood samples.
“This is confidential. Please keep it to yourselves. Except me, you can't tell anyone else the result.”
Audrey's solemnity made the lab technician feel stressed.
Audrey then drove away and returned to her office.
Because Nicole waited for too long, she fell asleep on Audrey's desk.
Looking at Nicole sleeping soundly, Audrey had mixed feelings.
She took off her coat and draped it over Nicole’s shoulder. Then, she walked toward to the cabinet
beside her, opened a lockbox, and took out a few photos from it.
The photo was taken with Xander when they were young.
At that time, Xander was not a soldier, but a painter and an artist.
He liked going sightseeing and drew all the beautiful things. They met at an exhibition and soon fell in
love with each other because of their common interests.
At that time, Audrey always thought that they would get married and stay with each other forever, but
she didn’t expect Xander to leave.
Without a word, he went straight to the battlefield.
Audrey was desperate at that time.
She didn't know her whereabouts, and she found out that she was pregnant.
Back then, unmarried pregnancy was something to be ashamed of, especially for families like hers.
Audrey thought about having an abortion, but every time she went to the hospital, she wavered. In the
end, when the baby grew bigger, she could feel fetal movements, and she became even more reluctant
to have an abortion.
So, she left home, school, all the friends and relatives she knew, and secretly went to a small mountain
village to wait for the due date.
The moment she gave birth to the baby, she realized that she couldn't raise it.
She had never been married, and she had a bright future ahead of her. She couldn't ruin her life
because of this baby.
In the hospital, there was another woman who gave birth to a baby at the same time. The couple came
to the village to sketch. They were very young and they loved each other deeply, but their baby died at
birth.
Audrey didn't know how she had lost her mind at that time. She paid the doctor in the hospital to swap
their babies over, and she left the hospital with the dead baby.
She buried that dead baby. But she was afraid that someone would search for the baby, so she
adopted a child from the orphanage and brought him back to the Seapolis City. In front of everyone,
she sent the child to an orphanage.
She had given birth to a girl, but she deliberately adopted a boy, because she didn’t want the Dons to
find that child.
However, she never expected that a few years later, news came that Xander had died on the
battlefield!
At that moment, Audrey felt that the sky fell.
How could he die?
She went back to the village to search for her daughter anxiously. The girl was the only bond between
her and Xander.
However, the couple was not from that village at all. They were just there to sketch.
After giving birth to the child, the couple left. No one knew where they went.
Thus, Audrey lost her daughter. Although she had been searching for the girl for many years, she
hadn't heard any news.
Looking at the photos in front of her and recalling her and Xander’s story, her tears welled up.
She looked at Nicole who was asleep. If Nicole was really their daughter, what should she do?
Audrey was struggling.
Nicole didn't sleep very well. She dreamed that she was going to be killed, and Allen chased after her
like crazy and didn't let go of her. Samuel was shot by Allen in order to protect her.
The scarlet blood made Nicole scream and wake up.
Audrey hurriedly put away the photos and tried to calm down.
“What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
Audrey's voice was steady, but her hands trembled.
Nicole glanced at Audrey before realizing that she was in the office.
“Yeah, I had a nightmare. How terrifying!”
Nicole patted her chest like a child. Then, she suddenly felt that she looked silly, so she put down her
hand embarrassedly and smiled foolishly at Audrey.
“Auntie, did I sleep for a long time? I am sorry. You can just wake me up.”
“That's fine. I have nothing to do anyway.”
Audrey smiled faintly and locked the photos back into the box.
Nicole didn't like invading others privacy. She could feel that Audrey wasn't in a right mood today, but if
Audrey didn’t want to let her know, she simply didn’t ask.
“Are you hungry? Let’s go home and I'll make you some delicious food.”
Nicole was a little surprised.
Although she hadn't been with Audrey for a long time, she could feel that Audrey didn’t like cooking
very much. It was always she who cooked for Audrey.
However, since Audrey was in a mood for cooking today, she wouldn't let her down.
“Alright!”
Nicole replied happily.
Audrey smiled and said, “What do you like to eat?”
Audrey looked at Nicole gentler than ever.
Nicole felt that Audrey was different, but she couldn't tell.
“I like to eat everything. I'm not picky about food. My parents told me when I was young that children
who are picky about food won't grow up. Look, I’m good now because I'm not picky about food.”
Nicole grinned.
Audrey suddenly asked, “How do your parents treat you?”
“They treat me very well. I am the only child. I heard from my father that my mother's uterus was hurt
when she gave birth to me. She can't have children anymore, so they gave me all their love. All these
years, as long as it was what I want and what I like, they would try their best to satisfy me.
Unfortunately, the fire five years ago made them think I was dead. They were sad for years. Now that I
am back, I shall show my filial piety to them.”
Nicole was especially sincere when she spoke of her parents.
She really missed her parents, Joseph, Zoe, and Laurel.
Alas!
She didn’t know when she would be able to return to her own home.
Nicole was somewhat depressed.
Hearing this, Audrey was sad, but she also felt comforted. Fortunately, Nicole had been taken good
care of all these years. It was better than moving around with her.
“Let’s go home!”
Audrey smiled, put on her coat, and walked out first.
Only then did Nicole notice that Audrey's coat was actually on her shoulder.
So, when she fell asleep, was she wearing Audrey's coat?
Nicole regretted her behavior. How could she behave like a spoiled child in front of Audrey?
She hurriedly followed Audrey.
“Auntie, let me drive. I slept for a while and am very energetic.”
Seeing that Audrey was a little tired, Nicole hurriedly offered.
“Alright.”
Audrey handed the car keys to Nicole.
They got into the car. Audrey seemed very tired and closed her eyes immediately.
Nicole kept silent and turned on the heating in the car thoughtfully.
When the car started, Audrey had fallen asleep.
Nicole tried her best to drive the car as smoothly as possible and arrived at the villa.
Just as she was about to wake Audrey up, Audrey opened her eyes.
“Auntie, are you awake? We're home.”
“OK.
Audrey looked at Nicole and smiled before getting out of the car.
Nicole felt that Audrey liked smiling today and looked at her gently, just like her mother.
She thought she was really homesick.
But she didn’t know when she could go back home.
Nicole quickly got out of the car and followed Audrey into the villa.
“Auntie, let me help you.”
Nicole rolled up her sleeves, but was pushed out of the kitchen by Audrey.
“Have a rest now. You can watch TV.”
Nicole didn’t know what to say, so she went to the living room and turned on the TV. There was still her
bounty notice on it. Now, the price had been increased to $10,000.
Allen was really willing to pay that much in order to find her.
Nicole felt annoyed. She turned off the TV and picked up the brush to draw something. However, she
saw her drawing paper had been torn apart.
Other than Audrey and her, the person who could enter this villa was Viola. Obviously, it was Viola who
did this.
Viola behaved like a child. She tore all of Nicole’s drawing paper into pieces and even placed them
provocatively on the coffee table.
Nicole shook her head and was speechless about Viola's childish behavior.
In order not to make Audrey angry, she quickly tidied up the pieces of paper. Then, she noticed a
corner of a photo was outside the drawer.
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