“Jackson is absolutely right. Baldwin, Marina, why don’t you greet your Uncle Bloomer?” Josiah gave his son and daughter a meaningful look.
“Hello, Uncle Bloomer!” Baldwin quickly put on a smile.
“Hello, Uncle Bloomer,” Marina said, her face slightly pale and her brows furrowed with a hint of worry.
She could easily guess her father’s intentions. He had called Leo over and invited Jackson from the Bloomer family; his motives were quite clear.
“It’s been years, and Baldwin and Marina have grown up,” Jackson said with a touch of nostalgia. He rarely returned to the capital, and when he did, it was only for a few days. The people and events of the capital had become somewhat unfamiliar to him.
“This is Leo Bloomer!” Josiah said with a deep smile, pointing to Leo. “He is Marina’s friend and one of Baldwin’s business partners.”
“Oh, is that so…” Jackson’s words trailed off as he got a clear look at Leo’s face. He was stunned, his mind going blank. This young man looked remarkably similar to himself in his youth-an uncanny resemblance of over eighty percent! And this young man also bore the surname Bloomer!
Jackson’s thoughts drifted back over twenty years, involuntarily linking this young man to his own son. The painful memory of his son’s disfigured corpse resurfaced, piercing his heart once more. Leo’s appearance sparked a glimmer of hope in Jackson’s heart. After all, there had been many doubts surrounding his son’s death over twenty years ago. If this young man before him was indeed his son…
Jackson dared not continue the thought.
“Jackson, what’s wrong?” Josiah asked knowingly, enjoying Jackson’s bewildered state.
“Young man, where are you from?” Jackson asked eagerly after recovering from his shock.
“Langstel,” Leo replied truthfully.
“Langstel!?” Jackson was taken aback and asked urgently, “How are your parents?”
“My parents passed away when I was five. I was raised by my grandmother,” Leo answered honestly. To be frank, Leo had no memories of his parents.
At this moment, Leo fully understood Josiah’s intentions. This old fox was incredibly cunning.
Jackson’s body trembled upon hearing Leo’s words, his heartbeat quickening. He hurriedly asked, “Have you ever searched for your biological parents?”
Before Leo could respond, Josiah sighed deeply and said, “Jackson, let me be honest with you.”
“Please do,” Jackson said, looking at Josiah with a complex expression and then glancing at Leo with anticipation.
“To be honest, the first time I saw Leo, I also thought he looked very much like you. I asked him all the questions you just did and even suspected he might be your son,” Josiah paused to take a sip of tea.
“And then?” Jackson asked impatiently, losing his initial composure.
“I persuaded Leo to come to the capital and took him to Lady Alyvia’s birthday banquet,” Josiah said slowly, savoring the feeling of having Jackson under his control.
“You attended my mother’s birthday banquet?” Jackson was extremely surprised, wondering why his family hadn’t mentioned this to him-not even his wife. But he had no time to dwell on that now. His eyes lit up with excitement as he asked eagerly, “What happened next?”
“Everyone had the same thought as you. They believed the child who died years ago might have an unclear identity, and since Leo resembled you so much, they wanted to confirm it,” Josiah continued. “Since you weren’t there, your father took this child for a paternity test.”
“And what were the results?” Jackson asked expectantly.
“It’s quite amusing,” Josiah chuckled and shook his head. “The results showed two different outcomes…”
“The results clearly indicated that I have no blood relation to the Bloomer family,” Leo interrupted before Josiah could finish.
Josiah’s face darkened as he glared at Leo with cold eyes. This brat didn’t know what was good for him when Josiah was trying to help.
“No blood relation?” Jackson was greatly surprised and disappointed. “Are the results accurate?”
“Leo, what are you doing? Even if you’re angry with the Bloomer family, you shouldn’t lie,” Josiah quickly interjected. “Jackson, to be honest, there were two sets of results!”
“Two sets? How is that possible?” Jackson was shocked.
Josiah shook his head with a bitter smile and feigned helplessness. “I don’t know either. The Bloomer family’s test showed no blood relation, but another test I sent to a different institution showed a blood relation.”
“I couldn’t tell which one was true or false and thought maybe there was a mistake somewhere.”
“Later, I sent my test results to your father, hoping he would take Leo for another paternity test.”
“But your father ignored me completely. I don’t know what he means by this since Leo might be a blood relative of the Bloomer family…”
Cunning and malicious-this was how Leo evaluated Josiah in his heart.
Leo’s face darkened. He thought tearing up the test results Josiah gave him would be the end of it but didn’t expect Josiah to print another copy and send it to Nicholas!
Josiah’s intention in telling Jackson all this was clear: to inform Jackson that the Bloomer family had kept everything from him. Moreover, led by Nicholas, the Bloomer family seemed indifferent to whether Leo was their descendant or Jackson’s son-they didn’t want to acknowledge him at all!
Otherwise, why wouldn’t they redo the test if they were unsure about the results?
Jackson’s mind was in turmoil. He couldn’t understand why his father wouldn’t take Leo for another paternity test. No matter the reason, it seemed inexplicable since this could be the Bloomer family’s bloodline-possibly his only son!
Though Jackson’s face remained calm, it had turned slightly pale, and his eyes were clouded with confusion.
Josiah captured all this with satisfaction; today’s goal had been achieved. He knew that regardless of whether Jackson realized today’s events were orchestrated by him or how the Bloomer family tried to cover it up, an irreparable rift would form between Jackson and the Bloomer family.