“You…” Joseph was stunned. If she was Talia’s daughter, then whose daughter was Ava?
“The information that you collected earlier pointed out that I’m Talia’s daughter, right?” They would not have gone to Bentson without prior investigation for such an important matter.
“Yes.” Joseph was unfazed as he always embraced what life threw at him. He could calm himself very quickly. He stared at Elena, and he noticed that her eyes were calm. She was neither nervous, nor did she seem like she had lied to him.
“We found out that you were Talia’s daughter. When grandfather and I went to Bentson, we were there in search of a person named Elena.”
“What happened then? Did Grace find out your identity and your motive at Bentson and tell you that Ava is Talia’s daughter?”
Elena could already figure out the entire scheme. Ava was the most important person in Grace’s life. Of course, she would want the best for her own daughter. Ava had also pretended to be Old Madam Williams’s granddaughter. It was no surprise that she would do the same thing to the Garcia family.
Joseph thought about it momentarily and then nodded. “Yes, Grace told us that Ava is Talia’s daughter.”
The two children looked to be about the same age, so they could not identify the older and younger child. Both girls met the criteria. Since Grace claimed that Ava was the one, they went ahead and did a test with her.
“But, Elena, I do not doubt you. I just want to say that we…”
Joseph paused as if he was embarrassed. Elena knew that he did not want to hurt her self-esteem; Eldest Young Master Garcia was really kind to her.
She smiled. “Do you want to say that the DNA test between Grandfather Garcia and Ava showed that they are related, right?”
He was embarrassed to speak up, so she took the initiative to say it.
Joseph sighed and nodded. “So, Elena, could you have made a mistake about that?”
“Impossible.” Elena looked firm and answered resolutely. “Besides, I am not here to claim to be Old Master Garcia’s granddaughter.”
“Elena, I don’t mean that.” Someone who would help an elderly man by the roadside would not be a bad person. Joseph trusted in his own judgment. He was sure that Elena was a kind and good girl, and Elena was very grateful for his trust in herself. It made her feel really good and warm. There was no need for her to struggle to explain and prove herself. He trusted her entirely, and that was all she could ask for.
“I’m not Grandfather Garcia’s granddaughter either. I took some of his hair for the DNA test.”
When she noticed his shocked expression, she apologized solemnly. “I’m sorry, I had my doubts.”
“It doesn’t matter. It is wise to make sure if you have any doubts. You have not done anything wrong.”
“I’m not his granddaughter, but I’m really Talia’s daughter. I…have done the test before.”
She did a test with Old Madam Williams, but those people had destroyed the evidence.
However, what was done was done. She had personally done the test and collected the report, so it was impossible to be fake.
Joseph did not say anything. Since she went to him, she must have had something to say. All he had to do was to wait for her to continue.
Elena took a deep breath before she said, “It was Talia who was with Harley. I am Talia’s daughter, but I am not Grandfather Garcia’s granddaughter.”
When she said that, she felt like she had humiliated her mother. Nonetheless, she had no choice. She did not want Ava to continue to deceive the Garcia family.
“Even though I don’t want to admit it, but… perhaps Harley was not my mother’s only man.”
“Wait a moment.” Joseph waved his hand. He rubbed his temples. Elena knew that he had trouble accepting what she had said. The issue was not about who had been deceived. If Talia had been pregnant with a child not of their family’s blood, then the truth was that his grandfather had no granddaughter at all. He would collapse if he found out the harsh reality.
Elena did not say anything after that. She could only wait for him to accept it and calm down. Grandfather Garcia was the one who would suffer the most. An old man in his 70s, even though he looked great for his age, might not be able to handle the shock.
Outside the door, a maid gently knocked on the door. “Young Master Joseph, I have brought some snacks for you.”
Joseph wiped his face before he said, “Bring it in.”
The maid pushed the door ajar and then placed the snacks on the coffee table. She placed a lot of snacks and sweet dessert soup in front of Elena. As for Joseph, there was only a cup of hot tea for him.
After the maid had left, Elena picked up a piece of pastry and tasted it. It was a rather weird atmosphere. She thought perhaps some dessert would relieve the pressure. She was also nervous about whether Old Master Garcia would be able to bear the truth once it was uncovered. Joseph picked up his teacup and took a few sips of the tea. After that, he put down the cup. He ran his long finger along the edge of the cup unconsciously.
“I understand what you mean. You want to say that you are not grandfather’s granddaughter, same as Ava?”
“I’m not sure. After all, you were the one who had done the DNA test with her, but…” Elena met his gaze; she looked sincere and serious.
“If she knew that she was going for a test, she would have made the preparations in advance. It is not impossible to tamper with the result, right?”
Joseph did not respond to that remark, but he thought about it. It was indeed easy to change the result to ‘No Match’ on the test. However, they would need someone who had the same genes as the old master if they wanted the report to say ‘Match.’ Well, unless they found a way to change the old master’s blood sample instead.
“Eldest Cousin Brother.” It was not an accurate title, but Elena was reluctant to change it once she had called him so. “The easiest way to find out is to do another test without anyone’s knowledge.”
“You mean that you want me to do another test discreetly?”
“I don’t trust other people, and I don’t know if someone in this family is an accomplice of Ava.”
Ava had managed to lie to the old master, tamper with the DNA results, and then successfully masqueraded as the Garcia family’s granddaughter. She could not have achieved those things on her own. She might even have outsiders to help her to do all of that. In any case, someone had helped her.
“Then…” Joseph looked at Elena; his intense eyes narrowed. “Why are you so sure that I was not the one who helped Ava?”