“You…” Joseph was stunned. If she was Talia’s daughter, then whose daughter was Wendy?
“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 Emily, 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 Emily.”
“What happened then? Did Kate find out your identity and your motive at Bentson and tell you that Wendy is Talia’s daughter?”
Emily could already figure out the entire scheme. Wendy was the most important person in Kate’s life. Of course, she would want the best for her own daughter. Wendy had also pretended to be Old Madam Jackson’s granddaughter. It was no surprise that she would do the same thing to the Gale family.
Joseph thought about it momentarily and then nodded. “Yes, Kate told us that Wendy 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 Kate claimed that Wendy was the one, they went ahead and did a test with her.
“But, Emily, I do not doubt you. I just want to say that we…”
Joseph paused as if he was embarrassed. Emily knew that he did not want to hurt her self-esteem; Eldest Young Master Gale was really kind to her.
She smiled. “Do you want to say that the DNA test between Grandfather Gale and Wendy 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, Emily, could you have made a mistake about that?”
“Impossible.” Emily looked firm and answered resolutely. “Besides, I am not here to claim to be Old Master Gale’s granddaughter.”
“Emily, 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 Emily was a kind and good girl, and Emily 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 Gale’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 Jackson, 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.
Emily took a deep breath before she said, “It was Talia who was with Harley. I am Talia’s daughter, but I am not Grandfather Gale’s granddaughter.”
When she said that, she felt like she had humiliated her mother. Nonetheless, she had no choice. She did not want Wendy to continue to deceive the Gale 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. Emily 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.
Emily did not say anything after that. She could only wait for him to accept it and calm down. Grandfather Gale 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 Emily. As for Joseph, there was only a cup of hot tea for him.
After the maid had left, Emily 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 Gale 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 Wendy?”
“I’m not sure. After all, you were the one who had done the DNA test with her, but…” Emily 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 Emily 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 Wendy.”
Wendy had managed to lie to the old master, tamper with the DNA results, and then successfully masqueraded as the Gale 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 Emily; his intense eyes narrowed. “Why are you so sure that I was not the one who helped Wendy?”