Chapter 198: The Secret Illegitimate Daughter
Alaric Blackwood was about to blurt it out, but in the end, reason won.
"It’s nothing. I was just passing by. Dad asked me to come check on you."
The man looked as if his world was about to collapse. Even though he managed a faint smile, Nina Halloway wasn’t a fool. She could tell something was wrong with her brother.
"Dad didn’t get sick, did he?"
Quentin Blackwood had high blood pressure. Nina Halloway had decided to return to the country to build her career five years ago precisely because Quentin had been in and out of the hospital several times that year for that very reason.
"No, he’s fine."
"Don’t hide things from me if something’s wrong."
Alaric Blackwood avoided Nina Halloway’s gaze, his eyes darting away. "I have something to do. I’m leaving."
"Alaric..."
SLAM!
The door was slammed shut.
Alaric Blackwood had arrived in a hurry, said a few strange things, and then left just as abruptly.
Nina Halloway stood frozen, taking a long moment to come back to her senses.
She turned, went back to the sofa, and sat down. She couldn’t understand what was wrong with Alaric Blackwood. He was always so emotionally stable; he wouldn’t be this dejected for no reason.
After hesitating for some time, she picked up her phone from the coffee table and dialed Quentin Blackwood.
"Dad, are you okay?"
Receiving the sudden call from his daughter, Quentin Blackwood’s heart began to pound like a drum.
He had no choice but to feign composure. "I’m fine. What’s wrong?"
"Alaric just rushed over. He was acting so strange, then left without saying a word. I feel like something is wrong with him."
Hearing this, Quentin Blackwood secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He realized his son had kept his secret, not mentioning his affair or the existence of his illegitimate daughter to Nina Halloway.
So he reassured Nina Halloway, "Don’t overthink it. How has your recovery been lately?"
"It’s going well."
"What are your plans for the future? Are you still going to act?"
Nina Halloway thought for a moment. "If a good script comes along, I’ll take it."
"Isn’t your contract with the agency about to expire?"
"Yes."
"Have you picked out a new agency? Tell me, and I’ll help you..."
"There’s no need. I’ve decided to start my own studio."
"Alright. If you need my help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask."
"I can handle it myself."
Quentin Blackwood chuckled. "That’s my Nina, always the best. By the way, when you have a chance, try to persuade Alaric to pull his investment from Garland Chase Law Firm."
Nina Halloway paused. "Why should he pull his investment?"
"What else could it be? That brat Jaden lied to you and cheated on you. I don’t want you or Alaric to have any more dealings with him."
"But Dad... the masked man is targeting Jaden because of me..."
"Catching criminals is the police’s job. If he’s being targeted, he deserves it. It’s his own fault for cheating."
"He was wrong, but he doesn’t deserve to die for it."
Nina Halloway couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if Jaden fell into the masked man’s hands. What kind of torture would he endure? He might be dismembered, his body left in pieces.
"In any case, I’m extremely displeased with Jaden."
Quentin Blackwood used the opportunity to change the subject. "Your mother told me you don’t want to see Leon again?"
"I did say that. But the police suspect Leon Grant is the masked man, and this whole case is connected to me. I haven’t completely cut ties with him yet. Maybe I can help the police uncover some useful clues."
"No, that’s too dangerous."
"Dad, this whole thing started because of me. Sean Wright was killed, and they still haven’t found his body. That was a real person’s life. I can’t just stand by and do nothing."
"Nina..."
"Dad, don’t try to talk me out of it. This is not up for discussion."
Quentin Blackwood felt helpless. Knowing she had hired a personal bodyguard, in addition to the ones Alaric had arranged, all he could do was urge her to be careful.
After ending the call, he saw it was almost noon. After some thought, he dialed Lydia Wynn’s number.
The call went through, but no one answered.
He asked his secretary to summon Lydia Wynn, but was told that Assistant Wynn had taken the day off. On an impulse, he drove to Lydia Wynn’s apartment himself.
He had arranged the place for her. It was in an upper-middle-class residential area, a 120-square-meter apartment. It was more than spacious enough for Lydia Wynn to live comfortably on her own.
He knocked, but there was no answer, so he entered the passcode and let himself in.
Last night, Alaric Blackwood’s bodyguards had brought Lydia Wynn home. She’d had an emotional breakdown, and in a bipolar episode, she had smashed things around the apartment.
Now, the living room was a complete wreck. There wasn’t even a clear spot to stand.
Lydia Wynn was curled up on the sofa, her head buried and her arms wrapped around her knees.
Quentin Blackwood closed the door behind him and stepped over the debris. "Alaric recorded what happened last night."
Lydia Wynn, who had been lethargic and drained of all strength, snapped her head up the moment she heard the name ’Alaric’.
She looked at Quentin Blackwood, her eyes red and bloodshot from a sleepless night.
"Director Blackwood, what... what did you just say?"
"Don’t go near Alaric again. You two can’t be together."
Lydia Wynn immediately tumbled off the sofa. She fell to her knees before Quentin Blackwood, grabbing his suit trousers and begging, "Director Blackwood, you know?"
"I’ve been in love with your son since high school. I believe he has feelings for me, too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had you sponsor and support me all these years. I know I’m an orphan and not good enough for your son, but I really, really love him."
Lydia Wynn was at her most desperate and humble.
Ever since the Blackwood Family started sponsoring her, she had always projected the image of a self-reliant young woman to Quentin Blackwood. Because of this, he had taken special care of her, even arranging her housing.
It was called employee housing, but she knew very well that no one else received such treatment.
She suspected that Alaric Blackwood might have been behind all these arrangements.
"You’ve misunderstood. I was the one who wanted to sponsor you, not Alaric," Quentin Blackwood said with a grave expression.
He looked down at the weeping Lydia Wynn and, for a fleeting moment, thought how much this child resembled her biological mother—just as paranoid, just as neurotic, just as self-righteous.
"Lydia Wynn, you are the daughter I had when I had an affair in my youth. Your mother gave birth to you without my knowledge. You and Alaric are half-siblings. You are Alaric’s sister. You cannot be together."
He revealed the truth.
Lydia Wynn was instantly dumbfounded.
The man she had loved for nearly ten years was actually her brother?
And she wasn’t an orphan without a mother or father; she was an illegitimate child who could never be acknowledged...
"No!"
"This isn’t real!"
She let go of Quentin Blackwood’s pant leg and collapsed onto the floor, clutching her head and screaming, "This isn’t real! You’re lying to me!"
How could Alaric Blackwood be her brother?
She couldn’t accept it.
"I already did a paternity test back when your mother brought you to me. You are my daughter."
Quentin Blackwood bent down and took her by the shoulders, trying to help her up.
She struggled backward, scrambling into the space between the sofa and the coffee table. She huddled there, hugging her head tightly, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
She seemed to have suffered a massive shock. A whimper escaped her lips as she muttered over and over, "No, Alaric Blackwood loves me... He’s not my brother, he’s not..."
Quentin Blackwood moved closer to comfort her, but she scratched and clawed at him, pushing him away with all her might.
Like a madwoman, she let out a hysterical roar at him.
Left with no other choice, he called the family doctor to come over. They had to forcibly inject Lydia Wynn with a tranquilizer, allowing her to gradually calm down from her frenzied state.