Chapter 239: You Are Not My Biological Daughter

Chapter 239: Chapter 239: You Are Not My Biological Daughter

"It’s nothing. I was just wondering if he’ll feel even a shred of remorse when he learns the whole truth."

After all, the entire Sterling family had treated him with genuine sincerity. His treatment was no different from Julian Sterling’s; they never showed the slightest bit of favoritism.

Jared Hawthorne’s expression was placid, his tone cool. "That’s not for you to worry about. The Sterling family will reach a fair judgment on their own."

Vesper Grayson nodded lightly, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her mind and looking up at the man beside her.

"You don’t have to take me home. I need to go to the office."

Just as she stepped out of the elevator, Dolly Hughes hurried over to greet her.

"President Grayson, the Chairman is here. He’s in your office."

"Okay, I know." Vesper Grayson nodded.

"The Chairman doesn’t look well. It seems like something is weighing on his mind," Dolly Hughes reminded her in a low voice.

Vesper Grayson’s steps faltered. She furrowed her brow slightly and asked softly, "Has anything happened at the company recently?"

"All operations are running as usual. I don’t think he’s worried about company matters."

Vesper Grayson asked no more questions and pushed open the door to her office.

She saw Milton Grayson sitting alone on the living room sofa, his eyes downcast. His fingertips unconsciously traced the side of his cup as he seemed lost in thought, an indescribable gloom hanging about him.

"Dad?"

Vesper Grayson walked over quietly and sat on the sofa across from him, her voice soft with concern.

"What’s wrong? Did something happen to upset you?"

Milton Grayson slowly raised his eyes to the daughter he had cherished for over twenty years. He forced a gentle smile, his tone slow and solemn.

"It’s nothing. It’s just... there’s something I think I should tell you."

"What is it? Why so serious?"

Vesper Grayson’s heart inexplicably tightened, and a sliver of unease crept over her.

"It’s about your birth mother."

Hearing this, the smile on Vesper Grayson’s face slowly faded. She sat up straight, a hint of anticipation in her eyes as she waited for him to continue. Her heart began to race uncontrollably.

’Could it be? Has Dad found my mother?’

’But if that were the case, he should be happy. Why would he look so preoccupied and hesitant?’

’Don’t tell me... she’s no longer alive?’

"Your mother... she’s not dead. She’s been living a peaceful and stable life all these years. It’s just... she has amnesia. She’s completely forgotten all of us, forgotten everything about the past."

Milton Grayson’s voice was hoarse, tinged with a trace of bitterness.

"I also just recently found out by chance that before I met her, she was already married."

His words exploded in Vesper Grayson’s ears like a clap of thunder. She froze on the spot, her eyes wide with shock, unable to process what she’d heard for a long moment.

"And then? What happened after that?" she pressed softly.

"After I found her, I told her about our past together, but I don’t even know if she believed me!" Milton Grayson sighed heavily, his eyes filled with helplessness. "Really, I shouldn’t have disturbed her peaceful life. I shouldn’t have appeared before her so rashly, dredging up memories that have been sealed away for years and causing her unnecessary trouble. But there are some things I can’t hide from you. You have to know."

"So, you’ve already seen her?"

"Yes, I have."

Vesper Grayson’s nose tingled, and complex emotions churned within her. Even though they had never met, the bond of blood had kept her mother in her thoughts for over twenty years.

When she was little, she could only watch with envy as other children were protected and doted on by their birth mothers. When Milton Grayson married Joyce Rivers, she had been overjoyed, thinking she could finally have a mother’s love. But Joyce didn’t keep her promise to treat her as her own.

Joyce would only pretend to be gentle and loving, indulging Vesper in every way, when Milton was around. But behind his back, she was distant and cold, her eyes filled with unconcealable jealousy and disgust. After Joyce gave birth to her own daughter, Gwen Grayson, her favoritism became blatant, and she poured all her tenderness onto her own flesh and blood.

For so many years, she had wished countless times that if her own mother were still here, she would surely love her with all her heart, protect her, and give her all her love.

"She’s doing very well. She has a doting husband, a filial son, and a complete family."

It was hard to say whether she felt loss, relief, or bitterness. Her birth mother already had a new family, a new child, and had started a life without her. And none of it had anything to do with her.

After a long while, she managed a faint smile, her voice soft.

"That’s good. As long as she’s happy and living well, that’s enough. Since she’s already forgotten the past, there’s no need for her to remember."

"But that’s so unfair to you." Seeing how understanding she was, Milton Grayson’s eyes filled with heartache, his voice growing even hoarser.

Vesper Grayson shook her head gently, her expression soft. "Dad, having you by my side is more than enough for me."

She had never seen her mother since birth. For more than twenty years, Milton Grayson had raised her all by himself, protecting her and giving her all the love he had.

They had been separated for over twenty years. Her mother had long forgotten her existence and perhaps didn’t want to remember the past at all. As for Vesper, she was a grown woman now. That obsession wasn’t so important anymore.

Milton Grayson’s eyes instantly grew moist. His bloodshot gaze fixed on her, and he remained silent for a long time. As if mustering all his strength, he finally uttered the words he had hidden for twenty-six years.

"Vesper, you’re... not actually my biological daughter."

Gwen Grayson had heard that Vesper Grayson was back at the office and had come over with a file to discuss work matters. Just as she reached the office door, before she could even raise her hand to knock, those earth-shattering words reached her ears with perfect clarity.

She stiffened, her feet rooted to the spot. Her blood seemed to freeze in her veins, her face a mask of utter disbelief.

’That’s Dad’s voice!’

’My sister isn’t Dad’s biological daughter?’

’What on earth does that mean!’

She clenched the file in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the force. Her heart pounded wildly as she held her breath, not daring to make a sound.

Inside the office, Vesper Grayson’s face was ashen. She struggled to maintain her composure, but her voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Dad, don’t joke with me like this. How could I not be your daughter?"

"I have never lied to you. It’s all true." Milton Grayson’s eyes were full of heartache as he slowly recounted the long-buried past. "Back then, I rescued your injured mother by chance. She was already pregnant with you at the time, but she had suffered a severe head injury and lost her memory completely, forgetting everything about her past. While I had people looking into her background, I took care of her. She came to rely on me, to trust me... and as time went on, I fell in love with her."

"You can probably guess what happened after that."

Vesper Grayson sat there stunned, her mind a complete blank. She opened her mouth, but for a long time, no sound came out.

"Vesper, I can’t let my own selfishness stand in the way of you reuniting with your biological parents."

"Before, my resources were limited, and I didn’t know the truth. But now that I do, I can’t keep it from you. I’m afraid that if you found out later, you’d hold a grudge and resent me. And I can’t take away your chance to reunite with your real parents."

...

Gwen Grayson returned to her office in a daze.

Before she could recover from the shock, she got a call from her mother, Joyce Rivers.

She answered the call, her voice still laced with dazed confusion.

"Mom?"

"Gwen, is your father at the office right now?" Joyce Rivers’s urgent voice came through the phone.

"Yeah, he is."

Joyce Rivers’s voice was choked with sobs, thick with grievance and resentment, as she started to cry.

"Your father wants to divorce me for some vixen he found outside!"

"Mom, don’t make a scene. I know what kind of person Dad is. He would never cheat on you, much less keep a mistress."

"It’s true! I’m not lying to you!" Joyce sobbed. "He’s been married to me for so many years, but he’s never loved me! From start to finish, his heart has been filled with Vesper Grayson’s birth mother. All these years, I’ve just been a joke!"

"Mom, Dad is very good to you. Why do you have to keep dwelling on the past and holding a grudge?"

Her mother brought it up so often. Gwen didn’t know if her mother was tired of saying it, but she was certainly tired of hearing it.

"Gwen Grayson, I’m your mother! How could you take an outsider’s side? You unfilial daughter, you’re going to be the death of me!" Hearing that, Joyce cried even more heartbrokenly. "Every single one of you sides with outsiders! What does that make me in this family?"

"It makes you my mom."

"SOB SOB SOB..."

Gwen Grayson rubbed her throbbing temples and could only speak with forced patience.

"What exactly happened that made you so sure Dad did something to wrong you?"