Chapter 407


    With that presumption in mind, Toby turned to look in Rina’s direction.


    After having seen Hal and Greta, Rina jumped to her feet from the chair in shock. There was


    unmistakable fear in her eyes as she trembled with nerves. How are they even here?


    Realization dawned upon her at that moment and her eyes widened as she stared at Zane in


    disbelief. Mr. Coleman! He’s the one who brought this old couple over. It has to be him since how


    they came with him!


    Her fear turned to hurt and anger as she dug her nails into her palms. When she fixed her gaze on


    him, there was a wounded look on her face.


    She already had a fair idea as to why Zane had brought Hal and Greta here. More likely than not,


    he intended for them to expose her true identity in front of Titus and Julia! I can’t believe this is


    happening! How could he stoop so low? How


    could he do this to me when I love him the way I do?


    Upon sensing Rina’s gaze, Zane couldn’t help but be amused, albeit bewildered. He didn’t


    understand why she looked at him as if he had broken her heart and toyed with the pieces.


    However, he didn’t dwell much on this. He smirked and asked in a yful drawl, “Oh, Taylor, aren’t


    you going to greet your biological parents now that they’re here? What are you standing there for?”


    Biological parents? Titus and Julia’s expressions instantly fell.


    Titus, in particr, was staring at Zane mutinously as he barked, “What are you talking about, kid?


    What’s all this nonsense about her biological parents? My wife and I are Rina’s biological parents,


    and that’s the end of it!”


    Although the DNA test results had yet to be produced, he was more than certain that Rina was his


    own flesh and blood.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    There was a sadist edge to Zane’s smirk as he crossed his arms and retorted, “Well, I’m not wrong,


    President Gray. These two folks who came with me happen to be Taylor’s real parents. Why don’t


    you take a look for yourselves?”


    He stepped aside to reveal Hal and Greta, who had been standing behind him all along..


    The moment they saw the middle-aged couple, Titus and Julia bristled. “Titus,” she cried in a


    quivering voice as she clutched her husband’s arm. “It’s him. That’s the man from the photograph!”


    He gritted his teeth and stared daggers at Hal. He had known all along that Hal was the same


    person from the photograph; the recognition had been almost instant. However, Titus never


    expected that the man from the photograph would actually appear before him.


    Titus was about to march over and interrogate the couple when their eyes brightened before they


    approached Rina enthusiastically.


    When she saw both Hal and Greta drawing closer to her, Rina nched as all the color drained


    from her face. It made her tremble even more, now that she felt like a cornered prey.


    “Sonia,” Zane whispered into Sonia’s ear. “As it stands, Taylor is terrified of Hal and Greta, who is


    otherwise known as Mr. and Mrs. Carey.”


    Toby narrowed his eyes in thought. So, Taylor’s biological father’s name is Hal.


    A light smile touched her lips when she heard this. “Of course she’d be terrified. Don’t forget the life


    she used to live.”


    Zane and Sonia had been right to say that Rina was terrified of Hal and Greta. After all, they were


    the reason for Rina’s deep-seated trauma and anxiety. She had been physically and emotionally


    abused by them; seeing them now only caused her fight-or-flight response to kick in, although she’d


    rather run off in fear than to face them head-on.


    “Taylor!” Hal was the first one to reach


    Rina.


    There was nothing else but greed in Hal and Greta’s eyes at the sight of Rina’s polished


    appearance. This brat has been living the high life. Her skin is glowing and she even has some


    meat on her! And the fine clothes she’s wearing must have cost a small fortune, too. As expected,


    life must be sweet for her now that she has a couple of rich parents. And yet, she hasn’t even


    thought to spare us some of her newly-acquired riches. She’s probably set on spending it all on


    herself! What an ingrate. Just wait; we’ll get those fine clothes off her back and sell them for a good


    price before forcing her to surrender all her valuables to us.


    Hal and Greta teetered with excitement at the thought of the riches they could milk out of their


    daughter, but they feigned worry as they fussed over her. “Taylor, my little girl, you have no idea


    how long your mother and I have been looking for you!” he cried out in a show of anger and fret.


    “That’s right, Taylor. We thought you’d been kidnapped until Mr. Coleman knocked on our door to


    inform us that you’d run off into the city and been adopted by a couple of rich folks. For heaven’s


    sake, all we did was try to lecture some sense into you. Surely, there was no need for you to run


    away from home!” Greta began to nag incessantly as she reached out to touch Rina’s arm.


    Rina’s eyes widened before she immediately shouted in protest, “Go away! Don’t touch me!” With


    that, she summoned all her force and pushed Greta away.


    Greta stumbled backward, losing her footing and nearly crashing to the ground. She was only lucky


    that Hal had grabbed her in time to keep her from falling.


    “Greta, are you okay?” he asked hastily.


    She dabbed at the crocodile tears that streamed down her cheeks. “I’m fine, just heartbroken is all.


    Looks like Taylor no longer wants us now that she has these rich folks coddling her. How did our


    little girl turn out this way?”


    “And you’re telling me,” he agreed somberly, a shadow passing over his face as he turned to glower


    at Rina murderously.


    Rina saw his features twist into a grimace and she was immediately reminded of her dark past.


    Horror shed across her features as she darted behind Titus and Julia, cowering in their shadows


    as she muttered fearfully, “Mom, Dad, I''m scared.”


    “There’s nothing to be worried about, Rina. I’m here,” Julia consoled as she wrapped an arm around


    Rina while patting the girl’s back soothingly.


    Titus, on the other hand, confronted Hal and Greta angrily. “What the hell do you want with my


    daughter?”


    “Your daughter?” Hal and his wife faltered at this. Then, he recovered from the initial shock and kept


    his menace under wraps. He smiled coyly as he drawled, “Of course. Taylor called you Mom and


    Dad, didn’t she? That means you’re both her parents! Pleasure to meet you, Gray. My name’s Hal


    and I’m Taylor’s biological father.”


    Now that he said those words, he rubbed his hands as if to dust them off before offering Titus a


    handshake.


    Titus stared at Hal’s dirty palm and his muck-lined fingernails before he felt the urge to retch. Since


    he was mortified, he pped Hal’s hand away and thundered, “That’s Mr. Gray to you! Don’t get all


    buddy with me!”


    To the side was Zane, who sputtered as he had a hard time keeping hisughter at bay. “Well, to be


    fair, Titus is older than Hal by two years, so some respect is warranted.”


    Sonia heaved a wistful sigh. “I can tell you guys are enjoying the show from the sound of it. Too bad


    I can’t see anything right now.”


    “Hey, I’m trying to describe the whole show in real-time here. Besides, I have it on camera,” he


    teased lightheartedly while holding up his phone.


    Meanwhile, Toby shot him an icy look, but he quickly redirected his gaze to Titus and the others


    while lowering his eyes in thought.


    On the other side of the room, Hal did not bridle at Titus’ blunt rejection of his handshake and


    instead broke into augh like his dignity didn’t matter at all.


    “You’re right, that was my bad for calling you Gray so forthrightly. Mr. Gray it is, then. If you think


    about it, we’re practically family, aren’t we?”


    “Excuse me? Where did you get the nerve to say that?” Titus demanded, quaking with rage. This


    insolent fool just addressed me as Gray and now, he’s calling me his family? I have never met


    anyone with such thick skin!


    “Well, of course we are family!” Hal was beside himself with glee. He gestured to Taylor, who was


    shaking in Julia’s arms, and continued, “That brat over there is my daughter, and now that she has


    you as her new father, it would naturally make us family.”


    At this moment, he guffawed and turned to look at Rina in approval. “You certainly have some tricks


    up your sleeve, Rina! Who could’ve thought that you’d do so well for yourself after running away


    from home? Why, you even became a rich man’s daughter! I must say, I’m proud of you. You’ve got


    skills, kid.”


    Rina’s face blushed before turning pallor from outrage and fluster. “Shut up! I did not run away from


    home and I’m most certainly not your daughter!”


    Hal was obviously displeased by her response. “What do you mean you’re not my daughter? Your


    looks take after me, kid. Only the blind would be fooled by you! More importantly, I was there when


    your mother carried you in the womb for nine months and gave birth to you. Are you going to tell me


    I have the wrong person?”