CHapter 135


    What’s his take on Ashlyn?


    Beckett hadn’t expected her to ask this question, but now that she had, he pondered for at


    moment.


    He stroked his chiseled jawline and let out a heavy sigh. “To be honest, it’splicated. As kids, we


    never really got along with Grandma. She didn’t like Mom, and she wasn’t too fond of us either. You


    might not believe it, but we had it rougher than Yvonne. That’s partly why us, especially Stirling and


    Jasper, didn’t care much for Yvonne; Grandma showed tant favoritism from the start.


    She used to say Yvonne was a gift from the heavens, and that Mom would lose you because of her


    sins, herck of faith. She said you had bad luck, imed Mom had a cursed fate. When. Yvonne


    was little, she could have anything she wanted, even if it meant taking things from ra. And


    Grandma would scold ra, not her.”


    Under such extreme favoritism, and with Ashlyn constantly being hard on Sienna, it wasn’t


    surprising that the Schnabel kids didn’t have much love for Ashlyn!


    “When we were little, Grandma said kids shouldn’t eat too much at night if they wanted to grow tall. I


    believed it until Yvonne came to our house, and then I realized she could eat her fill!”


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    I


    Beckett felt a bit embarrassed recalling these memories. It was as though, even now, as the head of


    the Schnabel business empire, he still couldn’t shake off the memory of the meals he


    missed out on as a kid!


    “As for Yvonne, once we caught her taking ra’s things and damaging them. ra and Jasper


    gave her a thrashing, a proper one. But even then, Grandma made ra apologize and refused to


    let her eat. Eventually. Dad took us and moved out. On one hand, I feel like I should respect


    Grandma as my elder, but on the other, it’s really hard to muster that respect.”


    He had meant to sugarcoat his words, but for some reason, he found himself opening up more


    around Noe, sharing everything with her. He never felt this way about ra.


    Perhaps it was because Noe was his sister!


    Noe nodded. “I get it.”


    The fact that Beckett was this candid meant there wasn’t much affection for Ashlyn.


    Noe pulled out a paternity test report and handed it to Beckett. “Beckett, this is for you.”


    Beckett looked puzzled, but as soon as he saw what the report contained, he stood up abruptly.


    eyes wide with shock.


    “Noe, what is… where did thise from?”


    “I was curious, so I asked Professor Calvin to do it.”


    Even though Calvin didn’t know about this, she promised to share thetest pharmacological


    research with him, which would surely make him grit his teeth and ept it.


    Beckett was stunned by the contents of the report!


    Since Ashlyn and Tristan weren’t directly rted, it meant they had no blood connection to Ashlyn


    at all! Was that why Noe was asking all these questions, concerned about their feelings for


    Ashlyn? Perhaps she feared that if they were close, finding out the truth would hurt them.


    Noe was just too kind–hearted, too considerate!


    Beckett felt like bursting into tears right there. He forced himself to calm down and caressed


    Noe’s face. “You’ve done well, Noe. Who else knows about this?”


    “I’ve only told you. It’s up to you to decide when to tell Dad.”


    Beckett, as the eldest brother and the one who knew the temperaments of the Schnabel family best,


    was the right person to make the decision.


    “You did the right thing. This needs careful consideration. Grandpa’s health isn’t great and telling


    him directly might be too much for him.”


    “Grandpa probably already guessed.”


    Marcel, after all, was a seasoned veteran who had emerged unscathed from the line of fire in the


    military.


    Noe had asked Thorpe why someone would want to harm Marcel. Thorpe said that Marcel had


    made enemies at the border during his youth, and those enemies were people whose names


    Thorpe wouldn’t dare utter now.


    The old man’s vigor and dominance in his youth were evident!


    Sexton and Merrick had hinted so many times; could Marcel really be unaware?


    Beckett was still in shock. “How could Grandpa know?”


    At the door, there was a knock. Marcel was outside in his wheelchair, pushed by Tristan.


    The old man exuded an air of calm authority, with his white hair a testament to his years, yet his


    eyes remained as sharp as ever.


    “Girl, let me see that.”


    Noe handed the clear and conclusive report to Marcel, which proved many things.


    Marcel read it for a while, then suddenly chuckled. “Well, well! This settles one of my worries. Once


    she’s in her right mind, we’ll find out who Tristan’s biological mother is.”


    Tristan was shocked to learn that Ashlyn wasn’t his biological mother; instead, Yvonne was


    revealed to be Ashlyn’s true granddaughter.


    Had Tristan be a motherless child overnight? The revtion was staggering!


    10:23


    “Is this for real? Then who’s my mom? Is she still alive?”


    “This, we’ll have to ask that olddy! But I doubt she’ll tell the truth.”


    “No, Dad, you mean to say you don’t know who you had a child with? I’m your blood, and you don’t


    know who my real mom is? Where am I supposed to find her?”


    Marcel gave Tristan a swift kick in annoyance. “Shut it, you don’t get to talk to me like that!


    Tristan didn’t dare speak further.


    Marcel mused, “If Yvonne is Ashlyn’s true granddaughter, then who’s her actual son? It’s probably


    not so simple, Beckett. I trust you to handle this; go find out and tell me.”


    “Will do.”


    Marcel then looked at Noe. “Girl, was Ashlyn’s illness caused by Nourishment Pills?”


    Noe nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, she’s been scarfing down too many of those pills. It must’ve


    been Yvonne who triggered a bad reaction with the remnants still in her system, causing her to go a


    bit haywire.”


    Tristan nced between his father and his precious daughter. “Dad, Noe, can someone clue me


    in here? What in the world are ‘Nourishment Pills?”


    Marcel rolled his eyes at his son’s question and decided not to entertain the foolishness of his


    offspring.


    Thank goodness his grandchildren had more brains. Tristan had clearly missed out on the


    smarts.


    Marcel looked on with satisfaction at Noe and Beckett, before giving Tristan, who was still


    bombarding them with questions, a nudge with his foot.


    So annoying!


    Finally, when the whole family retreated to their rooms for the night, it was already the wee hours.


    Noe was lying in bed when her phone rang; it was a call from Master Killian.


    “Noe, I’ve justnded at the airport. See you tomorrow.”


    “Alright, I’lle to pick you up.”


    Master Killian chuckled. “No need, my dear. You just wait for me at your gallery. I want to see for


    myself what kind of ruckus dares to mess with my favorite apprentice!”


    Who dared to mess with the apprentices trained by them? A bunch of old geezers?


    The thought of seeing Noe and the rascals of Pris Star the next day put a spring in Master


    Killian’s step.


    “See you tomorrow. And let me get a glimpse of what kind of goblins and ghouls Imperial City is


    10:23


    hiding!”


    Noe’s smile was soft, her heart warmed by the conversation. “See you tomorrow.”