CHAPTER 15: CHAPTER 15: TIANA LINDEN’S TRUTH

No.

Tiana Linden quickly dismissed the idea.

Aiden Grant was not only a medical genius but also a top-notch hacker.

If someone installed invisible listening software on his phone, he would definitely find out.

"It might also be..." Tiana’s mind was racing.

The red string around Aiden Grant’s neck suddenly made her suspicious.

That was a peace charm given to Aiden Grant by Vivian Linden.

Tiana had heard of it before.

When Aiden Grant had a car accident, Vivian Linden had knelt nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps at Clear Spring Monastery just to ask for it.

"Mr. Grant, could it be that the peace charm you’re wearing has a listening device installed?"

Vivian Linden was being accused, and Aiden’s expression towards Tiana became one of even greater disgust.

Moreover, he immediately defended Vivian:

"Tiana, stop falsely accusing Vivian in front of me."

"Only you would stoop to such despicable acts."

"Vivian would never do that."

He defended Vivian so staunchly that Tiana had no intention of persuading him.

She only wanted to find a way out for Daisy.

But what should she do?

"Tiana, is it that your conspiracy hasn’t been discovered by me yet, and once the Linden-Grant Pharmaceuticals successfully develops the specific anti-cancer drug, you’ll pretend to cough up blood in front of me, putting on a tragic act as if you’re about to die, just to steal over twenty years’ worth of research from both families?"

"Mr. Grant, it’s not like that, I..."

Aiden cut her off harshly:

"Enough, Tiana."

"From now on, don’t appear in front of me again."

"Every word you say makes me feel incredibly nauseated."

"I might as well have fed the past ten years of my life to the dogs."

"I don’t want any interaction with you anymore."

The last look Aiden gave her was one of zero tolerance.

Hatred turned into a blade, cutting coldly from his gaze to her body.

Tiana knew that whatever she said today, Aiden would neither listen to nor believe her anymore.

To her, the past decade had long ceased to be important.

If Aiden called her a dog, so be it.

Her only concern was what to do about little Daisy?

As she sat back down in her chair in despair, she didn’t notice that the people in the restaurant were watching her.

Nor did she notice that Aiden had left, definitively.

All that occupied her mind was the image of little Daisy — obedient, adorable, smart, and sensible.

For a long time, Tiana sat in the restaurant, deep in thought about Daisy.

The world around her was shut out by this brooding emotion.

Not until someone politely inquired by her ear did she return to reality.

"Miss, do you still need to order?"

Yes, she needed to eat well.

The doctor had said that she must ensure proper nutrition.

So, she ordered three dishes and a soup alone.

Even if she had no appetite, she forced herself to eat the rice, the fish.

But from this meal, she only tasted an endless bitterness.

As she ate, she couldn’t hold back and broke down crying.

In front of Daisy, she didn’t dare cry.

In front of Aiden, if she cried, it would be construed as putting on a tragic act.

She didn’t have the right to cry, nor could she.

But at this moment, she couldn’t hold back any longer.

A waiter came over, concerned, "Miss, is there anything I can help you with?"

She swallowed the bitter food:

"I’m a single mom with late-stage lung cancer. I’m not afraid to die; I’m just afraid no one will take care of my daughter after I’m gone. But no one believes me."

"Can you believe me, sister?"

Just two sentences filled the waiter with sympathy and shock, but she couldn’t find words to console her.

Finally, she made a gesture of encouragement:

"Fairy Maiden, you’re so beautiful; your daughter must be just as cute and pretty."

"For your daughter’s sake, stay strong. You will get better."

She smiled, "Thank you!"

After saying those two words, she returned to devouring the rice, the fish, and the soup.

For Daisy’s sake, she needed to live a while longer.

At least until she found an adoptive family for Daisy, then she could let go.

Afternoon.

Tiana was still the first to pick up Daisy from kindergarten.

Today, Ms. Hayes was still wearing a braid, but it was a ponytail, not a fishtail braid, making her whole face full of youthful vibrancy.

However, when Daisy’s homeroom teacher Ms. Hayes saw her, her sweet smile suddenly froze.

"Daisy’s mom, Daisy’s uncle has already picked her up."

"Uncle?" Tiana asked, baffled.

"Half an hour ago, I called you, but your phone was off."

Pony-tailed Ms. Hayes explained anxiously.

"Mr. Linden even called you on video in front of me, and you agreed, didn’t you?"

"Oh, he even added me on WeChat."

Ms. Hayes showed her the WeChat of Daisy’s so-called uncle.

One look and it was Daniel Linden.

Last time at The Hibiscus Pavilion in Zenith Hotel, Daniel Linden had slapped her after Aiden revealed the paternity test results.

Tiana then remembered that Daniel Linden worked in AI.

Changing a face during a video call was all too easy for him.

It wasn’t Ms. Hayes’s fault.

But Tiana politely stated her request:

"Ms. Hayes, next time unless I come personally, don’t let anyone take Daisy."

"Thank you very much."

Two minutes later, Tiana was standing by the road opposite the kindergarten, calling Daniel Linden.

Daniel Linden could be said to be her only relative in this world.

When she was twenty-one, James Linden declared she wasn’t biologically his daughter.

The paternity test results had dismissed the father-daughter bond of twenty-one years with James Linden.

But Daniel Linden was, like her, born into this world full of suffering from the same mother.

When their mother, Wanda Townsend, was wrongly accused, Daniel Linden didn’t say a word to help her.

When Vivian Linden, the illegitimate child of The Linden Family, was recognized, Daniel Linden was only too pleased to have another sister.

Later, when there was a leak of Linden-Grant Pharmaceuticals’ secrets,

Daniel Linden took James Linden’s side, believing her to be a thankless, cold-hearted, ungrateful bastard child and disregarded their sibling bond, even siding with James and Aiden to send her to jail.

After Wanda Townsend’s death, James Linden, Aiden Grant, and Henry Linden were the people she loved most dearly in this world.

Now, they all stood by Vivian Linden’s side.

Daniel Linden had taken Daisy without her consent by tampering with WeChat, surely for Vivian Linden’s sake.

"Mr. Linden, where is Daisy?"

"Not even calling me brother anymore?"

On the other end, Daniel Linden sounded a bit pained.

The sister he had doted on for over twenty years no longer recognized him.

"Mr. Linden, have you forgotten? You were the one who said we were severing all ties."

"I said that in anger. Tiana, can’t you be more understanding, like Vivian, you..."

Tiana interrupted, "Where is Daisy?"

With someone like Daniel Linden, she didn’t want any useless chatter.

Daniel Linden: "I’m still Daisy’s uncle after all, and I care for her dearly. Come back for a family dinner, Dad often mentions you."

Tiana: "That’s your and Vivian Linden’s dad, not mine."

Daniel Linden: "Over twenty years of being raised, you just decide they’re not your parents? Tiana, don’t be ungrateful. What you do is seen by heaven; otherwise, it might be just like Aiden said, and you’ll get retribution."

Tiana understood that Aiden must have told The Linden Family everything that had happened.

They wanted to protect Vivian Linden.

To bring Daisy back, she had to go to The Linden Family today.

Half an hour later, Tiana arrived at The Linden Family.

The Linden Family had moved.

Like Aiden, they moved to Star River Bay.

It was an elegant, classical villa district.

It was because Vivian Linden liked classical things.

When Tiana stepped into The Linden Family’s residence, she had no time to admire the Song-style aesthetic of the Linden Villa; she was looking everywhere for Daisy.

James Linden was sitting on a classical-style sofa, pouring tea.

She got straight to the point, "Uncle Linden, where’s my Daisy? I’ve come to take her home."

Not seeing Daisy around made her quite anxious!