CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: TIANA LINDEN, YOU CAN’T LEAVE

Daisy was dazed and did not notice someone standing by the corridor.

Daisy, at the window, gently nudged her, "Mom!"

Following Daisy’s gaze, Tiana turned her head.

Aiden?

Why is he here?

Watching the mother and daughter, one large and one small, Aiden’s tightly knit brows finally eased a bit.

Luckily, the train hadn’t departed yet.

He opened his mouth and asked, "Tiana, where are you taking Daisy?"

Tiana withdrew her gaze, unwilling to give Aiden a direct look.

Turning her head, she spoke coldly, "Where I am going has nothing to do with Mr. Grant."

Daisy had a severe allergic reaction to peanuts and almost went into shock and died.

Yet, Aiden still protected Vivian Linden.

The Linden Family father and son completely sheltered Vivian.

If she handed Daisy over to Aiden, Daisy would face a thousand ways to die.

Having made her decision, Tiana would no longer entertain any illusions about Aiden.

She took out Daisy’s Princess Elsa patterned water bottle from her bag, opened the lid, and handed it to Daisy, "Daisy, have some water."

She ignored Aiden.

She even treated Aiden standing in the aisle as if he was air.

This attitude left Aiden’s chest feeling suffocated.

"Tiana, you can’t leave."

"You also cannot leave Veridia."

These two sentences, Tiana pretended not to hear.

When Daisy finished drinking the water, she put the water bottle back into the bag, without glancing at Aiden, and lowered her head to look at her phone.

At this moment, the broadcast announced:

"Dear passengers, the departure time of this train is delayed by five minutes. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause..."

Soon after, two uniformed officers approached Tiana.

"Ms. Linden, during your bail period, you cannot leave Veridia."

"Hector Chaucer’s case is not concluded, and we need your continued cooperation in the investigation."

Bail?

Tiana asked confusedly, "Was I bailed out last time?"

The officers nodded, "Yes, Ms. Linden. Hector Chaucer is the top death row inmate. You are implicated in his escape case, suspected of aiding a prisoner in escaping. By rights, you shouldn’t be bailed. As long as Hector’s case is not concluded, you cannot leave Veridia."

"Do you know who bailed me out?"

"That, we are not sure."

Immediately, they handed Tiana a document stamped by the police department.

It clearly stated that she must not leave Veridia.

Half a minute later, Tiana had to disembark from the high-speed train with her daughter.

After giving instructions, the officers had her sign the document and left first.

Aiden stood behind Tiana and her daughter.

The sight of the mother and daughter eased his tense brows.

He had repeatedly asked Tiana to leave Veridia with Daisy, but he had to admit that when they truly intended to leave, his mind was turbulent.

Tiana turned back, looked at Aiden, "Was it you who bailed me out last time because of the Hector Chaucer issue?"

The Linden Family father and son wouldn’t have bailed her.

Only Aiden could.

Aiden said indifferently, "I did it because there was no one to care for Daisy."

Tiana thus stayed in Veridia.

While leaving the high-speed train station, she held Daisy in one hand and pulled a suitcase with the other.

Aiden went to help her with the suitcase for the fifth time.

She clutched it tightly and wouldn’t let go.

"No need to trouble Mr. Grant."

"Mr. Grant has a fiancée and should stay away from us."

"To prevent the Linden Family father and son from thinking I want to ruin Vivian Linden’s marriage and causing us more trouble."

Aiden had to let go.

He picked up Daisy beside Tiana, "Daisy, Uncle will hold you."

Daisy, being picked up, struggled to be put down.

"I don’t want you to hold me, let me down."

"I hate you, let-go-of-me."

The distressed tears in Daisy’s eyes refused to fall.

Her little hands and feet continued to struggle.

Aiden had to put Daisy down.

Watching Daisy hurriedly return to her mother’s side, glaring at him angrily, Aiden felt a pain in his chest, "Daisy, do you dislike Uncle very much?"

Daisy did not answer.

But from her gaze, Aiden already had the answer.

He knew the incident with Noelle had saddened Daisy, "Daisy, I’m sorry! Uncle didn’t want you to have a peanut allergy."

As Tiana bent down to wipe away her daughter’s tears, she straightened up and looked at Aiden coldly, "Daisy doesn’t need your apology."

"Daisy, let’s go."

Just as Aiden was about to catch up, his phone rang.

Seeing that it was Christopher Grant calling.

He quickly answered.

On the other side came Christopher’s cautious voice.

"Aiden, I got the paternity test report for you and Daisy, but I didn’t dare open it. Wait for you to open it yourself."

...

Linden-Grant Pharmaceutical Group Tower.

Aiden and Christopher were sitting face to face on the sofa.

Both were staring at the few unopened kraft paper envelopes on the coffee table.

Aiden appeared calm, yet his heart was racing, "Christopher, you better open it for me."

"I think it’s better if you open it yourself?" Christopher also wanted to reveal the answer quickly, actually hoping Daisy was Aiden’s child, so he could clear Tiana’s name.

The more hopeful he became, the more nervous he was.

Aiden was even more tense.

He picked up the kraft paper envelope, even his breathing was careful.

As he unwound the sealing string circle by circle, his movements out of nervousness appeared stiff and slow.

Finally, when he opened it, Aiden’s palms sweated.

Christopher urged from the side, "Hurry up and take a look."

Aiden reached in to pull out the A4 paper and looked directly at the last part.

[Based on the genetic loci data analysis, it excludes the biological father-son relationship between Ginny Linden and Aiden Grant.]

Aiden’s face turned pale instantly.

"That’s impossible. Let me check the other report." Christopher hadn’t finished his sentence but had already opened the second envelope.

Then the third, fourth, and fifth.

To ensure everything was foolproof, Christopher Grant went out of town and consulted five different testing agencies.

"How could this be?"

"Daisy so clearly resembles your daughter."

"She loves painting like you do, her talent in art is exceptional; she’s also allergic to peanuts like you; she loves eating grapefruits but dislikes onions and cilantro just like you..."

Christopher Grant was deeply suspicious, "Aiden, these test results must have been tampered with."

Aiden Grant sat powerlessly on the sofa, the test result slipping helplessly from his hand to the ground.

A bittersweet smile crept up his lips, "Daisy is not my daughter, Tiana Linden admitted it herself, she had her with Hector Chaucer."

Christopher retorted, "She might have said it out of spite."

Aiden’s face turned cold, "Tiana and I ended things five years ago."

He was merely holding onto illusions.

When Daisy had a peanut allergy incident, he had suspected Vivian Linden.

He investigated personally.

Even the police’s conclusion matched his investigation.

It was just Noelle’s jealous prank at the time.

Aiden felt guilty for doubting Vivian.

The two brothers remained silent for a while.

Christopher Grant looked at the stacks of test reports, believing something must have gone wrong somewhere.

"Aiden, I handled this matter with caution and thoroughness, how could it turn out like this?"

"Something must have gone wrong somewhere. Aiden, let’s review everything again carefully."

Aiden felt it was unnecessary.

He stood up and left.

Christopher stood up as well, "Aiden, where are you going?"

Aiden didn’t look back, "Seraphina Isle."

In over forty days, it was his and Vivian Linden’s wedding.

Although he hired the most professional wedding planning team, he still had to personally oversee the arrangements at the wedding venue.

He always remembered Vivian Linden’s kindness deep in his heart.

In this life, he would treat Vivian Linden well.

But why did he feel so unhappy?

...

Meanwhile, Aiden Grant and Christopher Grant’s conversation was being eavesdropped on by Vivian Linden and Sharon Sullivan, the mother-daughter duo.

Sharon Sullivan, holding a cup of coffee, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, you installed a listening device in the amulet you gave Aiden."

"Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known that Aiden sent Christopher to redo the paternity test out of town."

"Or else our plan would have been completely ruined."

The wedding didn’t face any changes.

The planned wedding date on May Day would still proceed as normal.

However, Vivian Linden seemed not too thrilled, "Mom, Aiden is already suspicious of me. He must have guessed that the paternity testing agency in Veridia was already bought by us, so he went out of town to redo the test."

Luckily, it was just a false alarm.

Otherwise, if Aiden knew Daisy was his biological daughter, things between her and Aiden would definitely end completely.

Next, Sharon gave her detailed instructions on various precautions.

She needed to be extremely careful and cautious.

Vivian Linden was caught in some kind of worry, listening to none of it.

Sharon Sullivan set the coffee cup on the coffee table.

"Vivian, are you listening to me?"

At this moment, Vivian snapped back to reality. "Mom, I know, I will be even more careful. As long as Aiden keeps wearing the peace charm I gave him, we’ll be able to keep a close watch on everything about him."

...

Two days later, Tiana Linden and Daisy finally settled down again in Veridia.

They rented a new apartment.

Daisy returned to kindergarten.

In the morning, Tiana Linden habitually checked the calendar:

March 24th.

When she went for a check-up in January, the doctor said there was at most three months left.

She was advised to eat whatever she wanted, to go wherever she wished.

Not to leave any regrets.

She had no craving for any specific food, nor did she wish to visit any place.

She only wanted to stay and raise Daisy till she grows up.

But there were only thirty days left till the date estimated by the doctor...

That afternoon, while picking up Daisy from school, Tiana applied exquisite makeup.

Under the sunlight, the orange-red lip gloss made Tiana’s complexion appear paler.

Plus, she applied blush, hiding any sign of illness.

After picking up her daughter, the mother and daughter held hands and walked back.

The new apartment was right opposite the school, making it very convenient to come and go.

Daisy didn’t dare to ask about her mom’s illness.

Tiana also didn’t mention it.

Both mother and daughter seemed afraid to touch on this topic.

"Mom, today at the school talent competition, I played a piece on the piano and the teacher praised me."

"And mom, I have another good news for you, we received the final entry notice for the National Children’s Piano Competition!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"That’s wonderful! Mom, we... mom, what’s wrong?"

Before Daisy could celebrate, Tiana suddenly coughed and squatted on the ground.

Blood was coughed up, creating a large pool.

Daisy cried in fear.

Her small body tightly hugged Tiana, "Mom, mom..."

In a spinning world, Tiana passed out.

Daisy quickly grabbed her mom’s phone and dialed 911.

In her panic, Daisy didn’t forget to clearly speak their address.

"Hello, we’re on the road outside St. Peter’s Kindergarten. My mom passed out, please come save my mom quickly."

"Little one, is it St. Peter’s Kindergarten?"

"Yes, my mom passed out and coughed up a lot of blood, please come quickly."

The youthful plea of the crying voice made the operator on the other end also deeply worried, "Little one, we are sending someone right away, don’t worry."

When Daisy put down the phone, her panicked little hand accidentally touched the call records.

It was Aiden Grant’s phone number.

When the call connected, Aiden was at the wedding venue on Seraphina Isle.

Upon hearing a faint child’s cry over the phone, Aiden’s brows furrowed, "Is that Daisy?"