CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: AIDEN GRANT FIGHTS FOR CUSTODY

Twenty minutes later, Aiden Grant and Nancy Carter were sitting face to face in the café.

To be honest, Nancy had known about Aiden Grant a long time ago.

Back then, she was still in college, and her best friend Kiera Chaucer had a crush on Leo Sutton.

Leo Sutton, however, had a crush on Tiana Linden.

Tiana Linden, on the other hand, had another man by her side.

At the time, Nancy couldn’t understand how great Tiana’s man must be, for her to not be interested in someone like Leo Sutton, who was considered a campus heartthrob.

It turned out to be Aiden Grant.

No wonder Leo Sutton wasn’t good enough for Tiana Linden.

But Aiden Grant became Tiana’s ex-boyfriend, and Nancy wasn’t interested in the reasons.

As a lawyer, she keenly analyzed why Aiden had come to see her.

Aiden must have come for Daisy.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have any reason to find her.

Aiden ordered a drink, "What would Lawyer Carter like to drink?"

"Anything is fine." Nancy got straight to the point, "President Grant, say what you have to say. I’m in a hurry."

Aiden put down the menu and said directly, "Lawyer Carter, if you really decide to adopt Daisy, things might get a bit complicated later."

Nancy: "Please elaborate."

Aiden leaned back into his chair slightly, maintaining a gentlemanly elegance, and said calmly:

"Daisy might be my biological daughter, but I’m still verifying it."

"If she is, and Lawyer Carter adopts Daisy, we might end up in court."

Nancy responded with brief silence.

She recalled Tiana telling her that Daisy had nothing to do with Aiden Grant.

She decided to ask Tiana about it.

Tiana was a wonderful woman, and if Aiden could become her ex-boyfriend, she felt the breakup couldn’t have been Tiana’s fault.

It was highly likely that Aiden had done something to hurt Tiana.

Her impression of Aiden naturally took a hit.

As she rose, she said displeased, "President Grant, your interference is really annoying."

Nancy was quite fond of Daisy.

Daisy was just like her late daughter, deaf in her right ear.

Nancy often saw her daughter’s shadow in Daisy, and she had already planned to adopt Daisy properly.

However, Aiden suddenly appeared.

At nine in the evening, Nancy called Tiana.

"Tiana, I’m outside your place. Come downstairs, and don’t bring Daisy."

Over the phone, Tiana sensed an uneasy atmosphere.

She went downstairs and saw Nancy had parked her Porsche by the alleyside.

She leaned helplessly against the car door.

As she approached, Tiana felt a bit uneasy, "Naomi."

Nancy got up, left the car door, and looked at her, "Tiana, I need to know the truth about Daisy’s background. Who is Daisy’s father, after all?"

Instinct told Tiana something must have happened.

"Did Aiden come to see you?"

Nancy asked back, "Aiden Grant is Daisy’s biological father, isn’t he?"

Tiana responded guiltily, "Yes, Naomi, I had my reasons for not telling you about this."

Even though Nancy liked Daisy, she didn’t like being deceived.

But Nancy held her patience and listened to Tiana’s explanation.

She felt sympathy for Daisy’s near-death experience due to a peanut allergy.

However, she still had her concerns, "Tiana, I know you have your reasons to be wary of Aiden, but I also don’t want to adopt Daisy only to have a biological father show up out of the blue, ready to go to court to snatch her away."

Upon hearing this, Tiana felt uneasy.

Nancy’s words likely indicated she didn’t want to adopt Daisy anymore.

Clearly, Daisy had found a great adoptive mother.

She was both anxious and angry at Aiden for his sudden interference.

She asked, "Naomi, what else did Daisy’s father say to you?"

Nancy: "He said he suspects Daisy is his biological daughter, but he’s still verifying it."

Ha!

Tiana responded with a sarcastic laugh.

What a despicable man!

When she begged him to acknowledge Daisy, he refused.

When she no longer needed him to acknowledge Daisy, he suddenly showed up.

A man like this is despicable and contemptible.

By the car, Nancy looked at Tiana, who appeared frail in the night breeze, and sincerely tightened her brow, saying:

"Tiana, I’m sorry. Daisy’s background is too complicated. I thought she only had you as her family."

"Since she has a father, and he seems to want custody, I can no longer adopt Daisy."

Tiana had already anticipated this outcome.

On a night at the end of spring and beginning of summer, even though the heat had started, after Nancy pronounced this decision, Tiana suddenly felt a chill all over.

Her Daisy had too hard a life.

She was like a rootless duckweed, adrift and helpless.

How was she going to tell Daisy that Aunt Naomi, who clearly liked her, suddenly decided not to take her in?

After telling Daisy, she would surely be very upset.

Daisy wasn’t an object that people could pick and choose, and then return after selecting.

But what could she do?

She forced a bitter smile, "It’s okay, it’s my fault for not telling you the truth earlier."

...

Nancy left.

Ten minutes later, Tiana received a call from Kiera after getting home.

"Tiana, I’m really sorry. I didn’t know Naomi would suddenly go back on her word."

"Don’t blame her; it’s my fault for not telling her about Daisy’s background."

"What the hell does Aiden Grant want—if he’s unwilling to acknowledge Daisy, why is he stopping you from finding a family to adopt her?"

"I don’t know what he wants either."

"Tiana, there are a few others who are interested in adopting Daisy, but I’m still evaluating them. If there’s a reliable one, I’ll let you know first."

"Kiera, thank you."

"Tiana, as I always say, if no one is willing to adopt Daisy, Louis and I will raise her for you, no matter how hard it is."

On the phone, Kiera comforted Tiana for a moment.

Tiana thanked her repeatedly.

She dared not let Daisy hear their conversation, and after arranging to meet Kiera the next day, she hung up the call.

After Daisy fell asleep, she picked up her phone and tiptoed to the bathroom.

...

Midnight.

Aiden Grant stood on the bedroom’s balcony, looking at the night scene below.

Under the moonlight, his tall and slender figure appeared even more lonely.

The smoke circled his fingers and slowly dissipated, highlighting his stunningly handsome face, which was full of worry.

The phone rang, and he tossed the cigarette butt to the ground, stomped it out, and quickly walked to the bedside.

The caller ID showed: Tiana Linden.

Aiden pondered for a moment before swiping to answer.

On the other end came Tiana’s angry voice, "Aiden, you don’t need to doubt whether Daisy is your biological daughter, nor do you need to verify it anymore."

Anyway, no matter how he verified, there would be someone behind the scenes manipulating things.

And he only believed the false evidence he found.

No matter what she said, he never believed her.

She continued to declare, "Daisy is Hector Chaucer’s daughter; Daisy has nothing to do with you. Even if Nancy Carter doesn’t plan to adopt Daisy, I will not hand Daisy’s custody over to you."

Bang!

After making this declaration, Tiana immediately hung up the phone.

She pulled Aiden from her blacklist to make this call.

After calling, she quickly blacklisted and deleted him again.

The contact list returned to peace.

But Tiana’s heart couldn’t find tranquility.

She hated this man.

For more than twenty years, she gave him all her love and trust.

Now, he trampled her trust into the ground, crushing it into mud.

And that wasn’t enough. Now he wanted to harm her most cherished daughter.

She wouldn’t allow it.

When Aiden dialed back, the call couldn’t be connected anymore.

At this moment, the time displayed on the phone was 12:05 AM.

At this time, Daniel Linden’s call came in, "Aiden, come to the hospital quickly, hurry!"

...

1:00 AM.

Vivian Linden lay on the hospital bed, her face pale with no trace of color.

The glucose from the IV dripped into her veins one drop at a time.

Beside her, Sharon Sullivan cried out in distress, "Vivian, how could you be so foolish? Even if Aiden doesn’t love you, you don’t have to starve yourself for so many days and pass out from hunger."

This time, Vivian truly went on a hunger strike.

Both Daniel Linden and James Linden were there, along with Uncle Cameron, the butler of The Linden Family, and the room was filled with people.

When Aiden arrived, Vivian was still unconscious.

Seeing him, everyone made way for him to approach the bedside.

Sharon Sullivan looked at him crying, "Aiden, Vivian wholeheartedly supported you and Tiana before. But Tiana doesn’t care about you and doesn’t want to get back together. Do you still plan to hold the wedding as scheduled on the first of next month with Vivian? Make up your mind and give us a straightforward answer."

Aiden remained silent.

Sharon continued talking while wiping her tears, "Aiden, after your car accident, Vivian went to Clear Spring Monastery and knelt 9,999 steps to pray for your blessing. She didn’t mind that you were disabled and took care of you until you recovered. If you abandon Vivian like this, you truly have no conscience."

James Linden felt sorry for his daughter who fainted from hunger.

Seeing that his daughter had lost a lot of weight over the past two days, Robert Linden felt heartbroken.

"Aiden, give me a clear answer, can you treat Vivian well or not?"

Daniel Linden, who was furious, also demanded an answer, "Aiden, can you stop thinking about Tiana? She doesn’t love you at all. Recently, she’s been involved with that married man, Leo Sutton, and they’re getting along very well."

Uncle Cameron said sympathetically, "Actually, Tiana is quite pitiable. You all might have misunderstood her."

Sharon Sullivan said, "This is not your place to talk."

The butler, Uncle Cameron, had to hold his tongue.

Then Aiden looked at Vivian Linden on the bed and said faintly, "When did I say I was canceling the wedding?"

He remembered all that Vivian had done for him, "It’s late, I’ll stay to take care of Vivian. You all should go back and rest."

Two minutes later, only Aiden was left in the hospital room.

Sitting by the bedside, he quietly watched Vivian Linden, who had become thinner.

His memory flashed back.

Many of Vivian’s good deeds for him floated through his mind.

When he raised his hand to touch Vivian’s head, he hesitated for a moment and then withdrew it.

...

In the morning, Vivian Linden awoke in a daze.

Is she... in the hospital?

Seeing Aiden sitting by the bed, her eyes suddenly warmed.

Aiden still cared for her after all.

After starving for two days, it hadn’t all been in vain.

Vivian Linden sat up, and her first words were filled with magnanimity, "Aiden, my hunger strike was to let my dad and my brother and mom be able to fulfill things between you and Tiana. It wasn’t to force you to marry me. You’re free, and I respect your decision."

Aiden picked up the bowl of millet porridge in his hand and blew on it, "I didn’t say the wedding was canceled, and if I planned to, I would directly tell you."

"Have some porridge." He handed the bowl of porridge to Vivian.

At that moment, his phone rang.

After putting down the bowl of porridge, he got up, "I’ll go take a call."

Outside the hospital room, Aiden walked to the end of the corridor.

Standing in a deserted corner, he called Christopher Grant back.

Christopher said on the phone, "Aiden, didn’t you have me take that paternity test report outside the city privately last time?"

Aiden: "Did you get the results?"

Christopher: "I checked everyone who handled that report, their bank accounts are clean, no issues at all."

Aiden: "Are you sure?"

Christopher: "Don’t you trust my work? They’ve never met Vivian Linden or taken money from anyone, never done anything illegal or unethical."

Christopher continued, "Also, that Dr. Zane you encountered last time does have dealings with Chaucer Pharmaceuticals and received a two million reward from them."

Aiden: "Two million?"

Aiden analyzed calmly.

On the surface, this seems like Dr. Zane forged a cancer report for Tiana.

Chaucer Pharmaceuticals gave Dr. Zane two million.

And Chaucer Pharmaceuticals used Tiana’s supposed cancer to get close to him to obtain the research secrets of Linden-Grant Pharmaceuticals’ anti-cancer drugs.

But things seemed far from simple.

Aiden asked, "Christopher, what do you think?"

Christopher: "I think you’re right, the sea seems calm on the surface, but there seems to be an undercurrent surging beneath."

After pondering for a moment, Aiden added, "Christopher, do you feel like our every move is known by someone?"

Christopher: "Aiden, you seem to have gotten smarter. What are you going to do next?"

Aiden: "We’ll watch quietly and see what happens."

...

Vivian Linden had been eavesdropping on all of this.

Hearing the conversation between Aiden and Christopher, she felt restless inside.

Aiden was becoming increasingly cautious and more suspicious of her.

Just then, the door to the room opened. She quickly took off her headphones and shoved them under her pillow along with her phone.

Gasping, she cautiously looked at Aiden, "Finished your call?"

"Mm." Without giving away anything, Aiden walked over, picked up the millet porridge from the bedside table, and sat down, "The temperature is just right, drink the porridge."

Looking at the bowl of porridge, Vivian Linden felt an unease welling up inside.

If only Aiden could always be this considerate.

But the gentle and considerate Aiden in front of her suddenly felt unfamiliar and frightening. She buried her head and drank the porridge, not daring to say or ask anything.

...

That morning, Daisy didn’t see Aunt Naomi.

In the afternoon, when Tiana Linden went to pick up Daisy, Daisy saw her mom alone and glanced expectantly behind her.

"Mom, isn’t Aunt Naomi coming today because she has something to do?"

Tiana held her hand and walked towards the electric scooter.

"Daisy, Aunt Naomi won’t be coming anymore in the future."

Because of Aiden, Nancy Carter had decided not to adopt Daisy anymore.

For this, Tiana held resentment towards Aiden.

This man always stirred chaos in her life.

Daisy had found a wonderful adoptive mother but was disrupted by Aiden.

Daisy simply said, "Oh," and said nothing more.

Tiana clearly sensed that Daisy was not her usual self.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be walking so slowly, appearing so preoccupied.

Daisy asked, "Mom, will you and Aunt Kiera still look for adoptive parents for me?"

Tiana stopped, "..."

At this moment, Daisy’s eyes were brimming with tears.

Daisy felt heartbroken.

Mom was about to pass away.

Previously, someone didn’t want to adopt her due to her hearing issues.

This time, even Aunt Naomi didn’t want her.

The tears finally burst out, flowing uncontrollably.

Tiana’s heart shattered.

She held Daisy tightly in her arms.

"Daisy, mom will stay with you for a while longer."

"If we can’t find an adoptive family, Aunt Kiera and Uncle Leo have said they will raise you."

"By that time, you have to be sensible, help Aunt Kiera with some housework, and don’t upset them, okay?"

Her little head rested firmly against Tiana’s chest.

"Mom, but if you turn into a star, I sincerely want to turn into a little star with you."

Daisy’s voice was already breaking.

Even more broken was Tiana, who was holding herself together.

"Daisy, when mom turns into a star, I will wait in the sky for you."

"But the angels above say Daisy must study hard, grow up well, and see the world’s landscapes before coming up to the sky to meet mom. Otherwise, the angels won’t allow Daisy to meet her mom."

Daisy held her mom even tighter, "... Mom, I want to meet you. I will study well, grow up well, and see the landscapes."

Both mother and daughter wiped away their tears and walked to where the electric scooter was parked.

Tiana lifted Daisy, seating her in the front seat she had specially installed for Daisy.

The blue Princess Elsa helmet was placed on Daisy’s little head.

Just then, a black Hongqi State Guest sedan pulled up in front of the mother and daughter.

The car door swung open.

The man’s long, slender legs stepped out of the car, landing firmly on the ground.