CHAPTER 454: REAL SIBLINGS

Hunter rarely returned to the Nelson estate. He knew Mr. and Mrs. Nelson didn’t care about him—they only used him.

But to repay over twenty years of being raised, Hunter still did everything he could for the Nelson Family.

Seeing Madam Nelson so furious didn’t make him angry in return. He simply said, "SL isn’t mine. I’ve never claimed it was."

What confused him was why Madam Nelson and Riley both seemed so sure he was the SL chairman. It made no sense.

Madam Nelson grew even more hysterical, shouting louder, "Oh, so you still won’t admit it?! We raised you for nothing then! All those years the Nelson Family spent on you, we pulled you out of the trash—if it weren’t for us, you’d be dead. How dare you be so ungrateful!"

Hunter’s voice was calm and even. "I truly have nothing to do with SL. If you don’t believe me, ask the other shareholders. But I’m curious—why are you so convinced I’m the chairman of SL?"

Madam Nelson didn’t even think before blurting, "Because you—"

Because your biological father’s will said SL was for you!

But before she could spit out the rest, Riley interrupted.

"Mom!" Riley’s face changed, and she quickly stepped forward. "Lewis the manager was just trying to stir up trouble and turn you against Hunter."

She threw her mother a warning look.

"Mom, honestly—don’t you know what Hunter is like? Why would you believe what outsiders say instead of trusting him?"

Madam Nelson snapped back to her senses, breaking into a cold sweat.

She’d nearly let the secret slip! Thankfully Riley had stopped her in time. She swallowed hard. "Right, right, it was just Lewis talking nonsense. Let’s drop it. Riley trusts you. Let’s just forget I asked."

Riley finally managed a smile. "Hunter, did you come back for some files? Oh, and... are you going overseas again?"

Hunter nodded. "Yeah."

Riley’s eyes flickered, the question sounding more like she was pushing him to leave sooner.

"Yeah, I guess with your overseas business still unstable, you really should hurry back over there. Don’t worry about things here—focus on work."

Hunter heard something off in her tone. "You really want me gone that badly?"

Riley’s heart skipped. "No, of course not! I’m just worried about you..."

The truth was she did want him out of the country—as soon as possible—to keep him from running into Selina.

She couldn’t explain it, but the thought of the two of them meeting made her stomach clench with dread.

Something in her gut told her she had to stop Hunter and Selina from ever seeing each other.

But Hunter was friends with Logan. As long as Logan was around, Hunter would always have the chance to meet Selina...

What could she do to make sure Selina disappeared for good?

...

The next morning.

Miller Butler had prepared breakfast. After they ate, they’d head to the office together.

These days Selina spent most of her time at Reid Group, arriving and leaving with Logan.

When Logan watched her step into the car that morning, he didn’t know why his heart gave a hard, sudden thump.

It was such an ordinary day—so ordinary he probably wouldn’t even remember her expression a month from now.

They got to the office like usual and went into his office, but that bad feeling only grew stronger.

"At lunch, wait for me. We’ll eat together," Logan said.

Selina nodded. When she woke up from her nap in his lounge at noon, Logan added, "After work, wait for me so we can go back together."

Selina didn’t object, clicking her tongue. "Mr. Reid, you’re being kind of clingy today."

Logan didn’t deny it. "Yeah. I’m afraid you’ll disappear."

Ever since watching her walk away that morning, he’d had this feeling.

Selina raised an eyebrow. "I won’t."

"Selina, there’s a client visit this afternoon—come with us," the head of the secretary team called, poking her head in.

This was part of Selina’s job anyway, so she didn’t even think about refusing. She waved at Logan with a grin. "Mr. Reid, I’m off to work hard and support the family."

She turned around with that gentle smile still on her face, and two seconds later Logan could only see the back of her head.

The client visit went smoothly. When it ended, Selina sent Logan a message—it was right around 5 p.m., the usual time to get off work.

The other secretaries headed straight home, and Selina was about to return to the Reid Group building when her phone rang.

"Second Brother?"

Aiden didn’t waste words. "The DNA results you asked for—you and Kyle—they’re in."

Selina just gave an uninterested "Oh."

She and Joe were father and daughter, so Kyle was her brother—unless Kyle wasn’t actually Joe’s son.

But she didn’t care much about these so-called relatives. Blood or not, it didn’t really matter.

Then Aiden said something that froze her in place. "You and Kyle aren’t related at all."

Selina blinked. "What?"

"You and Kyle have no blood ties. Not even a little."

Selina’s brow furrowed. "So Kyle’s not Joe’s son? Joe’s been raising someone else’s kid all these years? Wow. And Grandma Morris was okay with that?"

Aiden was silent for two seconds. "...I’m not finished. You and Kyle aren’t siblings, but Kyle and Joe came back as a confirmed father-son match."

Selina stood there for a long moment.

Then it hit her like a punch, a chill running down her spine. "Kyle is Joe’s son?!"

If they were father and son—and she was supposedly Joe’s daughter—that meant she and Kyle would be siblings, no matter what.

Aiden’s voice was low, serious. "Selina, did you ever consider why Grandma Morris has always hated you so much, even knowing you’re supposed to be Joe’s daughter? Or that maybe... you were never a Morris Family member to begin with?"

If she’d never been part of the Morris Family... then what was her connection? Why had Joe insisted she was his daughter so stubbornly?

And what about that strange, convenient paternity test?

She hung up, her head swirling with questions, and walked back toward the Reid Group building.

Driving into the underground garage, she got out of the car—then suddenly whipped around.

Something was wrong.

Someone was following her.

When she saw who it was, she blinked twice. "You..."

She didn’t even finish the sentence before her body went limp and she collapsed.

...

Early evening. 5:30 p.m.

Logan checked the time, his voice rough, eyes darkening. "Selina still isn’t back from that client visit?"

The secretary team lead looked surprised. "She actually came back earlier than me. ...Wait, but I haven’t seen her since then."

Logan’s expression changed instantly. He tried calling her several times—her phone was off.

An awful feeling punched him in the chest.

Something had happened to her.