CHAPTER 70: THE WEIGHT OF TRUTH

Elean lifted a finger, pointing between Lyra and Alex, confusion clearly written on her face.

Albert, who had already noticed the unease in her eyes, stepped in.

"Mother, is something bothering you?"

Elean didn’t glance at her son, her eyes fixed on the pair. She hesitated, but still said it, "Both of you look alike."

Alex chuckled lightly, his eyes drifting to Lyra. "You haven’t met Rowan’s grandmother yet?"

Lyra was about to deny it, but Elean spoke again. "You two, are you uncle and niece?"

Alex pulled Lyra closer by the shoulder and said proudly, "This is my daughter... well, this is the first time people are confused by our looks."

Elean didn’t believe it at first. The doctor she had admired for his gentle and humble nature turned out to be Avelina’s husband, and the father of the woman she hated.

She looked at Albert and Monica and both of them nodded in unison.

A sudden doubt crept into her judgment, and she fell into silence all the way home.

...

Martin slipped the photo from his pocket and compared it to the woman before him. In the photo, she had been beautiful with elegant clothes, fine jewelry, a gentle smile.

But the woman before him now... she had fallen to the lowest point of her life.

He stared at her in disbelief. She dug through garbage to survive and slept wherever she could, even on the side of the road.

If she truly was Lyra’s mother, the woman everyone believed had died years ago, Martin couldn’t stop wondering what kind of nightmare she had endured.

Martin offered her food and water, carefully trying to gain her trust.

The woman hesitated at first, clutching the wrapper with trembling fingers. After a few quiet words from him, she finally followed.

Slowly, she climbed into the car and he had to put on a mask because the stench coming from her was overwhelming.

Martin sped straight to Mistvale Government Hospital and pulled into the parking lot.

He pushed the door open and jumped out, desperate for fresh air while his hand reached into his pocket and tapped his phone to call Lyra.

"I’m at the parking lot." He coughed several times before continue. "That woman is with me," Martin said, sniffing his shirt. The smell still clung to the fabric.

"Wait, I’m coming now."

She hanging up and hurried toward the lot and spotted Martin crouching beside the car.

"Where is she?"

Her hair swayed as she ran. She was nervous to meet the woman who resembled her mother.

Martin slowly rose when Lyra approached.

He crossed his arms, examined her face, then shook his head.

"It looks like you already believe she’s your mother. DNA test first. Do you understand?"

He gently held her shoulder and held her gaze until she nodded.

"Okay," Lyra whispered, taking a trembling breath.

Martin slowly opened the car door, and the smell hit them immediately. But Lyra was unfazed.

Instead, she felt touched, as if her mother had come back from death. Clearly, she didn’t listen to him.

"Mama?" she whispered.

She offered her hand, smiled at her, and nodded several times as she silently encouraged her to trust her.

The woman leaned toward the open door, peeking outside, and finally took Lyra’s hand. One leg at a time, she stepped down from the car.

It was only then that Lyra noticed one of her eyes was missing, leaving an empty socket.

To anyone else, it would have been terrifying. But Lyra pulled her into a hug. She believed this woman was her mother because of the resemblance.

"Let’s go inside," Lyra said, gently holding her back and guiding her toward the hospital.

Martin latched the door behind him, then followed them into the building.

Lyra brought the woman to a private room so she could rest in a quiet space.

She rolled up her sleeves, tied her hair into a bun, and with two brushes in her hands, she was ready to scrub that woman clean.

"Let me make your hair beautiful. Will you?" Lyra said softly, trying to persuade her to let her cut her hair, which was too tangled and infested with lice.

The woman only nodded. She trusted Lyra and let her do whatever she wanted.

Lyra trimmed her hair into a bob hairstyle. Then she began to wash it, applying a special shampoo to kill the lice.

Nora and Jane arrived with hospital clothes and some food in their hands.

Both of them quickly placed everything on the table and leaned against the bathroom doorframe, peeking at the pair inside. They blinked at what they saw.

Lyra was scrubbing the woman with gentle care. Then she began trim her nails.

When the woman lifted her head and looked at them, Jane flinched.

"She really is Avelina," Jane said. But Nora didn’t believe it.

She pulled out her phone, snapped a photo and sent it to Agnes.

The commotion suddenly reached the door.

Martin waited outside, guarding the entrance.

He couldn’t let Alex and the rest in yet. Alex was anxious and out of breath.

Clearly, he had come running.

He stood obediently in the corridor, fidgeting as his body trembled with nerves.

It was already past office hours when Lyra finished tending to the woman. Those waiting outside the room were finally allowed to enter.

Terrified by all the eyes on her, the woman clutched Lyra’s hand tightly.

Albert and Monica arrived shortly after hearing the news, but not Rowan. He was tied up in an urgent meeting that couldn’t be postponed.

The others encouraged Alex to go first. He was nervous as he moved forward slowly.

But suddenly, his expression darkened, his brows drawing into a hard frown.

"Did you run a DNA test?"

"Yes, Martin already sent the sample to the lab. The results will be out in three days," Lyra replied softly.

Then Alex stepped back, unable to look at the woman any longer. Lyra’s gaze landed on his clenching hand.

Seeing her father like that felt like a knife stabbing into her heart.

Frustration surged through her as she blurted out, "Is her condition the reason you can’t even look at her?"

Lyra blinked several times, fighting to hold back her tears.