<h4>Chapter 213: Forced to Acknowledge Ancestry</h4>


    Naturally, the most pressing question was waiting for E to answer.


    "Miss Davis, Old Mr. Carter referred to you as his granddaughter, yet you continue to call him Old Mr. Carter. Is it because of past grudges that you refuse to acknowledge your rtionship with him?" a sharp-faced female reporter asked loudly.


    This was the question everyone was most eager to hear the answer to. E raised her eyebrows slightly and fell into a brief contemtion.


    Leah quickly pushed through the crowd, "E’s not feeling well right now. Everyone, please step aside."


    "Miss Carter, is Carter Group nning to formally acknowledge Miss Davis as the granddaughter?"


    "Yes, Miss Carter, Old Mr. Carter seems to treat Miss Davis quite well."


    The reporters continued to press for answers, while Eric stood calmly with his arm around E’s waist, casting a cold nce at the reporters’ aggressive faces, inwardly smirking at their audacity.


    E remained unhurried. She wanted to see how Leah would y this.


    "My grandfather is getting old. Of course, he just wants the family to be united and harmonious, but E..." Leah trailed off, adopting a look of hesitation and sadness. Her words subtly implied that E was being heartless, causing an elderly man grief.


    "Miss Carter, is Miss Davis refusing to acknowledge Old Mr. Carter?"


    "Miss Davis, with Old Mr. Carter treating you so well, how can you be so heartless as to reject his wish?"


    "Miss Davis, Old Mr. Carter is already 80 years old, isn’t he? Even though there were disagreements between your Grandma Carter and your mother in the past, shouldn’t you put those differences aside? Can you bear to see an 80-year-old man worry about you?"


    Leah and the reporters were practically forcing her to acknowledge the rtionship!


    How shameless!


    Eric remained calm, leaving the floor open for E to respond in her own way.


    Leah, secretly pleased, thought to herself how well these reporters were ying their part. The money she’d spent was well worth it.


    E cleared her throat and spoke with a soft, sorrowful tone. "I’m sorry if my stance has caused confusion. However... myte Grandma Carter had a final wish—to sever all ties with my mother, and thus, with me. From that point on, we were not to have any further connection with the Carter Group. She was a remarkable woman. It was through her efforts that the Carter Group flourished, and my mother’s life was cared for by Grandma Carter."


    "When Grandma Carter was younger, she had to manage both her family and the business. Her dedication is something my mother and I will never forget. But for reasons I still don’t understand, Grandma Carter chose to be so resolute in cutting us off... Regardless, she remains someone my mother and I deeply respect, and I won’t go against her final wish," E said quietly.


    The reporters buzzed with shock. Some even immediatelybeled E as heartless.


    The sorrow on E’s face deepened as she nced at Eric. "Mr. Nelson, do you remember how Old Mr. Carter once said I was raised by a murderer? That even if I held 15% of the Carter Group’s shares, I wouldn’t be capable of managing them properly? Today, I’m only here to say this to Old Mr. Carter and Miss Carter—you needn’t worry! Even if Ick the business acumen, I’ve found someone who will safeguard what’s mine. That person is Mr. Nelson."


    Eric smirked coldly. "I’m honored that my woman trusts me. If anyone tries to take those shares, they better make sure they’re prepared to pay the price."


    Eric’s words immediately made everything clear to everyone. It was now obvious that the Carter family’s seemingly kind gestures toward E, including Sean’s donation in her name, were all ploys to win her favor and, more importantly, to get their hands on her shares of the Carter Group.


    "Please don’t treat me like a child. I can tell who genuinely cares for me and who doesn’t. Thank you all for your concern," E said calmly. The surrounding societydies and onlookers couldn’t help but startughing.


    "So that’s how it is... Old Mr. Carter disregarded Miss Davis all this time because she was raised by a ’murderer,’ but now he wants her shares?"


    "Exactly! If he truly cared about his daughter and granddaughter, he would’ve weed E back to the Carter family long ago!"


    "That’s right, E was mistreated by the Davis family. When the news broke, Sean never even showed his face!"


    Leah’s face turned deathly pale. She never expected that forcing E into a public statement would backfire so spectacrly!


    Now E had openly dered that Eric would protect her shares. This clearly meant that with Eric by her side, she would have no trouble bing the president of Carter Group if she wanted to.


    "Miss Davis, are you confident that you’ll be the president of Carter Group?"


    "Miss Davis, has Old Mr. Carter been in contact with you for a long time?"


    E sighed with slight regret. "Indeed, Old Mr. Carter has always seen me as a child raised by a ’murderer,’ someone unworthy. But I have faith in my ability to make money, so there’s no need for them to worry about me."


    The reporters’ faces were a mix of surprise and awe. Even though many had been paid off by Carter Group, Sean’s treatment of E was indeed shockingly ruthless.


    A child raised by a murderer?


    No matter what, Isabe was still Sean’s daughter. How could he be so dismissive and refer to E as an illegitimate child?


    Such cold-heartedness wasn’t something most people could fathom!


    Leah quickly shook her head and shouted, "E, my grandfather has always been good to you! How can you nder him like this?"


    Eric shot Leah a disdainful nce. "Miss Carter, you must be joking. I was there that day. Do you think I’m deaf?"


    With Eric’s words, he effectively confirmed everything E had just said, leaving the crowd in stunned silence.


    Leah trembled with rage. She had arranged for these reporters to pressure E without Sean’s knowledge. If word of this got back to Sean, who knew how angry he would be?


    Meanwhile, Amelia and the others wereughing so hard their faces hurt. E was brilliant—whatever move the other side made, she countered it perfectly!


    Most of the reporters had been paid to pressure E into acknowledging her rtionship with Sean. Even if she refused, they nned to paint her as heartless and ungrateful, given how "caring" Old Mr. Carter seemed to be toward her. Rejecting an 80-year-old man’s kindness would only tarnish her reputation.


    But with Eric confirming the truth and E’s sharp wit, the narrative was flipped on its head. Sean now appeared to be the viin, using E’s shares as leverage to force a rtionship, while E emerged as the victim of the scheme.


    Leah was quickly swarmed by other reporters. While she had managed to bribe most of them, there was still a minority that couldn’t be bought off.


    "Miss Carter, Mr. Nelson has confirmed that Old Mr. Carter hasn’t been very kind to Miss Davis, and that she has no desire to recognize him. Did you know about this all along?"


    "Miss Carter, is it true that Carter Group’s only reason for approaching Miss Davis is to secure control of her shares?"