<h4>Chapter 367: After everything you still lost...</h4>
~Elsewhere~
Jessica’s car pulled to a stop at the testing centre. The driver was barely out of his seat before the door swung open. She alighted, her hair fluttering in the wind.
Several emotions coursed through her. This is the second time she was visiting the testing centre in the year.
The first was for Be, Elliot and Davis, but never in her wildest dream did she expect to make a visit in her name.
A deep sigh escaped her lips as she took the staircase of the testing centre. She needed to retrieve the result of the paternity test between her and George Brown.
Despite the rification from the contents of the envelope, she still needed this as evidence.
With George seemingly unaware of the rtionship, she needed proof to make this matter clear; there is no blood rtionship with George.
From Nora’s diary, she had been plotted on by George Brown who, knowing she was an assistant to Elder Allen, had in one of the business meetings drugged her drink.
By sheer luck, she noticed something wrong with the drink and had subtly reversed the situation; George drank the tampered wine.
A situation that left him grappling for any avabledy. Taking the opportunity, she booked a call girl, paid her handsomely to take care of George.
George, thinking she was the one, had the call girl dragged to bed. After one wild night with George, receiving her pay, the girl left the city.
Nora, seeking a home for her children, found this as an opportunity; she had maintained her ground of having the affair with him.
A plot that had left him grinning from ear to ear. She had wondered what made him happy about the situation since she was sure George never loved her.
But then George made his move—he proposed marriage. An option that left Nora thrilled yet weary.
For one, she wanted a name for her children, and on the other hand, she could not betray the Allen Group. Torn in between choices, she made a decision.
Marry George Brown and strive hard to maintain a clear conscience devoid of guilt toward the Allen Group.
George Brown’s reputation amongst the elite had not been good, and no doubt he had his intention of using her to get the Allen Group trade secret which he had coveted for years.
After her marriage, she had continued to work in the Allen Group as an assistant. A position that made her privy to every situation around majorpanies in the country.
After a few months of marriage, George’s attitude changed totally, with raing into the picture. When she tried to make their work and it wasn’t, she lost interest in the marriage.
On the day she went intobor, George spent the day with ra. Even when told of the birth, he didn’te. He wasn’t there when the baby was buried.
That was the moment Nora decided: Jessica would bear the Anderson name.
Now, standing outside the testing centre, Jessica’s resolve matched her mother’s that day.
Minutester, she emerged with a brown man envelope clutched tightly in her hand.
She paused at the car door, drew in one deep breath, and slid inside and a few guards followed suit.
The car pulled away from the testing centre, watching the scenery blur past, her hand tapping on the file rhythmically in contemtion.
Though she already had the result in her heart, yet curiosity of the matter pressed heavily on her. With a sharp sigh, she tore it open.
Her eyes darted directly to the result and the verdict written in bold ring letters: "Probability of paternity is 0.00%. The alleged father is excluded as the father of the child."
Her lips curved into something between relief and bitterness. The Brown family’s shadow over her was finally gone.
Jessica sighed helplessly, her gaze narrowing coldly.
In this family, her mother had paid a price; her life was painful yet she had endured and at the end she lost her life in his schemes, in his plot.
"George Brown," she murmured, "after everything... you still lost."
Jessica made a simple decision. It’s time to recognize the Santiago family as her maternal home, break off the rtionship with the Brown family while looking forward to what the future holds with the Anderson.
Recalling the Anderson family, Jessica felt her head throbbing lightly.
Though she had scheduled this meeting with Julian and her grandmother had also rified on the birth of a male child, yet the understanding of who Julian really is remains a mystery.
A mystery she believes she will uncover from this meeting.
Tapping her phone screen, she edited a text message and sent it to Julian, lifting her gaze to the driver. "Drive to The Pce Restaurant."
Taking a deep breath as she returned the result into the file. "How many minutes before arrival?"
The driver nced at the rearview mirror and refocused his attention back to the road. "About thirty minutes."
"Alright."
~Julian’s Home~
Julian stood in the center of his living room, dressed in a pristine grey suit with a crisp white shirt and a perfectly knotted checkered tie.
His freshly cut hair gleamed, and the gold watch on his wrist glistened in the light.
Anxiously he paced the room, it had been more than an hourte from the time of meeting schedule yet Jessica hadn’t called or texted. He couldn’t help but wonder what had gone wrong.
Did she change her mind?
Did she not believe the truth?
Has she investigated the matter and someone else has interfered?
But then he did not inform anyone about the meeting aside from Maxwell.
Julian’s fist clenched and unclenched, his heart riddled with anxiety. On second thought, he paused and decided to call Maxwell.
But the door was pushed open from the outside as he stepped in with a brown file in hand.
"The document of the Ind," he said.
"Did you purchase in her name?"
"Yes, Jessica Anderson."
Julian gave a curt nod, returning the file. "Did you..." His words broke off as his phone vibrated in his hand.
"Meet me at The Pce Restaurant in thirty minutes."
Relief crashed over him. His shoulders eased, but the tremor in his voice betrayed him when he looked at Maxwell.
"The Pce Restaurant."
Maxwell nodded silently. Julian inhaled deeply. "Let’s go."