Wendy paused. Hearing that the topic concerned Ellie''s condition, the coldness in her expression eased slightly.


    "Come with me."


    Breathing a small sigh of relief, Adrian quickly followed her toward the end of the corridor.


    Meanwhile, Gianna finished changing her clothes and emerged from her bedroom. Since she had not heard the sound of a car engine, she knew Adrian was still around.


    Over the years, Wendy had rarely allowed Adrian into the house.


    Yet today, she not only allowed him inside but also hadn''t kicked him out, even though he had been there for some time now. It was a new development.


    However, Gianna did not actually want her parents to reconcile. Her mother had always been distant with her. She feared that if her mother remarried her father, her father''s attitude toward her would be influenced as well.


    Walking over to Wendy''s room, she pressed her ear to the door and listened, but heard nothing. She knocked lightly, but there was no response either. In the end, she pushed open the door and went inside.


    The bedroom was unmistakably empty. After taking several steps inside the room, she confirmed that neither of her parents was there. She was about to turn and leave when she noticed Wendy''s jacket lying on the floor beside the couch.


    She casually bent down and grabbed the jacket to ce it back on the couch. As she did, a yellowed piece of paper suddenly slipped out from a pocket andnded at her feet.


    The paper was faded, its edges frayed. From its worn appearance, she could tell it had been taken out and examined many times over the years.


    More importantly, it had been carefully tucked in her mother''s pocket-it was clearly an important keepsake.


    Driven by curiosity, Gianna unfolded the paper and froze. The paper turned out to be an ultrasound report from a prenatal appointment.


    A mixture of shock and confusion filled her when she noticed the name and date on the report—Wendy''s name, and a date from the same year she was born.


    Based on the year, it should have been an ultrasound report from when Wendy was pregnant with Gianna.


    But... why would she treasure the report so much, let alone look at it so often?


    After all, she had always been indifferent toward Gianna as a daughter.


    Is this really some sort of keepsake something she kept out of motherly love? How ridiculous.


    Just as Gianna was feeling puzzled, her gaze suddenly stiffened. Even her breathing seemed to stop.


    There was something wrong with the report. The examination date and the gestational age shown didn''t match her birth month.


    ording to the gestational age listed on the report, Wendy should have given birth


    in June that year. Even with ate delivery, it would have been impossible for the birth to ur in July.


    But... Gianna was born in September.


    How is that possible?


    Gianna''s fingers tightened around the paper. Her long, sharp, manicured nails identally pierced the brittle sheet, leaving an obvious hole.


    The sound of tearing paper and the sudden loss of resistance jolted her back to her senses. Startled, she dropped it.


    The paper fluttered to the ground as she turned and hurried toward the door, her steps shaky.


    But when she reached the door, she caught herself and spun around again. She quickly backtracked and scooped up the ultrasound report. Pulling out her phone, she tooka photo with trembling fingers Then she folded the report neatly and carefully slipped the paper back into Wendy''s jacket pocket before scurrying out of the room.


    Wendy''s home office was at the end of the corridor. Although she told Adrian to sit on the couch, she did not sit beside him. She settled


    behind her desk instead, keep


    distance of more than thirty feet


    between them.


    Her expression was frosty as she urged him, "You can talk now. What''s going on with Ellie?"


    Adrian did not like the distance or how the conversation started. It felt cold-as though they were in a business negotiation.


    He loosened his tie slightly. "Wendy, shouldn''t you at least offer a ss of water when entertaining a guest?"


    She replied bluntly, without the slightest hint of courtesy, "My daughter came into the world without taking a single sip of water before she left it again. What were you doing when she closed her eyes forever?


    "Oh, right! You were dancing with your childhood sweetheart, the same woman who caused our daughter''s death.


    "Water? Do you think you deserve even a sip of water?"


    He wanted to talk about our daughter, didn''t he?


    Fine. We can talk about her-but I''ll make sure it hurts.


    The blood instantly drained from his face.


    Seeing his body stiffen at her words, she curled her lips coldly.


    Back when Wendy first married Adrian, Anastasia Quimby—his childhood sweetheart from the Quimby family—had repeatedly provoked and schemed against


    her, constantly causing trouble for her.


    Yet he always believed that Anastasia wasn''t a bad person by nature; she had


    merely pulled some minor, if slightly improper, stunts.


    It wasn''t until Steven was born that Wendy''s position in the Malone family finally stabilized.


    Seeing that there was no longer any


    chance for Adrian and Anastasia to get together, the Quimby family eventually forced Anastasia into an arranged marriage. Her husband was from Southvale, so she had to leave Oceaton once she married.


    Wendy finally enjoyed several years of peace after that.


    She never imagined that, not long after she became pregnant with her second child, Anastasia would get divorced and return to Oceaton—once again barging into her previously calm life.