Autumn Linton was extremely anxious. "What do we do? Chloe won’t see me at all."

Charles Reed closed his eyes for a moment and said, "Do as Walker Grant said. Save the Reed Group first."

Autumn Linton sighed. "This is just too much. How could Chloe let Walker Grant target us like this? We’re her parents."

Charles Reed had no mind for such things right now. He contacted Walker Grant, agreed to his demands, and arranged for a dinner at a restaurant, planning to discuss the matter over the meal.

As before, it was Dylan Finch who answered the call.

"I will relay your message to Mr. Grant," Dylan Finch said, his tone polite but distant.

After hanging up, Charles Reed looked exhausted, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seeming to deepen.

...

Chloe Reed stared at the strands of hair in her hand, a complicated expression on her small face.

She desperately didn’t want to believe it, but she had to do this.

Before Sunny Reed came to the Reed family, she had been the apple of her parents’ eye, doted on and adored.

That was why she had never been willing to consider whether she was truly their biological daughter.

But now, one incident after another had forced her to wonder, to doubt.

’If I’m not, I’ll be so relieved.’

’But if I am...’

Chloe Reed couldn’t bear to imagine it—facing such biased parents for the rest of her life.

She carefully put the hair away. She would get a paternity test done after she was discharged from the hospital.

’I have to keep this from them.’

’If they find out, what if they try to tamper with the results?’

「That evening.」

The door to her hospital room opened, and Walker Grant’s tall, imposing figure walked in.

Chloe Reed glanced at him and said, "My injuries are almost healed. I don’t want to stay in the hospital anymore."

"Okay. Then we won’t come back tomorrow," Walker Grant agreed.

Seeing how easily he agreed, a flicker of surprise appeared in Chloe Reed’s clear eyes.

Walker Grant said, "We’re going out to eat tonight. I brought you some clothes. Go get changed."

Chloe Reed’s lovely brows furrowed. She was resistant to the idea of going out to eat with him.

But she really did want to get out for some fresh air.

She took the bag and went into the restroom.

After changing, she came out. Walker Grant stepped forward to take her hand, but she dodged him.

She asked, "What are we eating?"

Walker Grant looked at his empty palm, then at her pretending to straighten her sleeves. His eyes darkened.

He didn’t press the issue, his tone gentle as he said, "A restaurant you really like."

"Okay, let’s go."

Chloe Reed walked toward the door.

Once outside the hospital, Chloe Reed took a deep breath, feeling like she had come back to life.

A driver was waiting by the entrance. Walker Grant stepped forward to open the car door for her, and she got in without hesitation, ducking into the vehicle.

Walker Grant followed her in, then took out a small box and offered it to her.

"See if you like it."

Chloe Reed didn’t take it. She was busy replying to a message on her phone, ignoring him completely.

Walker Grant’s hand froze in mid-air. His deep, dark eyes were fixed on her, unblinking.

"Chloe, this is the brand you’ve always loved. It’s a new piece I ordered. Just take a look."

Without so much as a flutter of her eyelashes, Chloe Reed said, "Just because I liked it before doesn’t mean I like it now."

Walker Grant slowly pulled his hand back and opened the box. Inside lay a purple diamond bracelet of a novel design. As the light caught the gems, the diamonds scattered a brilliant, dreamlike radiance.

He took her hand, intending to put the bracelet on for her.

Chloe Reed’s brow furrowed. "I said I don’t like it!"