Chapter 4

– The Child's Tears

The conference hall remained frozen.

No one dared speak.

No one even knew what to believe anymore.

The little girl stood in the middle of the room, looking from Adrian...

...to Vivian.

Her bright ruby-blue eyes slowly lost their hope.

She had expected smiles.

She had expected warm hugs.

Instead...

She had been met with cold denial.

Adrian's voice remained emotionless.

"I've already told you."

"I'm not your father."

Vivian, still trying to process everything, said quietly,

"I don't know who you are, little girl..."

"But you've mistaken us for someone else."

The words shattered the tiny hope still lingering in the child's heart.

Her little lips trembled.

"...Mistaken...?"

She looked at Adrian again.

"...Papa...?"

No answer.

Then at Vivian.

"...Mama...?"

Silence.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

Then another.

Within seconds...

She burst into tears.

"No..."

"No..."

She shook her head repeatedly.

"You both are lying..."

"You both are my Papa and Mama..."

"You promised..."

"You promised you'll never leave me..."

Her sobs echoed through the silent conference hall.

Several executives lowered their heads, unable to watch.

Even the armed security personnel looked uncomfortable.

Suddenly...

The little girl turned away from Adrian and Vivian.

Instead...

She ran toward someone standing quietly near Adrian.

"Uncle...!"

Alen barely had time to react before the little girl threw herself into his arms.

Instinctively...

He caught her before she could fall.

She clung tightly to his suit, crying uncontrollably.

Her tiny hands fisted the fabric over his shoulders.

Between broken sobs, she cried,

"Un... Uncle Alen..."

"Look..."

"Papa hates me..."

She buried her face against his shoulder.

"P-Please..."

"Please do something..."

"You always solve everything..."

"Please solve this too..."

She cried even harder.

"Papa and Mama hate me..."

"They don't want Addy anymore..."

"Please..."

"Please make them love me again..."

The innocence in her voice pierced the hearts of everyone present.

Alen's throat tightened.

He had never met this child before today...

Yet...

The way she called him 'Uncle Alen'...

The trust in her voice...

It didn't sound rehearsed.

It sounded...

Natural.

As though she had called him that for years.

Without thinking, Alen gently stroked her hair.

"It's alright..."

His own voice had softened unconsciously.

"Calm down..."

"We'll figure everything out..."

Across the room...

Adrian's expression remained unreadable.

Vivian folded her arms.

"This is ridiculous."

Adrian replied coldly,

"Someone is manipulating this situation."

Vivian immediately looked at him.

"You think I arranged this?"

"You have more to gain from destabilizing me."

Vivian scoffed.

"I should accuse you of the same."

"My methods are cleaner."

"You call murder clean?"

"I call efficiency clean."

Their argument reignited.

Executives exchanged helpless glances.

Even now...

They were still fighting.

Alen looked at the two of them.

His brows furrowed.

For the first time since becoming Adrian's P.A....

There was clear frustration on his face.

He looked down at the child in his arms.

She had stopped crying.

Too suddenly.

"...Addy?"

No response.

He frowned.

"Addy?"

Her tiny body had gone completely limp.

The color had drained from her face.

Her eyes were closed.

"...Boss."

His voice was no longer calm.

It was urgent.

"...Boss."

Adrian and Vivian stopped arguing simultaneously.

They both turned toward him.

Their eyes widened.

The little girl hung motionless in Alen's arms.

Her head rested against his shoulder.

Her small hand slipped weakly to her side.

She was unconscious.

"Call an ambulance!"

One of the executives shouted.

Within seconds...

The conference hall descended into organized chaos.

One Hour Later

The city's most advanced private hospital.

Doctors and nurses rushed through the emergency department.

The little girl was immediately taken into the pediatric intensive care unit.

Outside...

The corridor remained unusually quiet.

Adrian stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall.

His face revealed nothing.

Vivian stood several feet away, equally silent.

Alen paced back and forth anxiously.

Finally...

A senior pediatrician stepped out.

"Which one of you brought the child?"

Alen immediately stepped forward.

"I did."

The doctor sighed.

"Fortunately, she's stable."

Everyone silently exhaled.

"She fainted due to severe emotional shock, exhaustion, dehydration, and low blood sugar."

He paused.

"It appears she had been under extreme stress before arriving here."

Alen closed his eyes briefly in relief.

The doctor looked between Adrian and Vivian.

"There is... another issue."

"What?"

The doctor hesitated.

"The child insists that Mr. Adrian Vance is her father..."

"...and Miss Vivian Chater is her mother."

Silence.

"We cannot simply ignore that claim."

He adjusted his glasses.

"I recommend a DNA analysis."

"It will answer the question once and for all."

Vivian spoke first.

"...Fine."

Adrian answered just as coldly.

"I have no objection."

If this child truly wasn't related to them...

The test would end this absurd situation.

The DNA Collection

Inside the laboratory...

A nurse gently collected a cheek swab from the unconscious little girl.

Then Adrian.

Then Vivian.

Each sample was carefully sealed.

The laboratory technician looked at the three labeled tubes.

Sample A — Adrian Vance.

Sample B — Vivian Chater.

Sample C — Adria.

The technician nodded.

"The results will take several hours."

Outside the laboratory...

Neither Adrian nor Vivian spoke.

Neither looked at the other.

But despite themselves...

Both found their thoughts drifting back to the unconscious child.

To her frightened voice.

To the way she had cried...

"Papa..."

"Mama..."

And to the way she had instinctively sought comfort in Alen's arms, calling him "Uncle Alen" as if he had always been part of her life.

Hours later, in the genetics laboratory, the analyzer completed its final cycle.

A printer hummed softly.

A sealed report slowly emerged.

The technician stared at the first page.

Then at the second.

His eyes widened.

"...This..."

He immediately picked up the file and hurried toward the chief geneticist.

"This result... can't be right."

The chief geneticist took the report, read it once...

Then read it again.

Silence filled the laboratory.

Neither of them said a word.

They simply looked at each other, realizing that whatever was written in that report had the potential to change the lives of Adrian Vance, Vivian Chater, and the mysterious little girl forever.

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