Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Remington Dashiell stepped forward, bending down to pick up the vase that had fallen.

Faintly, he heard the distant murmur of conversation from the room next door, mingled with the voices of two young men.

One was Jerome Madden, and the other sounded like Hogan White.

Quite the gathering, it seemed.

Remington's lips tightened slightly as he held the vase, turning back to the adjacent room.

Ray couldn't help but show a trace of sentiment as he saw Remington enter with the vase in hand.

"The flowers the boss went through so much trouble to get, and it's been less than an hour since they sneaked into the lady's room before being discovered," Ray remarked with a slight shake of his head.

He hurried forward to take the vase. "The missus didn't destroy the flowers; they came out looking pretty good. Guess she's not that mad at you after all."

Ray tried to comfort Remington.

Remington gave him a glance and scoffed, "You think because she didn't smash the vase over my head, it's an improvement, huh?"

Ray indeed thought so. After all, the lady might very well have done just that under other circumstances.

And even if she did smash it over Mr. Remington Dashiell's head, he'd still have to take it, wouldn't he?

But facing Remington's icy gaze, Ray immediately shook his head.

"How could the missus ever bring herself to do that? No way..."

Even though it sounded insincere, Remington's expression softened slightly. He thought back to when Lizetta Gardenia had returned, eventually helping him to the emergency exit, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.

Then, his thoughts shifted to Nelson Madden's recent attitude toward him. Sitting on the hospital bed, he turned to Ray.

"That info about the hospital where Liz was born, the list of mothers from that week, did you get it?"

Ray blinked, unsure why Remington was suddenly bringing this up.

Still, he nodded. "Got it, but I haven't had the chance to go through it yet."

Previously, Remington had been digging into Lizetta's background, given she wasn't originally from the Gardenia family.

But with Lizetta's recent incident, that investigation had been put on hold, and the information hadn't been shared with Remington yet.

"Show me," demanded Remington, his voice firm.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Ray nodded, fetching his iPad and quickly pulling up the document for Remington.

As Remington's fingers swiftly scrolled through the document, they paused at a name.

Elsa Madden!

That year, Elsa had also given birth at Rainbow Hospital, to a baby girl, Andrea Madden.

Ray, noticing the change in Remington's demeanor, glanced at the screen and was equally shocked.

"Elsa, isn't she Mr. Madden and Mrs. Bernice Madden's only daughter2 Why would Ms. Madden give birth in a small hospital in Zion City, and Andrea shares the same birthdate as the missus..."

Ray trailed off, realizing the implications.

"Mrs. Bernice Madden mistaking the missus, could it not be a

coincidence? Could it be becal ne

the missus is actually her biological granddaughter?" én.swnovels.net

Ray looked incredulous as he spoke. "I'll search for Elsa's old photos right now..."

He pulled out his phone, searching frantically.

Though Elsa had passed away nearly twenty years ago, being Ms. Madden and having managed part of the Madden family business, she had attended several business functions, and there were bound to be photos out there.

As Ray searched, Remington had already set the tablet aside, a bitter smile on his face.

Even without seeing Elsa's photos, he was certain that Lizetta had to be a Madden.

After all, the last time he saw Nelson at the surgery door, Nelson had been polite, albeit with some complaints.

This time, however, Nelson looked as if he wanted nothing more than to flay him alive.

It seemed the Maddens had already confirmed their suspicions with a DNA test.

"This... the missus and the late Florence Madden really do look alike! The missus must really be the true heir to the Madden family!"