The first step was securing the money. With such a large sum suddenly in his possession, Yang Mo knew he had to be careful. He decided to buy the house first and later claim that he had won the TD Station's grand prize—a house as a reward. It was a believable enough excuse, and one that wouldn't raise suspicion.
A few days later, inside an upscale café, Lin Xia sat at a secluded corner table, her fingers drumming anxiously against the polished wood. Across from her sat a mysterious man in glasses, his demeanor calm and professional.
"Ms. Lin, the matter you entrusted me with last time has been fully investigated," the man said, removing his glasses before sliding a thick envelope onto the table.
At the very top of the stack of documents lay a paternity report.
Lin Xia's hands trembled as she picked up the report, her eyes scanning down the page until she reached the final line: Parent-child genetic similarity: 99.99%.
Her breath caught.
It was true. Lin Cohen was Lian Dong's biological son.
The confirmation struck her harder than she had expected. How could it be? It was just as Yang Mo had claimed. Lin Cohen was really Lian Dong's illegitimate child.
When she returned home last time, Lin Xia had taken the opportunity to secretly collect hair samples from both Lian Dong and Lin Cohen. She had then discreetly entrusted this man—Mister Zhang—to conduct a DNA test. Of course, she hadn't disclosed the truth behind the samples. Instead, she had fabricated a story, claiming that she suspected Yang Mo might not be Lian Dong's biological son and wanted to confirm it.
It was a plausible enough excuse. After all, as the heir to the Lin family fortune, Yang Mo's legitimacy was of utmost importance. If he wasn't truly Lian Dong's son, the Lin family stood to lose everything.
Yet now, staring at the damning report, Lin Xia felt as if the ground beneath her was crumbling.
"Ms. Lin? Ms. Lin?" Mister Zhang's voice cut through her thoughts, his hand waving slightly in front of her face.
Lin Xia swallowed, forcing herself to focus.
"Mister Zhang," she asked, her voice a little hoarse, "is this result accurate? Is there any possibility of an error?"
"Please rest assured, Ms. Lin. We conduct every appraisal twice to ensure accuracy. There is no margin for error," he reassured her with confidence.
Lin Xia's grip on the report tightened.
Her brother—the one she had loved and cared for all these years—was actually her half-brother, a child born of infidelity. The very thought made her stomach churn. Worse, it meant Lin Cohen had a clear motive—his existence was a direct challenge to the Lin family inheritance. How ridiculous that their entire family had been blindly accepting him all this time, never suspecting a thing.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "It's nothing. I just had to travel a long way to get here," she lied smoothly before shifting gears. "Now, what about the other matter I asked you to investigate?"
Mister Zhang nodded and slid another stack of photographs toward her. "I was just about to report on that."
Lin Xia picked up the photos and flipped through them one by one.
The images depicted Lian Dong meeting with a woman in a floral dress. Despite her age, the woman was still quite attractive—graceful and elegant, even. But what caught Lin Xia's attention the most was her striking resemblance to Lin Cohen. The similarity was uncanny. Their eyes, the sharpness of their cheekbones… it was as if they had been carved from the same mold.
There was no longer any doubt.
Lin Cohen was indeed born from an affair.
"As you suspected, Ms. Lin, Mr. Lian Dong maintains an inappropriate relationship with this woman," Mister Zhang continued. "He visits her almost every day at noon."
Lin Xia let out a quiet laugh—bitter, cold. So that was why she had never caught on to his infidelity before. Lian Dong was clever. He didn't sneak off at night. No, he met his mistress during broad daylight, hidden in plain sight under the guise of 'work.'
It all made perfect sense now.
And from what she could see, Lian Dong seemed to favor Lin Cohen quite a bit. He certainly cared for him more than he did Yang Mo, his own legitimate son. Otherwise, why would he have treated Yang Mo so coldly all these years?
Lin Xia clenched her jaw.
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a thick envelope, heavy with cash. The mere weight of it was enough to make Mister Zhang's eyes gleam with excitement.
"Here's your payment," she said, sliding the envelope across the table. "And remember, this conversation never happened. If I hear even the slightest whisper about this matter, you know the consequences."
A chill crept into her voice, sharp as a blade.
Mister Zhang swallowed hard, his hand trembling slightly as he took the money. "Please rest assured, Ms. Lin. From this moment on, this entire matter will be erased from my memory. I have no interest in meddling with the affairs of the Lin family."
Lin Xia studied him for a moment before nodding in satisfaction. She stuffed the incriminating documents into her bag, rose from her seat, and walked out of the café without another word.
Behind her, Mister Zhang exhaled deeply, as if he had just dodged a bullet. In a way, he had.
Because if there was one thing he understood about the Lin family—it was that their secrets were best left buried.