She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 32

Heath froze. “And you are…?”

A man who looked like a butler stepped forward. “We’re from Yarmoria, the Lonsdale family. This is our head of household, Gordon Lonsdale.”

Heath had heard of the Lonsdales, and he knew the name Gordon. His grandson had just been transferred here for surgery.

After a beat, Heath stood. “I’m not handing over her blood sample unless you explain why you want it.”

The butler answered immediately. “Mr. Lonsdale’s granddaughter was lost as a child in Gilt Village. We’ve heard she may be here, so we’d like to run a DNA test.”

Heath thought for a moment. “I do have her blood sample. Back in high school, Quiana was in a car accident. Her brothers brought Loyce to the military hospital to donate blood several times. We still have the lab reports, and the blood bank kept units under the Sampsons’ request—on standby for Quiana.”

“Making her donate blood while she was still growing?!” Gordon’s face darkened with rage. “Who the hell gave them the nerve to treat my granddaughter like that?”

Heath didn’t disagree. If Loyce hadn’t once saved him, he wouldn’t have known how badly she’d been treated at the Sampsons’. It was also a coincidence the sisters shared the same blood type.

“Come on,” Heath said. “We’ll run the test. If the Lonsdales’ missing child really is her… then her bad luck is finally over.”

...

At school, Quiana grabbed Loyce by the wrist.

Loyce frowned, impatient. “What now?”

Because they were still in the classroom, Quiana’s eyes went red. She spoke carefully. “Mom and Dad are back. They want you to come home, b-because…”

Before she could finish, tears spilled down her face. “Hit me if you want, Loyce. It’s all my fault! Mom and Dad want to make my identity public, and Keegan insists on marrying me. He wants to break off the engagement with you. But I don’t want that. I really don’t! I never wanted to hurt you!”

The sudden apology and sobbing instantly drew attention. One of Quiana’s usual hangers-on stormed over. “Loyce, what are you up to? Everyone already knows you’re the fake heiress. Yet, you are still lingering around the Sampsons and treating Quiana like some kept-on-the-side foster kid?”

Loyce shot her a look. “Which part of me ‘lingering around’ did you hallucinate?”

She yanked her arm free and brushed at the sleeve like it was dirty. “Relax. The breakup works for me. I’ll be there on time.”

On the way to the nurse’s office, the story spread fast: Loyce had “furiously” bullied her sister into fainting.

Loyce didn’t care. Next period was all biology. She could recite it in her sleep. So she skipped and went straight to the music room. The piano in there was old; students only came before performances to practice.

Loyce came sometimes to unwind. She sat down, rested her hands on the keys, and began to play a solo. She hadn’t expected anyone to show up.

After hearing his sister was at the medical university, Morris Lonsdale rushed to Metropia as soon as he finished a concert at Vienna’s Golden Hall, hoping to get lucky. Music drifting from an unremarkable building stopped him in his tracks. He was pulled in completely.

He was already a top-tier musician, yet he’d never heard this piece. The performance sounded like a full orchestra—power and softness woven together, as if Beethoven’s soul had come back through the keys. It was staggering, on par with the world’s best.

Morris followed the sound until he reached a shabby classroom doorway. A plainly dressed girl sat in the sunlight at the piano. Her beautiful face was absorbed, almost intoxicated by the music—exactly the way he looked when he played.

The music cut off. Loyce snapped her head around. “Who’s there?”

Morris stared at her features—the resemblance, the strange pull deep in his chest—and the word slipped out before he could stop it. “Sis?”