The Wrong Girl and the Wronged Girl (Stella and Ethan) novel Chapter 817

817 The Paternity Plot Twist.

Tessa arched a brow. “You didn’t handle it?”

She asked casually, but Dale’s chest tightened. “Lana was seriously injured; she’s still lying in a hospital bed, unable to move.”

“So?”

Seriously injured? By Victor, no doubt…

“So what you’re saying is–she came to kill me, I walked away without a scratch, and she ended up gravely wounded, so that means we just call it even?”

“That’s not what I meant!” Dale’s voice grew tense.

“And the other one–the one still walking freely around the Ashen Pact? What about her?”

Dale fell silent.

The other one… Lina.

For a long time, he hadn’t known the details; and even after he learned the truth, he’d chosen not to say anything. Now that Tessa had brought it up so pointedly, the pounding in his head became unbearable.

“Tess, you’re both my daughters, I—”

He stopped short when he met her eyes. The rest of his words died in his throat.

After a long breath, he said, “Now’s not the time to explain everything. The Ashen Pact’s been in chaos lately.”

“You should tell Mr. Victor not to act against the Ashen Pact anymore-”

“That’s something you’ll have to tell him yourself,” Tessa cut him off, her tone cold. “And for the record, I’m not your daughter.”

Daughter? When she looked at him, there wasn’t the faintest flicker of blood–tie affection.

People said blood was powerful–that when you faced your closest kin, you’d feel an unspoken

bond.

But with Dale, she felt nothing.

Even though Victor had once told her her eyes looked just like his, Tessa had always felt, deep

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down, that she wasn’t his daughter.

It wasn’t anger talking–it was instinct. A strong, undeniable instinct.

Dale went silent.

When she said that, his expression darkened instantly.

Tessa had no desire to keep the conversation going. She stood and turned to leave.

“You really mean to be this heartless?” Dale’s voice was sharp, colder than she’d ever heard.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected this. After all the effort he’d spent to see her, this ending was not what he’d imagined. The sting of it twisted in his chest.

Tessa paused, then let out a short, mocking laugh. “Heartless?”

“What a word. You sure you’re qualified to use it?”

“You think you can trade your cruelty for my kindness? Mr. Dale, for a businessman, your math is impressive; your self–serving calculations are flawless.”

That perfect little abacus of his was practically bouncing off her face. And he had the nerve to call her heartless? Please.

Dale’s whole body went rigid.

Tessa turned back and met his icy gaze. That look wasn’t the look of a father toward his daughter.

So the rumors were true after all. Dale really did only acknowledge Artemis‘ children.

The rest of them were just nuisances in his world.

All these years…

Not a trace of guilt, not a hint of remorse. And he still expects me to feel something because of blood ties? What a joke.

Tessa’s lips curved into a sharp smirk. “I’d suggest you get yourself checked out at a hospital.”

Dale said nothing.

“You might be infertile,” Tessa added coolly.

His face, already dark, turned thunderous. The air around him seemed to drop ten degrees.

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Tessa must have spent too much time with Lewis lately; her mouth had gotten just as unrestrained. She said whatever came to mind–like now.

Even with Dale’s face black as a storm cloud, she went on, “Those twins really don’t look like you.”

As for Dan… well-

Now that she thought about it, Dan’s mouth did resemble Dale’s a little.

So maybe that one was actually his. Maybe.

Dale’s breathing grew heavy, deep, and dark.

Those twins again. Lately, there had been plenty of whispers saying Lina and Lana might not even be his.

In the end, Tessa left.

Victor was waiting nearby. When he saw her step out, he walked forward and pulled her coat tighter around her.

Standing before him, she looked so small–especially from Dale’s point of view. To him, she looked like a child under Victor’s protection.

Victor’s eyes were full of tenderness and affection…

That kind of gentleness–Falvaria’s underworld and nobility alike had never seen it. Everyone who knew Victor feared him, and none could imagine he had this side to him.

Trevor stepped up respectfully behind Dale. “Sir, how did it go? Is she willing to mediate between you and Mr. Victor?”

He glanced toward Tessa and Victor. The man had already wrapped an arm around her, even pulling his coat around her slight frame.

Seeing that, Dale’s fury boiled over. “That ungrateful, disloyal little traitor!”