The Wrong Girl and the Wronged Girl (Stella and Ethan) novel Chapter 855

855 Guess Who’s Not Related

Meanwhile, within the Ashen Pact, everything had descended into chaos because of her–the spark that had set it all off, especially in the Morris family.

Dale had cherished Artemis for years; he had adored her, indulged her, loved her.

And yet now, things had come to this–he was demanding a paternity test for the children.

Lina and Lana were furious.

“Dad, how could you do this to us? We’re your daughters! How could you doubt us–how could you doubt Mom?” Lina shouted, her voice shaking with rage.

Dale’s face was dark and cold.

After being provoked by Lewis through Tessa earlier, he had returned home with his mind made up–he would go through with the test.

No one, no matter what they said, could change his mind now.

He stared at Lina, his expression icy.

Looking at her face, it was unbearable.

He’d never thought Lina and Lana were beautiful, not once, but they were his daughters, and they were Artemis‘ children; that alone had always been enough to make him accept them.

But now…

Anger burned hot in Dale’s chest. “Let’s go.”

“Father!” Lina shouted. All that pleading, and he still refused to change his mind?

“Did Tessa do something to you? That little wench has hated us ever since what happened to her mother. She’s been out to get us from the start!”

“Father, you can’t believe her!”

At the mention of Tessa, everyone’s faces tightened.

Dale’s breath hitched. Don’t tell me…

Just the thought of Tessa made him remember those eyes–those eyes so much like his own.

And then he looked back at Lina; there wasn’t a single trace of resemblance.

“Move!” he snapped.

He didn’t want to argue with her anymore; he stood abruptly, shooting her a cold glare.

“You’re unbelievable!” Lina shouted. “You’d rather trust that wretched girl Tessa over your own daughters?

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After all these years, it’s been us by your side–what is she to you? How can you be this blind?”

Artemis looked at him with visible disappointment.

Inside, panic struck hard; she knew what this test could mean.

But on the surface, her eyes filled with grief as she looked at Dale.

“Dale…”

Just his name was enough to melt anyone’s resolve.

And for years, it always had.

But this time…

Dale’s lips pressed into a thin, hard line. He said nothing; that silence spoke louder than words–it was the sound of a man who had made up his mind.

Seeing that, Artemis‘ tears fell uncontrollably.

“Do you really have to be this cruel?” she whispered.

Because once that test was done, there would be a rift between them that could never be bridged again.

She didn’t want that.

“After all these years, how did we end up here–at a place where you don’t even trust me anymore?”

“Is it really, as Lina said, because of that girl?”

Tessa. Even now, Artemis barely managed to keep herself from spitting out her name like venom.

Lina turned to him again. “Yeah, are you really going to go this far? You’d do this to us because of Tessa?”

She emphasized because of Tessa, her voice sharp with accusation.

Artemis‘ face was streaked with tears, her expression full of wounded sorrow.

In the past, whenever she looked at him like that, Dale’s heart would soften immediately.

But not this time.

This time, he needed to know–whether the rumors that had followed him for years were true.

He needed to know if the children who carried his name… were ever truly his.

“We’ll do the test,” he said flatly. “After that, everything can go back to the way it was.”

Artemis and Lina fell silent.

The words hit them both like a weight, dragging their hearts straight to the bottom.

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Lina glanced at Artemis instinctively; the panic in her mother’s eyes was unmistakable.

Because the truth was…

Other than Dale, everyone else–Artemis and her children–had already known.

The only one still in the dark was Dale himself.

And Manny… the one thing he’d never imagined was that even his twin sisters weren’t actually Dale’s children.

He’d carried the secret for years–that he wasn’t Dale’s son–and guarded it carefully, quietly.

In the Ashen Pact, he’d made sure to secure everything he could, to keep power within reach.

Back then, he had told himself it was fine; Lina and Lana were their father’s daughters. Even if his secret was exposed, they’d still be there to hold the family’s place.

But now, even the twins weren’t his father’s children–and their secret had surfaced before his ever did.

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