The Wrong Girl and the Wronged Girl (Stella and Ethan) novel Chapter 856

856 Guess Who’s Getting a DNA Test

Manny, who hadn’t spoken this whole time, finally turned to Dale. “Father thinks that once the paternity test is done, we can go back to how things used to be; that everything will be the same again?”

Dale fell silent.

“No matter what the result is,” Manny continued, “we probably can’t go back, can we?”

There was disappointment in his tone–disappointment in Dale’s decision.

Dale’s breathing grew uneven as he glanced at Manny.

Manny’s face was badly injured; a tourniquet was still wrapped around his head to stop the bleeding. Yet when their eyes met, his gaze was unwavering.

That was when Artemis suddenly broke down in tears.

“You said–no matter what the result?” Dale asked.

Manny, Artemis, and Lina stayed silent.

Hearing Dale’s question–and realizing what he had fixated on–made the air in the room grow heavy.

“No matter,” Dale repeated, his voice hardening, “what the result?”

When no one answered, his tone deepened again. Artemis‘ body tensed at his words, and Lina felt her

blood turn cold.

Only Manny remained composed, his face unreadable despite the storm raging inside him.

“Yes,” Manny said firmly. “No matter the result, we can’t go back. You’ve really let us down.”

Dale’s entire body went cold. He shut his eyes, trembling with rage, then roared, “Trevor!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Bring the guards in. Take Ms. Lina to the hospital.”

He ground out each word through clenched teeth; the three of them instantly froze, their faces drained of color.

Meanwhile, at the hotel, Tessa and Victor were talking about Reese when Victor’s phone rang.

Whatever he heard made him smirk with bitter amusement. “Yeah, got it,” he said, then hung up.

He brushed his fingers along Tessa’s cheek. “Dale’s planning to have Lina dragged to the hospital for a paternity test.”

Tessa’s face stiffened. “What?”

Wait–seriously? That dramatic? Normally, she loved gossip, no matter who or where it involved—but this

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time, even she was stunned.

Her eyes practically lit up with flames of curiosity. “That’s his precious daughter–the one he’s doted on for years. And now he’s doing this?”

To have her dragged off like that? It had to be a total meltdown.

Victor chuckled at her expression. “If she’s not his blood, it doesn’t matter who gave birth to her.”

Noticing how eager she was for gossip, the usually stoic Victor actually humored her this time.

“Wait,” Tessa said, narrowing her eyes. “How do you even know what’s going on in Black Mountain?”

“I’ve got people stationed there,” Victor replied casually.

“Uh… wow.” Tessa blinked. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

This was Redwood–they were in Redwood–and he had spies planted in Black Mountain, which was the Ashen Pact’s stronghold; their leader’s home base.

And he’d managed to infiltrate it?

Suddenly, Tessa realized just how much of a powerhouse Victor really was.

He gave a low laugh. “So, what do you think–will they actually go through with the paternity test today?”

“Hmm?” Tessa frowned. Could they?

That was the child–the one born of his love. She’d thought there was no way things would ever spiral that far… yet in just a short time, everything had blown up completely.

She glanced at Victor. “Wait a minute–those things Lewis said to provoke him… you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“And what about what you said yesterday at Echo Peak?” he countered. “Was that on purpose?”

“No!” Tessa said quickly. “I was just telling the truth!”

“Lewis was telling the truth too,” Victor said evenly.

Tessa froze. Well… fair. It was the truth–and that damned truth had set Dale off so badly he’d gone home demanding a paternity test.

When a man’s pride was on the line, what did love even matter? He’d cherished that girl for years, and

now…

Her thoughts were cut off by the buzz of Victor’s phone–it was the same caller as before.

He answered it, while Tessa’s own phone started ringing. Seeing he was already on a call, she stepped aside and picked hers up.

The moment she connected, a hysterical voice screamed through the receiver.

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“Tessa, you wench! What the heck did you say to my dad?”

Tessa said nothing.

“My mom already agreed to let you come back to Black Mountain,” Lina shrieked. “What more do you

want?”

“You just love stirring up trouble, don’t you? Saying we’re not Dad’s kids–what, so that makes you his daughter? You’re the real scumbag here!”

Her voice was hoarse and furious.

Tessa’s face darkened. “So what if I’m a scumbag? It’s not like I’m dying to be his kid anyway.”

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