Chapter 214: Nothing more than a cuckoo.
Meanwhile,
Back at the hospital ...
Charlotte was prepared to stay the night with Clara.
However, after Maria returned, Clara insisted her to go back home.
"Clara, I’m not listening to you," Charlotte said with a frown between her brows. "I’m your mother. I’ll stay here, and look after you."
Clara stared at her and gently pursed her lips. "Mom, there’s no need. I’m already feeling better now, and you’ve been here since morning. It’s only right that you go back home and get some rest." Her gaze briefly shifted toward her assistant. "Maria is here with me. She can take care of me."
"How is that the same?" Charlotte refused immediately, clearly unwilling to agree to it.
But before she could argue further on it ...
Clara spoke again, her tone soft yet persuasive.
"It’s not the same, Mom. I know that ..." she said gently. "But try and understand —if you stay here with me instead of going back home to rest, I won’t be able to rest peacefully either. I’ll just keep worrying about you. And you wouldn’t want that, would you? "
Her words trailed off towards the end, but the meaning in them was clear.
Charlotte felt her heart warm instantly ...
She had always known that her daughter was sensible, but every time Clara proved it again, she couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride in her.
"Fine," Charlotte finally relented with a sigh. "I will go back then. But —"
She turned and glance at Maria, her expression turning slightly serious,
"Only after you promise me..." she paused, continiuing, "that you won’t stress over that movie anymore. You’ll trust me and believe that since I have promised you, I’ll help you get into it."
Clara nodded.
"You’re promising me that?" Charlotte asked again, looking for a reassurance.
"Mom ... don’t worry," Clara said, slowly reaching out to hold her hand in hers gently. "I’m fine, and I’m not thinking about it anymore. You should go back and rest."
Only after hearing that did Charlotte finally leave.
Once she was gone, Maria turned toward Clara, her brows knitting together in concern.
"Ms. Scott ... what should we do now?" she asked cautiously. "Is Adelyn Grace really your sister? She—"
"She is not," Clara snapped sharply.
Maria flinched at that, startled by the sudden change in her tone.
But before she could say anything further, Clara looked straight into her eyes and spoke again, her voice coming firm and resolute ...
"I am the only daughter of the Scott family. The only daughter to my parents, and the only sister to Alex, Liam, and Bryer. There is no one else. Do you understand that?"
Maria nodded quickly.
It felt strange to see Clara like this —so sharp, so possessive. But even then, she chose to believe there must be a reason behind it.
After everything she had seen and observed, she couldn’t bring herself to believe that someone as kind and adored as Clara could turn this way without cause.
There had to be a reason.
And because she believed that, she had already decided to stand by her.
"Then ... who exactly is Adelyn Grace?" Maria asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer. She clearly remembered how Madam Scott and CEO Scott had reacted to that name.
As if they were close ...
... sharing a bond that didn’t seem easy to erase.
"Both Madam Scott and CEO Scott seemed very familiar with her," Maria added carefully.
Clara’s fingers curled tightly into the bedsheets.
Her eyes turned red with suppressed fury.
"Adelyn ..." she said through clenched teeth, "is nothing more than a cuckoo who lived in my nest as if it belonged to her."
Maria frowned, not fully understanding what she meant.
But Clara had no intention of explaining further.
Instead, she continued, her voice growing colder, sharper.
"But I won’t let her enjoy it anymore. What belongs to me will remain mine. I won’t share it with her —never again."
Her grip on the sheets tightened further, her determination evident in every word she spoke.
"Did you do what I asked you to?" she asked suddenly.
Maria nodded. "I did. The news should start spreading online soon. But ..."
Clara’s brows furrowed. "But? What is it?"
Maria hesitated before speaking.
"But, Ms. Scott ... earlier, CEO Scott sounded very firm in his decision. What if he refuses to help you pull the strings?"
Clara’s expression darkened.
No one understood better than her how reluctant Liam was to take away something that had already been given to Adelyn.
But she wasn’t worried.
She had already thought it through.
Liam’s reluctance wouldn’t last long.
He might not agree now —but Charlotte would make sure he did.
"He will agree," Clara said confidently. "Soon."
———————
Elsewhere,
Xavier returned to his apartment not long after.
But he couldn’t bring himself to relax.
He paced back and forth restlessly, his steps uneven, his thoughts even more so.
Something about what he had heard refused to settle in his mind.
When he could no longer bear the turmoil, he finally picked up his phone and dialed a number.
The line rang for a few seconds before it was answered.
"Dr. Colsen," the person on the other end greeted, his tone carrying a hint of surprise —as if he hadn’t expected the call at all.
And rightfully so.
Even though Xavier was one of the heirs of the Colsen family, he rarely ever made use of its resources.
The only time he had ever reached out like this was when his ex-fiancée had gone missing.
Back then, he had mobilized the entire family network to find her.
But even then ... it hadn’t been enough.
And now, after all these years, he was calling again.
Naturally, the man on the other end was curious.
He waited.
Xavier finally responded with a low hum.
"I need you to look into something for me," he said, his voice steady —but not without hesitation.
"Of course, Dr. Colsen," the man replied at once. "Please tell me. I’ll do my best to get you the details."
Xavier paused.
Not because he doubted the man’s capability.
But because he feared what he might discover if he truly asked.
Still ... he couldn’t stop himself.
He needed to know.
He had to know.
Whether Adelyn truly had someone else in her life.
Whether she had really ... moved on.
"Look into the current status of Adelyn Grace," he finally said, his voice slightly lower now.
There was a brief pause.
Then he added, almost as if forcing the words out—
"I want to know ... if she’s married."
