Chapter 3: The Ethan Family Gathering
Inside the car,
Ryan glanced at Ben, who was still sleeping in the rearview mirror. His face remained expressionless, but he inwardly cursed: my brother is really a jerk.
However, the next second, thinking of Daniel, Ryan's heart suddenly tightened, and his gaze froze for a moment.
Indeed, he had more important matters to attend to upon his return.
Ethan's birthday party would naturally attract many guests, all prominent figures from London, and even the mayor made a special trip.
"Arrived," Ryan woke Ben in the back seat, calling out two or three times. Ben, groggy, opened his eyes, propped himself up, and glanced out the car window, a strange expression fleeting across his face.
Glittering lights and debauchery.
This was a lifestyle that Ben never sought but had to face.
"Ben, you rascal, you've finally shown up," Ethan was delighted. He knew Ben never liked attending such events, and he had finally graced them with his presence today. "Seems like only your uncle could get you here."
Ben quickly said, "Grandpa, you've misunderstood, it's just that I've been busy with school lately, and I'll come to see you when I have time."
Ethan pulled Ben over, patted him on the back, and pointed to Ryan beside them, smiling, "Your uncle has just returned to the country, and when you have time, tell him more about what's happening here so he can get accustomed as soon as possible."
Ben nodded in agreement, and hurried footsteps could be heard from outside the door. Soon, an elegant middle-aged woman entered the room.
"Ryan, you're back!"
This woman was Ethan's wife and Ryan's mother, Grace.
"Mom, long time no see, how's your health?" Ryan approached her with an affectionate demeanor; his relationship with his mother was quite good.
"Mother is doing well. By the way, have you met your father and Ben?" Grace shifted her gaze to the other two, pausing briefly when she looked at Ben, "Ben has grown quite tall."
Upon seeing this, Ben merely called out softly, "Grandma," and said nothing else.
Ava returned home to find her mother with a heavy heart. "Ava, your biological parents have been found."
Ava's heart skipped a beat.
She was a child adopted from an orphanage twenty years ago, but her adoptive parents had treated her as their own flesh and blood.
"Mom, I don't want to see them." Ava was resistant; they had abandoned her, so why were they looking for her now? "You and Dad are my parents, and having you is enough for me."
Ava's father sighed, "Ava, no matter what, they did give birth to you. Even if they did wrong in the past, so much time has passed, Dad thinks you should meet them."
Ava's mother also nodded in agreement, sighing a few times.
Unable to argue against her elderly parents, Ava finally agreed, and arrived at the orphanage where she was adopted on a weekend, at the time her biological parents had scheduled to meet her at two o'clock.
Soon, a middle-aged couple with a rural air appeared in front of Ava.
"Lily..." The leading woman burst into a dramatic display as soon as she saw Ava. "I've missed you so much over the years, Mom looked for you so hard," the woman rushed up, hugged Ava, and began to sob with tears and snot.
Ava forcefully endured the discomfort in her heart, barely pushing the woman who was hugging her, and frowned.
Is this woman really her biological mother? She doesn't seem very intelligent.
"Aunt, please don't be too excited, let's sit down and talk."
"Aunt?" The middle-aged man immediately became unhappy. "Lily, we are your biological parents. Why are you still calling your mother aunt? Hurry up and call her mother."
"Uncle, my name is Ava." Ava replied out of context, unconsciously maintaining a distance from them.
Hearing this, obvious displeasure appeared on the faces of the middle-aged couple, but they still suppressed it and tried to put on a smiling face.
"It was all our fault in the past. Our family was poor at that time, so we had no choice but to give you away..."
Ava narrowed her eyes. "Stop."
"Uncle and aunt, I hope you understand that the purpose of our meeting today is mainly to confirm the truth, not to come here and cry and complain to me at the beginning."
"The truth?" The middle-aged couple sensed something was wrong and their voices couldn't help but rise by a notch. "Lily, don't you think we are lying to you? You are really our daughter, and the director can testify."
The director mentioned by the man was the old director who had worked in this welfare institute more than 20 years ago and had the most say.
According to the old director's recollection, it was this couple named Jane and Jack who brought a baby girl and claimed that they had picked her up. Later, the child was raised by the welfare institute until she was six years old until Ava's parents adopted her.
In short, as long as another DNA test was done, the result could be clear.