Chapter 1376
Thalassa looked perplexed, the details of the situation clearly eluding her grasp.
Richard took a deep breath, deciding it was time to lay out the whole story for her.
“Do you remember when Lysander took you to meet Joshua that one time?” Richard
asked.
Thalassa gave a slight nod; the memory etched deeply in her mind.
She recalled how, during that encounter, Susan had spiked Lysander and Joshua’s drinks, leading her to believe something had happened between Lysander and Susan. The thought had gnawed at her for quite a while.
It was only later that she discovered Lysander hadn’t laid a finger on Susan. That very incident was why the dinner had left such a lasting impression on Thalassa.
“Joshua had some business with me,” Richard steered the conversation back on track.
“He asked me to find a piece of jade jewelry, and I’ve scoured every antique store and collector’s shop but never came across anything like it. Yet, the one you’re wearing around your neck is the spitting image of what Joshua’s been searching for.”
As he spoke, Richard pulled out his phone and flicked to a photo.
The image on his screen showed the exact jade piece in question. Though it was just a photo, the jade’s teardrop shape and emerald clarity were unmistakable. It was a genuine antique, indistinguishable from the piece draped around Thalassa’s neck.
Thalassa glanced from the image on Richard’s phone to the jade piece she wore, her eyes widening in astonishment. “Are you saying Joshua’s been searching for this, my mother’s piece?”
“It seems so. I’ve done my homework. This jade piece is said to have once belonged to an ancient empress, a unique relic from the early Middle Ages. There’s no chance of a second genuine article out there,” Richard explained. Having promised Joshua to track down the jade, he was well-versed in its history and characteristics.
“Why is Joshua after this jade piece? Did he give you a reason?” Thalassa’s voice trembled with a mix of grief and anxiety.
A disconcerting feeling began to grow inside her.
“He told me once, years ago, he had a fling with a woman at a bar and left this piece of jade with her. After that, she vanished without a trace. He’s been looking for her ever since,” Richard replied to Thalassa’s question.
Thalassa’s eyes widened in shock as if a thunderclap had exploded in her mind. She staggered backward, the realization hitting her could Joshua possibly be her…
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Chapter 1376
She dared not continue the thought.
She remembered her mother telling her that Bruce wasn’t her birth father because in her youth, heartbroken by Bruce’s betrayal, she had sought solace in a bar and, in her despair, ended up with a stranger, which led to Thalassa’s birth.
Evelyn had only mentioned it in passing and never said that the man had left her a piece of jade.
But now, her mother’s keepsake, the jade piece that Joshua was scouring the world for… Could the stranger from Evelyn’s story actually be Joshua?
“Thalassa, if you have doubts, I can reach out to Joshua and have him come back and take a paternity test with you,” Richard offered, noting the shock and disbelief that crossed her face.
“Who says that’s yours? It’s clearly mine!” Isabella, who had been eavesdropping all along, suddenly stepped forward and snatched the jade pearl from Thalassa’s neck, her voice filled with outrage.
“Thalassa, you thief! How dare you steal my jade pearl and claim it as your own! You’ve always had sticky fingers, haven’t you? This was my mother’s, left to me!”
Isabella’s breath was heavy with anger, and she trembled as she clutched the jade piece taken from Thalassa, a droplet of green tears hanging in the air.
After her furious outburst at Thalassa, Isabella turned to Richard with a pleading look. “Please don’t listen to her lies. This isn’t hers; it’s mine! My mother was too wild in her youth and had an affair, and my father never knew. I am the child born from that affair. I am Joshua’s daughter, Mr. Richard. Please don’t get it wrong!”
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