Alexander was not home when Lily arrived. She went to wash up, changed into her home clothes, and made herself a cup of hot cocoa before taking a seat to open the folder Justin had given her earlier.
He said it was some information she might need, but she did not ask him to search for anything, so she had no idea what it was about. After taking the papers out, Lily glanced at them and caught sight of Nathaniel's name. ‘It’s about him?’
Once she scanned the documents, she was surprised to find that it was the result of an investigation into Nathaniel’s background, where the most crucial part was his relationship with his mother.
The document had detailed information about Eloise. Everything from her identity to her current status, and even facts like Eloise introducing Frank to Nathaniel. The last page had the most critical information, however. It was the DNA test of Nathaniel and his mother.
This information astonished Lily. She knew nothing about Nathaniel’s family, even though they had dated for many years. All this while, she thought he was an orphan. Due to that fact, she had always liked Nathaniel more because he was hardworking, even though he had a miserable life. It turned out that he was hiding so much from her.
Eloise’s name rang a bell in Lily’s mind, but she could not pinpoint who she was. The papers stated that she was a well-known actress and had won the best actress award back then. Later, she left the industry and married the second son of the Tanner family. However, no one knew she had a son.
Indeed, it would be a massive scandal if word got out.
What Justin told Lily was an understatement. This information may not be fatal to Nathaniel, but it would be to his mother.
The Tanner family of Ruby City was old money, and they mainly engaged in doing business. The family became prosperous today via several older generation Tenner family members. The family was huge, and their relationships were complicated as well.
The man Eloise married was the second son of the Tanner family, but the eldest son was the one who had real influence over any matters. The second son married Eloise, and she had only given birth to a daughter. Later, he had an affair, where the woman birthed a boy. Sure enough, he would respect his legitimate wife, but there was probably not much love between them.
It was just that Eloise had mingled with people in that society for many years. She had the connections and skills to help her husband’s business. Their relationship was merely a mutually beneficial one.
However, if he discovered that Eloise had a son before marrying him and that she had been contacting him secretly over the years, she would need to face dire consequences.
Holding the papers in her hand, Lily pondered the matter for a long time. It was just a few pieces of paper, but she understood how confidential the information was.
Nathaniel had never mentioned anything about it in their few years together. Lily was sure that no one else would know about it because that was the case for her.
Such a secret was not something an ordinary private investigator could find. However, getting this done was a piece of cake for the Lodge family, as they had power in this place. Lily was just confused. ‘I didn’t ask Justin to help me, so why did he take the liberty to give this to me?’
After some thought, Lily decided to keep the papers. She had a card in her hand, but that did not mean she had to play it now. She kept the folder at the back of the bookshelf and tidied up a little. There, she saw the two wooden figurines, still adorable and lively. The sight of them made her feel embarrassed.
Initially, Lily wanted to get the shop to carve something meaningful for her grandfather’s birthday. However, the young man quit his job. Now, she could not get the wooden carvings she wanted, and Lily also lost her source to find the type of wood she was interested in. The young man had seemingly disappeared, and no one could get in touch with him.
Later, Lily went to the woodcraft shop to ask the owner about the young man’s whereabouts twice, but the owner also knew nothing about it.
Such a small shop by the roadside would just put up a poster to hire new employees when they were short of staffing. Any suitable applicants would be taken in, and they usually would not ask much about their employees’ private lives.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Secret Spoiled Wife (Lily and Alexander)