Eight hours—long enough to get the results.
Zuri didn't go anywhere. She quietly sat on the waiting bench in the hallway, patiently waiting for the outcome. The passing nurses and staff couldn't help but glance at her. It wasn't her looks that caught their attention but the aura of silence and repression she emanated.
The nurse who had helped Zuri with the paperwork returned from the staff cafeteria and saw her still sitting there. Unable to resist, she said, "Young lady, the results will take another five hours. You could go out and come back later. Sitting here is quite dull."
"Thank you, I know," Zuri smiled politely at the nurse but showed no intention of leaving.
Seeing her unmoved, the nurse gave up and left with a colleague.
"This is the first time I've seen a young girl come alone for a paternity test," one nurse remarked.
"It's normal. The longer you work here, the more strange people and bizarre situations you'll encounter," the senior nurse replied in a low voice.
"From the way she looks, she probably already knows something and is just waiting for the final confirmation," the junior nurse whispered.
The senior nurse shook her head. "Not necessarily. Three years ago, a teenage boy came in for a test alone because his parents favored his sister. He thought he was adopted. The result showed he was their biological child, but he kept insisting we made a mistake."
Talking about it, the nurse's face showed a mix of amusement and incredulity.
Zuri paid no attention to the surrounding stares, whether out of curiosity or disapproval. She only wanted to know the results as soon as possible.
Time dragged on for Zuri, every minute feeling like an eternity.
When the window opened, Zuri was already standing there before the nurse could call her name.
The nurse was surprised but not shocked. "Your test results are ready."
Handing over two reports, the nurse wanted to say something but held back.
Zuri took the reports and, contrary to the nurse's expectation, didn't immediately open them. She returned to the bench and held the thin sheets tightly, as if they weighed a thousand pounds.
She lowered her head, scanned the first report, and focused on the concluding summary.
The probability of parentage: 0.0988864735%
Zuri's expression remained calm as she turned to the second report.
The probability of parentage: 0.112378399%
Her eyes fixed on the small numbers, her entire body frozen.
A minute passed...
Two minutes...
Eight minutes...
Finally, her rigid body moved. A smile appeared on her beautiful face—a silent, bitter, mocking, sorrowful, and hateful smile, eventually forming a cold grin.
They had deceived her thoroughly!
No wonder they were indifferent to her no matter how she tried to please them. It was all because she wasn't their daughter.
No wonder they could so heartlessly hand her over to Miles; she was merely a tool for their profit.
The Lin family—what a performance!
Recalling all the humiliation and torment of her past life, Zuri's body trembled with bone-deep hatred. Her hands clenched into fists, and her black pupils gradually turned red.
In her previous life, she was nothing but a fool in their eyes, a fool deceived by them at every turn.
Why did they bring her back to the Lin family to suffer if she wasn't their daughter?
What grudge did they hold against her to treat her so cruelly?
She hated them all! Aaron's hypocrisy, Dalia's deceitful sweetness, Saira's venomous nature, Christian's ruthlessness, and Damian's betrayal...
"Ha ha ha."
Zuri laughed quietly at first, then louder until tears streamed from her eyes. Her maniacal laughter drew the attention of the staff around her, their curious and alarmed eyes fixed on her.
Seeing her thin, trembling figure, the tears on her face, even from a distance, one could feel the sorrow and hatred emanating from the girl.
The receptionist sighed deeply, guessing at the pain and conflict between Zuri and her parents.
Half an hour later, Zuri stood up, walked to the trash bin, and opened the lid.
"Rip..."
She slowly and meticulously tore the paternity test reports into tiny pieces and let them fall like snowflakes.
Leaving the testing center, Zuri saw the sunset painting the sky in vivid colors. The beauty of the scene, however, didn't touch her heart.
She looked up at the glowing horizon, her gaze fixing on a large advertisement screen playing Lin Group's commercial.
Zuri stared at the ad, her eyes cold. The Lin family and Lin Group would be wiped out from this city.
Instead of calling the driver, she took a bus to the foot of the mountain and walked up the winding road to the villa. With every step closer, her hatred grew, but her face remained calm.
Returning to the Lin house, her demeanor was as usual. No one noticed anything wrong. She still greeted Arianwen and the maids with a smile and chatted warmly with Dalia, her obedient and gentle manner pleasing Dalia.
Seeing Dalia's smiling face and her own reflection in Dalia's eyes—this warmth she once craved and longed for—now only made her feel disgusted.
Yesterday's probing had shown that Dalia knew everything, while Aaron's attitude was still unclear. But Aaron, the old fox, wouldn't be as easy to uncover as Dalia.
The next day, Zuri went to the stock exchange. While everyone was bullish on the skyrocketing "Palm Cloud" stock, she sold everything. After fees, she made over six million in just a week.
The allure of stock profits was indeed blinding.
As she was about to leave, Damian suddenly blocked her path.
"Well, well, young lady, what a coincidence. We meet again," Damian greeted familiarly.
Zuri looked at him, her lips curling into a smile, eyes glinting with a bloodthirsty light. Last time, overwhelmed by past life's hatred, she forgot something crucial. This time, there would be no such luck.
This is my new book "The Superstar Wants To Slack Off" Please give me your strong support, everyone!