A Battle of Conscience
The last time, Rina had plucked a few strands of Sonia’s hair and used some of it as the DNA test
sample. She kept the remaining ones in the event that she needed them in the future. More importantly,
she had used a small barret to keep those strands of hair in place, carefully arranging it among her own
hair so that she could use them whenever she needed—just like how she had done so earlier.
That was the reason why she rejected Toby’s offer to help conceal her identity in the first place; she
thought that her plans were all foolproof now that she had Sonia’s hair at her own disposal.
What Rina never expected was Zane to thwart her plans when he brought Hal and Greta over. And
now that Sonia had asked to conduct a DNA test to see if Rina was biologically related to the wretched
couple, she was subsequently backed into a corner.
She was Hal’s biological daughter after all and one DNA test was all it would take to expose her as a
fraud. With that in mind, there was no way she would offer her own hair as a test sample now, much
less allow her blood to be drawn for the same purpose.
That being said, Titus had the few strands of Sonia’s hair that Rina passed off as her own previously. If
she were to ask him to use some of those as the sample for the DNA test she was about to do with Hal
and Greta, surely the test results would illustrate that she was not their biological daughter. However, it
would only arouse everyone’s confusion as to why she refused to pluck her own hair on the spot and
possibly cause them to suspect that there was something wrong with the hair sample she had given
earlier.
Therefore, Rina was caught between a rock and a hard place. What should I do?
She was still biting on her lip as she tried to come up with plausible ways to save herself when she
sensed a pointed gaze on her. When she looked up and met Toby’s dark obs, it felt like she was
looking at her salvation in that instant, thereby her relief glimmering in her eyes.
He had said before that he could help her to conceal her identity and she prayed that his offer was still
good.
Taking a leap of faith, she inhaled a deep breath and shot a desperate look of plea at him.
Toby’s eyes shone as he realized what she was asking of him. The courage she had to run a DNA test
alongside Titus came from Sonia’s hair, but now she won’t even pluck her own hair to see if it matches
Hal and Greta’s DNA. And now, she’s asking me for help instead. Comprehension dawned upon him as
he nodded, agreeing to grant her this favor.
Rina let out a sigh of relief before the fear that threatened to suffocate her began to wane. A smile
broke out on her face as she quipped, “Got it, Dad. I’ll pluck a few strands now.”
With that, she tugged on her hair with force and plucked a few strands from her scalp before readily
handing them over to Titus. “Here you go, Dad.”
He took them without saying anything; then, he asked his assistant for a couple of zip-lock bags to
store the samples. When that was done, Titus glanced over at Zane and Sonia smugly, “See? Rina has
willingly given up strands of her hair as samples and now, it’s your turn to do so.”
“Zane,” Sonia called out.
Zane did not protest and he immediately asked Hal and Greta to pluck a few strands of their own hair,
thereafter placing their samples into the zip-lock bags Titus had provided.
“I’ll personally deliver these to a few other facilities and have them run the DNA tests,” he declared
before labeling the samples accordingly before placing them in a large envelope.
Titus scoffed. “And I’ll come with you to keep an eye on the whole process. Who knows if you lot will
pull some despicable trick and have the samples mixed up for your own purposes?”
“In that case, let him tag along, Zane,” Sonia decided as she chewed on her lip. She needed to do all
that it took to prove that Taylor wasn’t Titus’ biological daughter and refused to entertain the idea that
Taylor could successfully bribe other facilities as well.
Zane and Titus left shortly after, leaving the rest of them in the tense silence of the room. Toby glanced
at his watch and dipped his head close to Sonia’s ear to say, “There’s no point waiting around here. I’ll
have someone set up a lounge for us and we’ll wait there instead.”
Sonia did not object to this and nodded. “Fine.”
She didn’t want to sit here either. The longer she did so, the more likely the Gray Family would discover
her loss of vision.
It wasn’t long before Toby managed to summon an employee and requested them to open a lounge for
them, thereafter wheeling Sonia in. As for the others anxiously waiting for the test results, they didn’t
require the use of a lounge and were perfectly happy without it.
Now that they were both in the lounge, Toby poured out a glass of water for Sonia and gently said,
“Here, have a drink. Your lips are looking a little parched.”
“Thanks.” She reached out to feel for the glass in front of her, but because of her blindness, she had no
idea where it was. Her fingers quivered as they continuously met thin air and she remained wary as
she tried to find the glass of water.
Upon seeing this, he chuckled lightly and took her hand.
She stiffened and tried to pull away while demanding, “What are you doing?”
However, Toby’s grip was tight, and tried as she might to pull away, Sonia frowned when she realized
all her efforts were wasted.
“Don’t move!” he warned in a low voice. “If you do, the glass of water in my hand will shake and spill on
you.”
“Then, let go of me,” she snapped, her lips pressing into an irritable line.
He placed the glass into her hand and didn’t release his grip until he was sure she had a firm hold.
“Okay, don’t drop it or let it spill.”
When she felt him releasing her hand, she snorted indignantly and pointed out, “As if. I’m not a kid, you
know.”
Toby smirked in amusement. “Right, you’re not a kid.” However, even as he said this, he thought about
how she would always remain as that kid who penned everything in her letters to him.
“Drink slowly. I’ll be outside making a phone call,” he added as he rose to his full feet and took his
phone out.
Sonia dipped her head to take a sip of water; then, she hummed in response to his words.
With his phone in hand, he sauntered out of the lounge and closed the door behind him. A dark look
passed over his face as he dialed Tom’s number.
“President Fuller,” Tom greeted on the other line.
Toby leaned against the wall. “Track Zane down and see which DNA testing facilities he’s going to. I
want the contacts of all those in charge of the facilities as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir,” Tom answered with a firm nod.
Then, Toby hung up and fished a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket. He slid one out gracefully and
lit it, thereafter taking an indulgent drag while letting the roll-up dangle between his slender fingers.
As the smoke unfurled over his face, it blurred his expression as well. He had no idea whether he was
doing the right thing or making a horrible mistake, but he only knew that he was determined to save
Sonia from the unnecessary agony of learning the truth of her birth.
He didn’t want her to suffer anymore, which was why he held onto the hope that he was doing right by
her for once.
With a sigh, he flicked the ashes away from the butt of his cigarette and he was about to take another
drag when Tom delivered the fruits of his investigation to him.
After having gone through the information, Toby called up all the testing facilities and reached an
agreement with them. Then, he kept his phone away before returning to the lounge.
When he saw that Wanda was the only one in the lounge and Sonia was nowhere to be found, he
froze. “Where’s Sonia?” he demanded urgently.
“She’s in the restroom,” Wanda answered dutifully, gesturing toward the adjoining restroom.
He glanced over at the tightly-closed restroom door and let out a quiet breath of relief. For a minute
there, he thought Sonia had left the lounge without him noticing. He would have kicked himself if that
were to happen, seeing as he was near the lounge when he made the call to those facilities. Had she
wheeled herself out of the lounge at that moment, she surely would have caught onto the conversation
and learned of the deals he made with the facilities.
Things would only spiral from there onward, and as he thought about the havoc that fortunately didn’t
happen, the restroom door swung open. Sonia was pressing her palms against the wall as she felt her
way out of the restroom while carefully treading back into the lounge.
Wanda was about to go over and lend Sonia a supporting hand when Toby beat her to it, taking two
long strides toward the restroom door and instantly taking Sonia by the arm.
Sonia registered the faint smell of peppermint on him and stopped in her tracks. “It’s you? What are
you doing?”
“Yes, it’s me and I’m obviously helping you,” Toby answered in a deadpan manner.
Her brows furrowed. “You’re not my nanny, so you aren’t obligated to help me whatsoever.” She pulled
away from him and called out, “Wanda? Wanda!”
Toby winked at Wanda, who flashed a smile as she stayed in the same spot. She neither moved to take
over helping Sonia nor made a reply.
It was only then that he retracted his gaze in satisfaction and lied while addressing Sonia, “Wanda’s
away for now. She said she had something going on.”
“Away?” Sonia pursed her lips unhappily. “When did she leave? Why didn’t she tell me beforehand?” It
seemed a little unprofessional, and downright rude, for a caretaker to leave without first notifying their
employer.
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