Chapter 568

Vivian Bennett frowned as she stared at him.

This man had always been gentle and soft-spoken with her, but now, a clear impatience radiated from him.

A pang of bitterness tightened her chest.

Her voice carried a petulant, sorrowful edge.

"I want to make trouble.

Trouble until you stay far away from me.

Trouble until we never see each other again..."

Before she could finish, a vein throbbed violently at his temple.

Anger simmered just beneath the surface.

Liam Sullivan grabbed her wrist.

His voice was dangerously low, each word gritted out.

"Vivian Bennett, if you dare say such a thing again, just you try."

With his other hand, he pulled a document from his jacket.

He slapped it heavily into her palm.

"You've always refused to accept being Albert Sullivan's daughter, haven't you?

Read it yourself."

Vivian's fingers trembled slightly as she opened the pages.

Her eyes scanned line by line, finally landing on the conclusion at the end.

Her pupils contracted sharply.

Shock and wild joy churned in her dark eyes.

"This... how is this possible?" she whispered, her voice so faint it almost dissipated.

Liam watched her changing expression with a cold gaze.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a mocking curve.

"What's wrong?

Disappointed to find out you're not my uncle's daughter?"

Vivian looked up abruptly.

The next second, she threw herself at him, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

"I'm really not...

We really aren't related by blood?" Her voice shook with disbelieving elation.

She tilted her head up, seeking his lips.

Liam turned his face away.

He ruthlessly pried her clinging arms loose, his tone dark.

"Weren't you just talking about separating?

Why cling so tightly now?"

Vivian let out a soft laugh instead.

Her eyes curved into crescents.

That smile was like spring sunlight breaking through dark clouds, slowly seeping into the icy depths of his gaze.

Seeing his face still set in a hard line, she bit her lip.

She shamelessly wound herself around him again, her voice soft and sweet with laughter.

"I only said that because... I thought we really were siblings.

If you suspected it all along, why didn't you tell me sooner?

You made me cry for so long.

The thought of being apart from you felt like my heart was being crushed..."

Liam remained silent.

His deep, dark eyes locked onto her, his thin lips pressed into a cold, hard line.

Suddenly, Vivian remembered something, and her smile faded slightly.

"But what about that appraisal the Patriarch showed me?

What was that about?"

At the mention of that report, Liam's eyes instantly darkened.

His uncle had conducted two appraisals, both with the same result.

How could the Patriarch produce a completely different report out of thin air?

The only explanation was that the report had been tampered with.

The day before yesterday, to be absolutely certain, he had specifically asked Jocelyn Klein to personally supervise the entire process.

He never expected the Patriarch would resort to such tactics.

Seeing Liam remain silent for so long, his expression inscrutable, a sudden unease gripped Vivian's heart.

She hesitated before speaking.

"Liam... you didn't forge this report just to comfort me, did you?"

The moment the words left her mouth, the air inside the car froze solid.

Liam whipped his head around.

His gaze was like a blade dipped in ice, scraping across her face.

His back teeth ground together audibly.

"Vivian Bennett," he practically hissed the words through his teeth, "have you lost your mind?

If you don't believe it, go pluck a hair from my uncle's head and do the test yourself!"

Vivian was cowed by the ferocity in his eyes.

Of course she believed him.

She had just blurted that out in a moment of panic, a test.

But if she truly wasn't Albert Sullivan's daughter, how could the Patriarch's appraisal be explained?

She stole a glance at him.

Liam had already turned his face away.

His tall, straight frame was pressed against the car window, radiating a cold, keep-away aura.

He was clearly angry.

Vivian licked her lips.

Summoning her nerve, she began inching closer to him.