Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 298 - 297 you are just a stand-in with similar eyes

Chapter 298: 297 you are just a stand-in with similar eyes

In the living room, the atmosphere was delicate, and Zoe Bell caressed the bone china cup in her hands, inevitably showing a look of surprise.

"Are you serious?" Julia Yates stood up excitedly and walked directly toward Iva Payne.

"Very likely."

"I knew it, my child must still be alive, must be..." Julia said, turning to look at her husband, "Mario, did you hear that?"

Mario Payne nodded.

"But over the years, there have been too many such messages, it’s not necessarily true."

"This was on her wrist when they found her, the red string." Iva Payne took out her phone, found a photo, and handed it to her, "Sister-in-law, you wove this yourself, you should recognize it."

Zoe’s heart skipped a beat.

"However, it has been worn for such a long time, the red string and the gold pendant on it are both worn to varying degrees, definitely different from twenty years ago."

Julia examined the cell phone for a long time, "It indeed resembles the one I wove. Mario, take a look."

The couple leaned in together, scrutinizing for a long while.

Even the elder Paynes couldn’t help but crowd around to see.

"Actually, my mother found my sister quite some time ago and has been observing her for a long time, conducting a secret investigation. She was also worried about giving everyone false hope, so she even did a paternity test with her secretly."

"The results show that she does indeed have a blood relationship with my mother."

"Really?" Julia’s emotions were clearly very agitated.

"Sister-in-law, if you flip through the photos, there’s an electronic version of the paternity report."

Tim Payne also hurriedly came over for a look.

Celine Payne said, "There are also her photos later on, she looks especially like your sister-in-law, you can take a look."

In an instant, all the Payne family members gathered around together.

Except for Zoe Bell, the "outsider," who seemed out of place, as well as Celine Payne’s father...

Sitting on the side, silent throughout.

Unsurprised, calm to the point of being astonishing.

"Mom, Dad, brother, sister-in-law, if I wasn’t sure that she was my niece, I wouldn’t dare to say such a thing lightly. I am a mother too, and I naturally know how important she is to my sister-in-law. If I wasn’t very certain, it would be like sprinkling salt on my sister-in-law’s wounds."

Iva Payne spoke, and her eyes even reddened.

"Our family...can finally have a proper reunion dinner this year."

"Where is she?" Julia asked.

"She’s already on her way to Capital City. She has been living abroad all these years, staying in an orphanage, and because she has yellow skin, she was ostracized, enduring a lot of hardship."

"But she is promising, performed well in school, got admitted to a good university, and now has graduated, working in design."

Iva Payne smiled, "It seems the genes of the brother and sister-in-law have indeed been passed on to her."

"This, this really is my child?" Julia examined the photo on the phone, still wearing a face full of disbelief.

Tim Payne leaned over to take a look.

Indeed bore a fair resemblance to her mother.

"Iva has even done a paternity report, so it should be true. She wouldn’t joke about something like this with us." Mario said, "Unexpectedly, our daughter is really still alive. In our lifetime, to think that we could see her again..."

Julia’s fingers trembled.

"Clang—" The phone dropped to the ground, and she suddenly fainted.

Zoe instinctively stood up, but there was no place for her among the crowd surrounding the mother.

"Mom!" Tim was shocked and, along with his father, hurriedly supported his mother.

"Quickly call the doctor, first help her back to her room," the Old Lady quickly instructed, "She’s too emotionally agitated, her health isn’t good to begin with, can’t withstand such shocks."

In the ensuing chaos, naturally, no one paid any attention to Zoe.

"Mrs. Hale, with everything so hectic in the house today, we really can’t attend to you...perhaps..." Iva Payne glanced at Zoe.

"I just came to deliver something, and I have other matters to attend to."

"Today’s events..."

"Rest assured, this is a Payne family matter, and I will not speak of it to anyone else."

"Celine, see her out."

Celine, much thinner, wrapped in her fur coat, escorted her to the door. She was politely apologetic, still offering apologies, yet couldn’t hide her smugness.

"Actually, Mrs. Hale, you share quite a fate with our family."

Zoe pursed her lips and smiled, "In what way are we fated?"

"Your eyes look a lot like my cousin, that’s probably the reason why my cousins looked at you differently. But now that my blood cousin has returned, I’m afraid..."

Zoe just smiled.

Her words merely wanted to tell her:

She had only basked in the light of her cousin and that was the reason the Paynes treated her a bit special.

"""It was nothing more than using her to harbor his longing for someone else.

Now that the real master has returned, the Payne Family members naturally had no regard for her anymore.

"I never knew that Junior President Payne even had a sister," Zoe Bell said at this moment, feigning complete surprise. "I’ve never heard of her."

"That’s the Payne Family’s biggest secret," Celine Payne said with a laugh. "You’re not a member of the Payne Family, so of course you wouldn’t know. My cousin and I are very close."

"No wonder. Congratulations on finding your sister, then."

"My uncle and aunt love my cousin very much, and they will definitely introduce her to everyone. If our family holds a banquet, we’ll probably ask you to make some custom incense."

"Sure, give Mr. Payne and Mrs. Payne my congratulations," Zoe said, getting into her car and leaving.

Celine Payne hugged her fur coat tighter, waiting until Zoe’s car had disappeared before stamping her foot.

Was Zoe Bell truly offering congratulations?

She had thought Zoe would be discouraged, at a loss, or even upset.

After all, with her cousin back, her cousins would definitely not pay attention to her anymore.

——

Kyle Lowe didn’t enter the house, just waited in the car.

Seeing that his wife was not in a good mood and not asking too many questions, Zoe Bell lowered her head to text Tim Payne:

[Brother, how is Mom?]

[She’s doing fine.]

[That’s good.]

[Don’t come to the old mansion recently, don’t overthink things. If there’s any issue, your brother will take care of it.]

Julia Yates, not being an actress, could not show genuine emotions in front of Iva Payne when presented with the "daughter" Iva had brought to her. If she didn’t pretend to faint and leave, she would have given herself away.

After sending the message, Tim Payne looked at his mother, who was now being examined by the family doctor.

They couldn’t determine the exact cause of her fainting, only suggested it might be due to weakness and stress, and prescribed her some soothing tea to rest.

"Brother, I didn’t expect my sister-in-law to faint," Iva Payne sighed.

"She was just too excited; you’ve really worked hard on this matter," Mario Payne spoke bluntly.

"We’re all family, no need for formalities. She’s also my niece. After so many years, we can still find her—I didn’t believe it at first. It’s just that recently I’ve been preoccupied with Celine’s matters and haven’t had the time."

"You take good care of my sister-in-law. I’ll make sure she is safely brought back home."

Mario Payne nodded.

"Brother, once she is brought back, I’ll arrange another paternity test for you."

"Thank you for your efforts."

"You’re my own brother; it’s what I should do."

Because Julia Yates was unwell, the Payne men had to take care of her and had no mental energy to manage company matters, so the power that had been distributed earlier was once again concentrated in the hands of Iva Payne.

Outsiders were unaware and found it strange.

Wasn’t it said that Iva Payne had fallen out of favor with Grandpa Payne because of Celine Payne, not only kicked out of home but also stripped of her authority?

And yet, in less than a month, she had regained control.

It was clear that Iva Payne truly had her ways.

"After such an incident, did Grandpa Payne forgive them easily?" Michale Shaw gossiped today in Zoe Bell’s shop. "I wonder what methods she used."

"Why aren’t you at work, running over here for what?" Zoe Bell said helplessly.

"To burn incense and enjoy tea."

Wyatt Hale didn’t have classes today and was also there. Hearing this, he threw out the words, "Show off, careful not to be struck by lightning!"

"You little brat, at the very least you should call me ’brother.’ Have some respect."

"I don’t need a flamboyant brother like you."

"Flamboyant?" Michale Shaw looked down at his floral shirt. "This is vintage Hong Kong style, you have no taste!"

"It’s just ugly."

"That’s because you have no aesthetic sense. Look at that messy hairstyle of yours, it’s hideous."

"..."

Zoe Bell felt a headache coming on. Were these two in elementary school? They were grown men, still bickering and arguing.

Afraid that they might disturb the other customers, Zoe was just about to step forward and intervene when a customer came in, and Joy Watson greeted them with a smile, "Welcome."

"Is your boss here?"

Zoe Bell turned around on hearing that.

The girl took off her cold-protective mask, nodding politely at her.

Both Michale Shaw and Wyatt Hale stared, finally stopping their argument, because...

Someone who unified both their aesthetic judgments had appeared."""