Crashing into an Old Flame
Chapter 295: DNA

Chapter 295: DNA

Qin Zehan was walking down the stairs when his phone started ringing.

He halted in his tracks and checked the caller ID before answering the call, ’’What is it, Yize?"

His secretary’s hesitant voice came from the other side, ’’President, you wanted me to drop this matter and I was following your instructions but... that...’’

’’Stop stammering.’’

’’Yes... President. That lady at the hospital... Hazel Warner...’’

’’What about her?"

’’It seems like you have encountered her before.’’

Following the secretary’s words, Qin Zehan fell silent, ’’Send me a picture.’’

’’Yes, President.’’

’’Whose picture are you talking about?"

Qin Zehan hung up and turned around only to find his father walking down the stairs.

’’It’s nothing important, father. Are you going somewhere? Do you want me to drive you there?"

’’I have my driver,’’ Old Master Qin rolled his eyes, ’’I am just going to the hospital to check how the situation is around there.’’

Qin Zehan nodded and watched the old man leave with his driver.

Once he left, Qin Zehan turned towards the servants, ’’You can go back to work.’’

’’Yes, Master,’’ the servants bowed and retreated.

Qin Zehan glanced at the main door of his mansion thoughtfully before he turned around and walked upstairs.

With every step, his footsteps became more and more urgent until he found himself standing in front of his father’s study.

Qin Zehan inhaled a deep breath and pushed open the door to the study.

He glanced at the simplistic bookshelves as he approached them with steady footsteps.

With every step he took, he knew that he might have answers to not one, but many of his questions.

He might know why all this while his father wanted to stay in a branch hospital as a director, away from Beijing which he held so dear to his heart.

He might know the reason behind his father’s strange behavior.

And more importantly, his unbreakable attachment to Los Angeles.

Had he not stood right outside the door, and watched his father opening the path to a secret safe, Qin Zehan would never have believed that his father was keeping secrets from him.

And keeping an eye on his father was not something that Qin Zehan had ever done before but there was something strange about the old man’s behavior lately.

All these years, Qin Zehan had this feeling that his father was keeping some secret from him but he never tried to look into that, afraid that he would be crossing a line.

But in these past few days, he could not avoid the strangeness in the old man’s behavior no matter how much he tried to not notice it.

And today was the last straw.

His words had heightened his instincts.

As he stood in front of the bookshelf, he followed the movements of his father and pulled a particular book out just like he had noticed the old man doing from the window.

’Whoosh’

With a slight tug at the book, the path to the safe opened.

He inhaled a deep breath and reached his hand inside. He grabbed the papers that came in contact with his hands and took them out.

As Qin Zehan glanced at the papers he had taken out from his father’s safe, his brows tugged together at the words that greeted his vision.

’DNA Test Report’

As Qin Zehan read further, his eyes dilated.

’Probability of paternity: 99.9998%’

’Alleged father: Qin Zehan’

’Child...’

’’Maxim... Warner?" Qin Zehan breathed in disbelief and stepped back as he grasped the edge of the table for support.

He flipped the pages in his hand, his eyes roaming across every line till he remembered every word, every number mentioned in the report by heart.

’Ding’

Heart thudding in his chest, Qin Zehan took out his phone to check the notification that he received.

It was a text from his secretary.

’President, here is the picture of the lady. During my investigation, I found out that you have encountered her once during your visit to Avalon in the past.’

As if it was even possible, Qin Zehan heard his heart racing even faster in his ears.

Warner.

Hazel Warner.

As the picture was loading, all he could think of was that beautiful woman. The craziest incident of his life and the first time he had ever let go of his inhibitions around someone... And probably the last time as well.

The moment the picture appeared on his phone, Qin Zehan inhaled a shaky breath.

He clasped his fingers over the DNA reports that he was holding in his hand.

Thrusting his phone back inside his pocket, he stood up and walked out of the studies.

...

In Hazel’s villa.

Hazel sat sprawled on the swing in the terrace swinging back and forth as she held a magazine in her hand.

After a moment of trying to read it properly, she got tired and placed it back on the table.

With Logan’s departure, the villa felt bigger than ever. Logan was not a talkative person but his presence usually filled the house.

And before Logan, Ivy, and Maxim would sometimes take time to visit her and stay over at times. But with the arrival of Angel and Diana, both of them had no leisure left.

Recently, Maxim sent her a text that he was going to Beijing, without any explanation. And Hazel knew him enough to understand that Maxim would not do something all of a sudden without any rhyme or reason. There must be some reason behind it.

’’Things I have to do to get my daughter-in-law,’’ Hazel sighed and picked up her phone, scrolling through Tinder, ’’It is high time I go on a date to get rid of this loneliness,’’ she sighed again.

’’Madam, you have a visitor.’’

Hazel looked up at the man who stood at the entrance of the terrace.

He was one of the bodyguards who were arranged by Ryle and Maxim to protect her after she told Maxim about the whole incident regarding his father.

As much as she believed that she did not need protection, it helped her sleep better with these arrangements. Because of the way she had beaten up Maxim’s biological father before leaving the crime scene, any man would take offense. God forbid if he became infertile or something after that then he should be holding a bad grudge against her and looking for a chance to avenge himself.

Hazel felt like it was still better to be safe than sorry.

’’Who is it?"

’’It’s the manager of the Chanel store that you visited the last time,’’ The bodyguard responded stoically, ’’They said one of the products that you paid for was not packed. They tried contacting the number you gave them but it was not reachable. So, they made sure to come here to deliver the thing along with some other products as compensation,’’ the man relayed the message word by word.

Hazel frowned, ’’Usually, they are not that careless,’’ Logan was the one who completed the billing procedures so it must be his number they were talking about and he should be on a flight, making his phone unreachable, ’’Let them in.’’

Within a few minutes, the man escorted the manager and his staff members to the terrace.

’’Ask the Chef to make preparations,’’ Hazel whispered to the bodyguard before she turned towards her guests.

There were four of them and she remembered seeing them at the store that day.

The manager filled the coffee table with various bags, ’’Miss Warner, our sincerest apologies for not being able to serve you properly that day...’’

’’It’s okay. You did not have to do this.’’

Noticing that nothing was amiss, the bodyguard turned around and left.

For some reason, Hazel could not help but feel a gaze on her.

She tilted her head and looked at the man who was sitting in the cornermost seat, with a cap on his head and a mask that covered half of his face.

There were three of the staff members that the manager brought with him, Two of them were girls whom Hazel remembered seeing the day she went shopping.

As for the other man, somehow his gaze made her wary, ’’He is..?"

The manager’s expression turned flustered, ’’M-Miss Warner, he...’’

Hazel pushed herself to her feet and grabbed her phone and a familiar signet ring greeted her vision. Somehow, she felt like it was not the first time she had seen it yet she could not remember where she had seen it before.