Filed To Story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel
Bitterness crept into Connor as it would stave off his guilt if Ellen had that money to sustain her life.
Early in the morning, Ellen woke up to receive a notice from the human resource department. She was granted a three-day leave, but she thought it was strange because she did not apply for it.
While questions sprouted in her mind, she had another incoming call from the lawyer Jared introduced her to.
“Miss Reiss, are you available today? We can apply for the adoption certificate.”
“Yes, I am,” she quickly replied.
“Okay. I’ll be on my way to pick you up.”
She had packed up the necessary documents, hoping that they would be of help. Later, a black SUV parked in front of her, and a middle-aged man escorted her into the car. The sheer look of his neat suit was enough to tell that he was someone elite. His name was Burton Yarrow, and she addressed him as Mr. Yarrow. She narrated the whole story while they were on their way.
“Don’t worry, Miss Reiss. It’s not that difficult.”
“But I asked the authority, and they said it won’t be easy.”
“It’s okay. Just leave it to me.” Burton’s voice was as gentle as the spring breeze to Ellen. She figured that it was all thanks to Jared, whose friend was equally capable as he was.
Unbeknownst to her, Burton did not accept her case because of a friend’s request. It was an order from his boss, so how could he possibly not do as he was told? Not only was a failure not accepted, but he also had to treat her gently.
He could not understand how Jared came to know a poor girl. Although Ellen was a looker, they would not have had reasons to know each other.
Yet, his only duty was to win the case; he had no right to butt in their business.
“Please come with me, Miss Reiss. I will need your signature or fingerprint later.”
With the prepared materials, Ellen followed him into an office, while Burton brought along some materials obtained from other means. Compared to her documents, they were more legally susceptible. The authorized person asked his assistant to fill out a document right after he perused them.
She filled up the document and inked her fingerprint on it accordingly. So, is this it?
As expected, she soon received a newly printed adoption certificate.
“Keep it. If you lose it by chance, you can reapply for another one. Now, I’ll accompany you to the demolition contractor to proceed with the demolition payment.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Yarrow. I can’t be any more grateful to you.”
“You don’t have to. Instead, Mr. Presgrave—”
Ellen was surprised when Burton mentioned that very person. “Aren’t you Mr. Tillman’s friend?”
Burton soon comprehended the situation and quickly corrected it. “Yes, yes. Mr. Tillman is the one you should thank. He asked for my help, but it was just a trivial matter to me. It’s nothing big.”
She nodded. “I will thank him.”
She received the demolition payment, which was worth about a million dollars. Her mind went blank the moment she comprehended the amount. Was it always this much?
“Congratulations, Miss Reiss. You’ll be able to live a better life with this money.”
“Thanks. I didn’t expect myself to have the privilege to enjoy such a fortune either.” Never in her wildest dream had she expected herself to be this lucky. Nonetheless, her heart still ached at the fact that Jessica passed away before the house was demolished. Otherwise, Ellen could have taken the chance to take her on a trip elsewhere.
Burton left after driving her home. She sat in the living room and stared at her online bank statement, which baffled her into speechlessness.
At that moment, her phone rang because of a call from Garrett, whom she did not have the nerve to leave hanging.
“Hey, Uncle Garrett.”
“Got the money yet?” It was an authoritative tone.
“Yeah.” She did not lie to him.
“What? For real? How much is it?” He was all excited about the idea to split the money.
“I have an adoption certificate, so I have the right to inherit the fortune. Sorry, Uncle Garrett.” She mustered a lot of courage to level with him.
“What?! Are you not going to share it? Ellen Reiss, you greedy brat! You can’t spend all of it on your own! I don’t care. You must split it among us.” The adoption certificate did not mean a thing to the persistent Garrett.
“Uncle Garrett, I’m the rightful heiress by the law. So… The money belongs to me.” She attempted to reason with him.
However, it enraged him. “And who exactly are you, Ellen Reiss? Don’t blame us for doing this to you. If you don’t do as we say, you’ll never get away from us.”
Tears of grievance wet her eyes, but she fought them back. “I’m truly sorry, Uncle Garrett.”
Subsequently, she ended the call. He spammed her with multiple calls thereafter, but she did not wish to answer them. Other relatives dialed her number in ones and twos, so she simply switched off her phone.
Knowing that they would fly to her place, Ellen decided to crash at someone’s place for the night to avoid them.
At the same time, Olivia received a call from Garrett. “Hey, Gary.”
“She’s ridiculous, Olivia. Ellen Reiss, that brat, got the money and doesn’t have the intention to share! She even mentioned having an adoption certificate.”
“How did she get that?”
“I don’t care how the hell she got it! I estimated the house price in that area and bet she has about a million. That brat is trying to hog everything!” Ire prevailed over his reasons. It was as if the money belonged to them.
Even Olivia could not help the jealousy. Although it was not a large sum to her, she rendered it ‘too much’ for Ellen, hence the need to split it up.
“You should be nicer to her. I bet she’ll split it among you guys,” she encouraged.
Garrett and his family did not intend to give in just like that. If they claimed their share, each of them would at least have a hundred thousand!
Meanwhile, Olivia tried to give Ellen a call, only to realize that the girl had turned her phone off. That’s weird. Where did she get herself an adoption certificate? Connor asked around, and they said it’s difficult to apply for one.
By then, Ellen was already hiding out at a hotel. When she recalled Lilac and her family’s attitude, anxiety and terror overcame her, for she never knew that her relationship with them would end up so ferocious.
While lying in bed, she grabbed her phone and suddenly remembered she had to thank someone, so she found Jared’s number and typed out her gratitude in text.
‘Mr. Tillman, thank you for helping me with such a huge favor. It’s thanks to you that I got back the compensation funds. Next time, I’ll treat you to a good meal.’