Chapter 401

"Yes, you're not my biological daughter," Jack said. "This all stems from a mistake your mother made years ago." My heart felt as if it had plunged into an ice-cold abyss, numb and unbearable. The bond I had once believed unbreakable now seemed fragile, so easily shattered in this moment. I shook my head. I tried to wake up from this sudden nightmare. But the reality was cruel. I had no escape. "Why… why are you telling me this?" I choked on my words. My eyes were brimming with tears that refused to fall. Jack sighed. A flicker of faint tenderness crossed his face. "Because you have the right to know the truth. And I hope you can understand that my harshness and coldness over the years weren't entirely out of malice. I just couldn't accept the reality." I closed my eyes. The tears fell and soaked my clothes. I had never imagined that my origins hid such a shocking secret. I felt a deep sense of confusion and loneliness, as though the world had forsaken me. Yet, in the d