Chapter 282: Silas Becomes Carter’s Nephew

Lately, the news keeps getting more shocking. Hearing that Silas was a Polton hit me as hard as if someone told me Anna was my real sister. Astounded, I stammered, “How could that be? Are you sure? Could someone have tampered with the results?”

I always thought Silas was ruthless by nature, that his cold-heartedness was inherited. His father could be a criminal or a devil. There was no way someone so merciless could kill, right? But now, they were telling me Silas was a Bolton? That was absurd.

“Impossible! I conducted a DNA test to confirm this, and it revealed he is my blood relative.”

“Could he be a lost child from one of the branches?”

“No, he’s from our direct family line.”

I was even more confused. “If he’s not from a branch, could he be Adam’s illegitimate son? Did he have other women besides Sheila?”

Carter frowned, and I couldn’t shake the feeling he was hiding something. Maybe these were the Boltons’ secrets, the kind of dark things every big family seems to have. Just like Carter himself, who was the product of an affair. I took his hand and whispered, “Carter, is there something even I’m not allowed to know?”

Carter looked at me, as if struggling. “It’s related to something shameful within the family.”

“Tell me about it.”

He revealed, “Actually, Adam has a twin brother.”

“I’ve been dealing with the Boltons since I was eight, but I’ve never heard of him?” I asked, utterly confused. Not only had I never seen him, but Luke and Jeffrey had never mentioned him either.

“Because he’s already dead.”

I asked, “How could a dead person have a son?”

“This is serious. There are only two possibilities.” Carter seemed reluctant to talk more about Oliver Bolton, clearly wanting to brush off the topic.

“What are they?”

First, Uncle Oliver isn’t dead and fathered Silas. Second, Silas is Adam’s son, not Luke’s.

I was stunned. “You can’t be serious. Are you saying Silas could be Adam’s illegitimate son?”

Carter clarified, “I know Adam well. He’s always been devoted to his relationships. If he wasn’t, Esther wouldn’t have been depressed for years. After Esther died, he immediately brought Sheila home. He wouldn’t have an illegitimate son.”

“But your theory is too far-fetched. Luke and Adam look so much alike.”

Carter looked at me, his eyes dark. “Chloe, I told you, he has a twin brother. You can’t judge by looks alone.”

“So you’re worried that…”

“Uncle Oliver could be alive. He might have swapped Adam’s son to get revenge on the Boltons.”

It made sense that Carter would suspect this. The other side feared Silas might expose secrets, so they drugged him, using him as a mere tool. But if Oliver was pulling the strings, how could he do this to his own son? That made the possibility of Silas being Adam’s son even more likely. If all this were true, then Silas had to be Carter’s nephew.

Right now, Silas was barely hanging on, and we were responsible for that. He was the murderer who took my life. This was a total mess; I could barely make sense of it. Carter stood in the middle of it all, clearly troubled. And if Oliver was really alive, it meant they wanted the Sanders dead, and they wanted the Boltons to suffer too. That explained why Anna had spent years scheming to get close to Luke. From the beginning, their ultimate goal was the Boltons.

“Carter, don’t overthink it. Maybe Adam and Silas should do another paternity test. Oh, and include Luke in the test too.”

“Alright.” I could understand Carter’s complicated feelings. “This is the grudge of the elder generation. It’s not your fight; you don’t need to get involved.” He had been abroad for years, never involved in the Boltons’ affairs. If it hadn’t been for my disappearance, maybe he would have already left. But whether we liked it or not, we were already drawn into this mess.

“Alright, let’s set everything else aside. You need to eat something. Don’t go hungry.” I gently tried to calm him. This, I thought, was the meaning of love. He comforted me when I was upset. Now it was my turn to care for him.

“Mm.” He moved his fork but seemed to have no appetite. I pretended to be angry. “I made this myself; you have to finish it!”

He smiled helplessly, reaching out to pat my head. “Alright, I’ll finish everything.”

I hugged his neck and nuzzled his cheek. “Carter, you’re not alone anymore. You have me. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

After a bit of coaxing, he obediently finished the food and then rushed off to get the paternity test done with Adam. Once he delivered the instructions, he made his way to Jeffrey’s study. I was incredibly curious about Oliver. But even though we were married, there should still be boundaries. He didn’t want me to know, and I wasn’t about to push.

My mind was a mess. While trimming the flowers, I nearly cut my hand.

“Hey! Why are you being so careless?” Luke chided, looking at me. “I’ve been watching you for a while. You’ve been distracted. What are you thinking about?”

I hesitated to answer. What if Silas wasn’t Adam’s son?

“Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?” He touched his face.

“No.” I didn’t tell him the truth. After all, the results hadn’t come in yet. Everything was still up in the air.

He noticed the atmosphere around the Boltons had changed. “Uncle Carter has been in the study for over an hour. Is something wrong?”

“Why do you care?” I snapped, irritated.

“Did you two have a fight?” he asked eagerly, looking a little too excited.

I rolled my eyes and said, “That’s none of your business. You focus on your treatment and stop worrying about other things.”

As I was speaking, Carter rolled out in his wheelchair, and I rushed to meet him. Jeffrey was still in the study, the door ajar. I glanced at him. He was standing by the window with his cane, his back turned, and I could feel the loneliness radiating from him.

Carter shot Luke a glance and said, “Your grandfather’s in a foul mood. If you have time, go play chess with him.”

“Got it.” Carter’s gaze swept across us, almost as if he was hoping to see an argument between me and him. This guy was clueless, completely unaware of the danger closing in on him and still fixated on family dramas. Was this part of Oliver’s plan? What role did Luke play in it? If he was Oliver’s son, could his kidney failure and early-stage stomach cancer all be coincidences? There were too many things that didn’t add up. I was so lost in my thoughts, my brain nearly fried from trying to figure it all out.