Chapter 248
Padgett waited for Claire to come over on her own, and she did without a hint of
nerves.
She held out the tea with both hands. Padgett glanced at it with little interest.
“Not bad. Good tea p>
It actually was great tea. Claire had spent a small fortune on it, worried that anything less would fall short of Padgett’s standards.
But he clearly didn’t care about the tea. He set the box aside and focused on Claire. “You really do look like Melissa p>
Claire didn’t argue. She knew she and Melissa had a certain resemblance.
“But you look even more like Agassi p>
Claire caught the meaning right away. Padgett wasn’t a fan of her biological dad.
Well, who could blame him? The guy had run off with his precious daughter, his beloved Melissa.
Honestly, it was lucky Padgett hadn’t come after Agassi himself, so of course there were no warm feelings there.
“I’ve never met either of them,” Claire said.
She smiled, cheerful and relaxed, not offended at all. “If you say I look like them, then I must have gotten the best from both my parents p>
Padgett looked impressed. “You’re pretty smooth p>
“That’s just like your mother p>
Padgett’s gaze softened, lost in a memory. Melissa had always known how to lighten the mood. If he ever got truly angry, she was the only one who could calm him down.
“Like mother, like daughter,” Claire replied, almost teasing.
Padgett let out a little laugh. “Interesting. You’re definitely one of us, a true Churchill p>
He slid a carved wooden box her way. “This is for you, your welcome gift p>
Claire didn’t even need to look inside to know it was something valuable.
She hesitated, not reaching for it yet. “Is that it? I’m in, just like that? Don’t you want a DNA test or something p>
Padgett gave a short laugh. “No one would dare try to trick me p>
As soon as he heard about Claire, he’d had her background checked out overnight.
By this morning, every detail of her life from birth to now was sitting on his desk.
He’d followed the trail through Pandora and learned about Agassi.
The people back in James Village only knew Agassi’s wife as Melissa, never realizing was
izing her maiden
Churchill Content ape limet
belongs to
But Pandora knew exactly who Melissa was.
All these years, with her son and daughter-in-law missing, Pandora had never tried to find them, and just quietly accepted the story that they’d died in an accident. fo
There was definitely more to Pandora than met the eye.
And the James family? They had secrets, too.
Padgett realized he’d been too quick
shoss Agassi back then. He have looked into the Janet
family firs
Now he suspected that Melissa’s disappearance was connected to James family business.
Did they have enemies? Why else would Pandora hide the truth?
The story about the hospital mixing up babies was just too suspicious.
He hadn’t had time for a deeper investigation yet, but he refused to believe it was just a simple mistake.
“You’re right,” Claire said agreeably.
She trusted Pandora, and the address she’d given her was definitely the Churchill estate.
Padgett nudged the box closer. “Well, aren’t you going to take your gift p>
Ophelia spoke up, “Go on, Claire. Padgett isn’t usually so generous p>
“I bet whatever he’s giving you now, he meant to give your mother back in the day. Don’t feel bad about it p>
“Ophelia’s right,” Padgett agreed, clearly pleased.
Owen joined in, “Come on, Claire. Take it p>
In the Churchill family, all the kids had company shares. Whatever Padgett gave
Claire, nobody else would be jealous.
Everyone would just see it as what she deserved.