Chapter 454: His Warm Breath Brushing Against Her Ear

"Elena, I've found information about the Hale family," Adrian whispered, his warm breath brushing against her ear.

Elena's fingers trembled slightly.

"Are they... doing alright?"

She had never resented the woman who had given her life at the cost of her own. Her sister had told her that Julia Hale had chosen to save the baby without hesitation on the delivery bed. That selfless maternal love had left Elena with an inexplicable longing for the Hale family, whom she had never met.

"After the Hale family was rehabilitated, the eldest son, Victor Hale, was transferred to the capital. The second son, Simon Hale, remained in the healthcare system of Northland City," Adrian said, flipping through the investigation documents. "The elderly couple lives with their eldest son and never returned to the capital."

Elena clenched the hem of her shirt. The whole family was reunited, but no one had ever searched for the daughter who had passed away so young?

"It seems... they're doing well," she said, her voice tight. All these years, had no one ever wanted to find out what happened to Julia Hale? Or did they simply not want to acknowledge her?

"Why look into the Hale family now?" Adrian noticed the shift in her mood.

Elena smiled bitterly. "Julia Hale might be my birth mother." She paused. "As for my birth father... you'd never guess."

"Victor Hale?" Adrian raised an eyebrow. He'd found that phone call suspicious.

"Must you always be so sharp?" Elena glared at him but couldn't help laughing.

"Classic melodrama," Adrian muttered coldly. The thought of what Nolan Hale had done to Elena made his eyes darken. He knew exactly what had become of that man.

Elena gazed out the window as a light rain began to fall in the twilight. The Hale family's story might be far more complicated than she'd imagined.