淑女的欲望

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask about our family?" Noah asked, his tone tinged with a hint of shame.

"I'm not sure," Scarlett replied, hesitating momentarily before continuing. "Honestly, I'm mainly interested in seeing you and Salvatore Withers. I came here to find out if I'm related to the Withers family and why my mother left her family."

Noah's expression softened as he looked at Scarlett. "I understand," he said. "And I'm sorry for the messiness of our family. Truth be told, I cut ties with them a while ago."

Scarlett nodded, understanding his sentiment. "I have no interest in getting involved with the Withers family, though. I just want to know if there's any blood relation between us."

Noah nodded, a trace of sadness in his eyes. "And you already got what you want, right?"

"Yes, actually, I did a DNA test a few days ago," Scarlett said, her chest feeling tight as she spoke. "I took a sample of Dax's hair, and it turns out I'm related to the Withers family. Rosalie Withers is my mother!"

Noah's eyes widened in shock. But his surprise was not about the DNA. He said,  "What? Did you meet Dax? Where? When?"

"No, Uncle, don't worry," Scarlett assured him, sensing his concern. "I had someone retrieve the sample for me. I didn't meet him."

Noah let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. But please, don't friend them, let alone interfere with their affairs."

Scarlett nodded, understanding his concern. "I won't," she said firmly. "I have no interest in getting involved with them."

"Do you already know about your mother?" Noah asked.

"Yes, I have a better understanding now after your explanation. But something still troubles me. Can you tell me more about why my mother fled and why her grandfather wanted her dead?" She wanted to hear firsthand why her mother had to flee to Astington and hide there under a new identity.

There was a brief pause before Noah spoke. "It's all connected to your mother's final mission," he said gravely.

"Final mission?" Scarlett leaned in, her curiosity piqued. She was eager to learn more about her mother's past.

"As a final test, Victor Withers sent Rosalie to Country M to kill someone..." Noah explained. He recounted everything he knew about Rosalie's last mission, which had been a living nightmare for her and led her to flee.

Scarlett listened in shock, her body going cold as she absorbed the information. She felt like the blood in her veins had stopped circulating.

"How could he be so cruel to his granddaughter?" she exclaimed, her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white and her nails dug into her palms. She was fuming!

Noah took a deep breath. "Please calm down, Scarlett. It's all in the past now. Victor Withers has been dead for a long time. At the end of his life, he asked to see me and apologized for what he did to Rosalie," he said, his voice shaking with suppressed emotion.

After a moment, Noah regained his composure and continued, "But I could never forgive him. Because of his actions, my little sister has been forced to run and hide all these years. I've lost contact with her too."

Scarlett was left speechless, unable to find the words to express her feelings. But deep down, she held a deep grudge against her great-grandfather, even though she had never met him.

She silently agreed with her uncle that Victor Withers did not deserve forgiveness. He had been genuinely evil, causing so much suffering for his family. She hoped that he would be punished in the afterlife for his actions.

...

As they finished discussing her mother's last mission, another thought kept bothering Scarlett. "Country M," she muttered under her breath. The mere mention of the name brought back memories of her past.

She remembered her mother's warning to Jonathan Piers to never let her come to that country and how her mother's last mission had also occurred there. To make matters worse, her archenemy, the crazy Theodor, was also from that same country. It seemed like her fate was inextricably linked to Country M.

Noah noticed Scarlett's change in demeanor and asked, "Is something else bothering you, Scarlett?"

Scarlett sighed and replied, "It's just that Country M seems to be the center of all the mysteries surrounding my family and my past. I can't help but feel that I need to go there to find out the truth."

Noah Withers seemed lost in his thoughts, his face showing mixed emotions. Scarlett wondered if he knew something about Country M that he wasn't willing to share.

"What's with Country M?" Scarlett asked, the question burning in her mind.

But her brows furrowed as she considered the possibilities, and her blood ran cold. What she was thinking right now made her heart tremble. 

Glancing over at her uncle, she noticed he was lost in thought and wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

"Uncle," Scarlett called him in a slightly trembling voice. "Did my mother ever tell you about my biological father?" 

Noah was taken aback by Scarlett's question. He immediately answered her, "Rosalie never told me. But, as you know, it was her last mission in that country, and she failed it. The reason why she failed, no one knows. Even when I asked her, she refused to tell me..."

Scarlett's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"She just told me she was pregnant and warned me never to tell anyone about it, as if she wanted to keep your whereabouts a secret." Noah continued his words.

Scarlett took a deep breath.

"I see," she said, feeling frustrated and sad. "I was hoping maybe she had confided in someone about who my biological father is..."

Noah felt sad seeing the disappointment in Scarlett's eyes, "Sorry, Scarlett, I can't give you any information about who your father is..."

Scarlett looked up at her uncle, grateful for his understanding. "It feels like so many secrets and mysteries surround my mother and my past. I don't know where to start or who to trust."

The more Scarlett tried to uncover the truth, the more overwhelming it became.