Bride behind the mask novel (Marguerite)

Miley's voice carried an edge of urgency that Marguerite couldn't ignore.

She hastily ended the call and turned to Teresa, who was engrossed in her drawing, "Keep at it, kiddo. I'll check on your masterpiece when I get back."

With no time to waste, Marguerite rushed out of the room.

Teresa, barely containing her excitement, mentally cheered, "Yes!" She quickly took down a photo of Maurice and darted to Frederick's room to find one of his snapshots. Then, she hunkered down, dedicating herself to her artistic endeavor.

Half an hour later, Miley, with Marguerite in tow, raced into The Atlas Private Hospital's parking lot and made a beeline for the hospital's Forensic Identification Center.

Simultaneously, the Hackett couple, along with Yuna, and the Ablett couple converged on the center's entrance from different directions.

They met at the door, a flurry of confusion and concern swirling around them.

Marguerite was bewildered, but Zoe, upon seeing Yuna, rushed over for a thorough once-over.

"Yuna! Weren't you in a car accident? Your brother said you were bleeding out, and your dad and I..."

Zoe caught herself mid-sentence, her eyes darting to Hackett's equally worried face, and she quickly corrected herself.

"I mean, your foster father and I rushed over as soon as we heard."

Yuna blinked in confusion. "I wasn't in any accident?"

Penelope's brow furrowed in bewilderment, "Was it Frederick who called you all here?"

Zoe's face was a map of wrinkles as she nodded vigorously.

Penelope then turned to Marguerite and Miley, questioning, "And you two? Did Frederick summon you as well?" Marguerite, still clueless, looked to Miley, unsure of what to say.

Miley, however, twirled her eyes mischievously and grinned, "Yes, Robert asked me to bring Marguerite over."

For a moment, Penelope was utterly lost, "How peculiar. Frederick called us, he said Robert was in an accident. But from what you're saying, he's obviously fine. Yuna's been with me at the office all day; she couldn't possibly be in any danger. What in the world is going on?"

Hackett, having put two and two together, let out a cold snort of realization that resonated through the corridor, "Can't you see? We've been duped by that boy's antics! What kind of nonsense is he playing at now?

Ridiculous! Look around, what does this place do? It's a Forensic Identification Center, for Pete's sake! Where paternity tests are done! Can't you see what the boy is up to?

I must have lost my senses to have believed him!!"

Penelope and Hackett had rushed to the hospital, panicked by Frederick's call about Robert's supposed accident in the surgery room on the fourth floor. They didn't realize they were heading to the department that could shatter their family's foundations.

Hackett, connecting the dots with Robert's recent behavior, had a sinking feeling about what the boy was planning today!

The Abletts, hearing Hackett's outburst, quickly came to the same grim realization.

If a paternity test was the goal, why call Marguerite as well? Could it be that they wanted to test the paternity between Hackett and Marguerite too?