CHAPTER 416

Martin was in a daze after reading the paternity test. "Is Andrew my biological brother? Who is he? Besides, erm… I don't have an older brother. I only have two older sisters and one younger brother…"

"What did you say?" Madeline asked in surprise. "Do you know who your family is?"

Sebastian was also a little surprised. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

When he had his people investigate Martin, there was no information about the latter before he met Madeline.

Martin's previous incident was difficult to investigate because it was unnecessary, so his subordinates omitted it.

He didn't expect that Martin actually knew who his family was.

Pursing his lips, Martin could feel his face turn pallid.

"I know who my parents are and where my home is, but I don't want to go home, so I never told you… Please don't blame me for not telling you, Madeline…" His voice gradually softened, and his tone was filled with anxiety.

Madeline felt heartbroken and sat beside him while gently patting his back. "It's okay. Don't be afraid. I won't blame you."

He must have lived a miserable life back home. Otherwise, why would he want to leave his home and wander on the streets?

She then asked him, "Do your parents mistreat you? Is that why you ran away?"

"Yeah. They treated me badly," Martin answered softly with his head lowered. "When I was at home, I was often framed... I was framed for stealing, cursing, and breaking things in my house… I was also frequently beaten, punished, and locked in a small, dark room… People who knew me also called me a naughty child… Once, I was locked in the basement for the whole day until I was starving. I thought I would die in that house if I went on like that, so after my dad let me out, I decided to run away from home…"

Madeline was too stunned to speak.

Martin's life was worse than what she experienced in the Taylor family.

However, she was merely living in another household, while Martin stayed with his family. How could something like that still happen?

She couldn't help looking at Sebastian, inquiring, "Do you think Martin's parents knew that he wasn't their biological son? Otherwise, why would they treat him like that?"

Which parent would be willing to treat their son like this?

If she hadn't seen the DNA test, Madeline might wonder why Martin's parents were so cruel to him after knowing what happened to Martin.

After seeing the DNA test report, she had a clear answer in her mind. Martin's parents must have

known that he wasn't their biological son. That was why they treated him so ruthlessly.

Sebastian nodded in agreement. "That's possible."

"Is that so?" Martin's hand trembled slightly while holding the DNA report.

He never understood why his parents were patient and gentle with his two older sisters but were ruthless with dislike toward him.

Things that didn't belong to him often appeared in his room, and when his mother found out about it, he became a thief inexplicably. He was punished by kneeling, beaten with a belt, locked in a small dark room, and forbidden to eat.

Every once in a while, he would get framed, so he gradually became a famous thief in his community. Every time he came out of the house, a group of children would throw stones at him and scold him for being a thief and a naughty child.

His father thought that he had ruined the family's reputation and blamed him for being a disgrace, so when he became furious, he would use Martin as a punching bag and would beat him with anything he could pick up.

Therefore, he was often covered with new wounds and old wounds all over his body. He couldn't go about a month without any injuries on his body, so he thought he could no longer survive in that household and decided to leave them.

After all these years, he still couldn't figure out why he was not likable, why he became a thief for no reason after he did nothing, but now, he realized that it was all because he was not his parents'

biological son.

What happened back then?

Why did he grow up with his adoptive parents?

Why did his biological parents abandon him?

Lowering his head, he clutched the DNA report tightly, feeling his heart floating around as he couldn't fathom if he was feeling desperate or distressed.

"It's okay. You don't have to be scared or sad." Madeline patted his arm to reassure him. "Sebastian and I will be by your side. Besides, you're all grown up now. You don't need your parents' consent anymore. No matter what the truth is, only you can choose how you want to live your life, and if you want to, you can even live a better life than anyone else."

After hearing that, Martin was eager to hug Madeline.

If it wasn't for her, he would've died long ago.

She was the one who gave him hope to live and taught him that life didn't only have coldness and misery, but also warmth and sweetness.

All his warm and beautiful memories were given to him by Madeline. It was she who taught him how wonderful it was to be alive.

If she did not exist, he would have rather died.

However, Sebastian was currently sitting next to her. Although his brother-in-law seemed to be a friendly guy, for some reason, he felt nervous when he saw him, and an instinct similar to that of a beast restrained him from hugging his sister. His instinct told him that if he got too close to her, his brother-in-law would be unhappy.

He was already an adult now and was aware of many things. For example, he knew that he must please his brother-in-law in order to stay in this family for a long time and be a family with his sister for a lifetime.

His sister already liked him, so he didn't have to bother to please his sister. Now and in the future, he would only have to use all his might to please his brother-in-law.

Just as his thoughts ran wild, Andrew and his parents arrived.

As soon as they entered the door, the eyes of the family of three all fell on Martin's face.

Seeing a young and childlike face that resembled Andrew's, Andrew's mother covered her mouth with tears in her eyes and shook her head vigorously. "How can this happen? How can this happen?"

Sebastian took the DNA report from Martin's hands and handed it to Aidan, saying, "Aidan, here's the DNA report. It happened so suddenly, so I did it without your permission. I hope you don't mind."

Although Sebastian was a generation older than Aidan, the latter was much older than him, so Sebastian called him by name anyway.

Aidan took the DNA test with trembling fingers. "Don't worry about it, Seb. If this is true, our family

should thank you for your efforts. If not for you, we wouldn't have known the truth. Besides, Andrew agreed to it, and he represents our family, so don't stress over it."

Sebastian smiled in response. "Sure. Thanks, Aidan."

After all, this was the Whitfield Family's matter. He stepped in without their permission, so he thought he should apologize to express his sincerity.

After Aidan checked the DNA report, he passed it to his wife.

His wife started trembling after reading it. "How could this be? My son…"