Chapter 390

Siena's lips curled up a bit as she gave Seb a soft look but didn't say a word.

Seb was just lying there, all chill. "Mom, who's my dad?"

This was Seb's big hang-up.

No matter who he was with, Seb always tried to keep this on the down-low. Now, he wanted the real deal. Once he knew, he could move on.

Siena reached out, her fingers lightly brushing Seb's cheek. "Seb, you're my son. That's what matters."

Seb's brow furrowed. "But who's my dad?"

Like Siena had a clue. She dodged the question, "That doesn't matter."

"No way." Seb sat up, suddenly all fired up. "It matters to me! Mom, spill it. Who's my dad? Did you really cheat on Charles?"

Siena was a bit thrown but quickly tried to calm Seb down, "Seb, that's ancient history. Let's drop it, okay?"

"No!" Seb grabbed Siena's wrist out of nowhere. He stood up, the thin blanket slipping to the floor. He stared at Siena with a wild look in his eyes. "Tell me the truth. I deserve to know!"

Seb's grip was strong, his expression kinda scary. The veins in his eyes, which had calmed down, now popped out again, more intense and freaky than before.

"How would I know who your dad is..." Siena blurted out without thinking.

Seb froze, shocked. "What did you just say?"

"Seb, it doesn't matter!" Siena quickly backtracked, but her freaked-out look gave her away.

Seb wasn't buying it. He looked around the room, suspicion growing.

Seeing this, Siena reached into her pocket for a syringe; while Seb was distracted, she quickly jabbed it into his arm.

A sharp pain hit, and with a quick slap, Seb knocked the syringe away and smacked Siena across the face.

Siena stumbled and hit the cabinet with a dull thud.

Bradley burst into the room, locking eyes with Seb. "Mr. Landon."

Seb suddenly realized it was all a setup. He turned to leave, but his tall frame wobbled. The injection Siena gave him kicked in, and Seb collapsed to the floor, out cold.

Bradley shut the door and rushed over, grilling Siena, "What happened?"

Siena shook her head. "I don't know. He figured out we were playing him!"

Bradley glared at her. He bent down, lifted Seb off the floor, and put him back on the recliner.

During this, Siena got her act together. Standing by the recliner, she looked at the sleeping Seb, feeling a bit freaked out. "What now? He knows the truth, he won't keep up the treatment. Will I never see him again?"

"Shut up!" Bradley snapped, losing his cool.

He should be the one worried! His treatment was working. It was Siena's lousy acting that almost wrecked his research! Whether Siena saw him again didn't matter. If his research succeeded, it would be a game-changer worldwide!

"Dr. Vaughn, you have to do something!" Siena couldn't stay quiet for more than ten seconds before speaking up again.

Bradley stormed to the door, opened it, and said coldly, "Get out!"

Siena called, "Dr. Vaughn."

"Get out!" Bradley had had enough.

He had zero respect for someone as clueless as Siena. If Quentin hadn't told him to and if she hadn't been somewhat useful in Seb's treatment, he would've never used someone like Siena!

Siena didn't want to leave, but seeing Bradley's face, she didn't dare stick around. After hesitating for a sec, she bailed.

Bradley locked the door and quickly lit up two incense sticks. He was gearing up for a deeper hypnosis session on Seb.

The next morning.

When Isabella woke up, she found the bed empty. Seb was MIA.

She got up and looked around the bedroom but found no sign that Seb had come back.

Isabella frowned. Did Seb not come home last night?

Confused, Isabella went downstairs. She smelled food as she got closer to the kitchen.

Nina was just bringing out breakfast. "You're up? Perfect timing, wash your hands and eat."

Isabella was about to head to the dining room when the doorbell rang.

She opened the door to find a delivery guy. "Is Isabella here? Got a package for her."

"That's me." Isabella's eyes lit up when she saw the package. She signed for it and brought the box inside.

She didn't even bother with breakfast and started tearing open the package in the living room.

Nina walked over. "What are you opening?"

Isabella didn't answer. She opened the box and took out the items one by one, placing them on the table.

Nina's eyes widened when she saw the stuff. "What are these?"

Isabella said, "Look familiar? These are all the perfumes listed on that sheet on your desk."

Nina sat down and picked up a bottle to check it out, then asked Isabella, "How'd you know I was looking into this?"

"I didn't. Just a lucky guess." Isabella said, "Looks like I guessed right. Why are you suddenly into these? Planning to start a perfume line?"

Nina shook her head. "I don't have that kind of skill."

Nina held the perfume box, turning it over to check the ingredients. "Ever since we had that fallout with Harmony Jewelry, I've been getting targeted. I dug around and found out it was mostly Mrs. Nelson's doing. Vilma from Harmony Jewelry is her niece."

Isabella said, "Yeah, I know that. Got a plan?"

Nina said, "To fix this, we need to hit the root cause. People who know Ophelia say she doesn't like to meddle and is pretty chill. So why's she gunning for us? When I met her, I noticed a weird smell on her. Then I had someone find out what perfume she uses."

"And then?" Isabella was all ears.

Nina said, "Isn't it weird? Perfume's supposed to cover up smells. Who uses such strong perfume and still can't cover up the stink? How bad must she reek?"

Isabella remembered what Kelsey had said. She said, "I heard this kind of perfume is fine for normal folks. But for those with body odor, it makes things worse. Long-term use can even mess up your sense of smell and cause permanent body odor. I remember when I first met Ophelia, she didn't have that smell. But the last time I saw her, I did notice it. Even if she can't smell it herself, wouldn't someone tell her? Even if outsiders are too shy to say anything, Nathaniel would, right?"

Nina's expression grew more thoughtful. "Do you know who designed this brand of perfume?"

Isabella asked, "Who?"

Nina answered, "Vilma."