Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Chapter 142

After leaving the Blackwell Group, Hackett headed straight home, driving much faster than usual. He

really wanted to see how much the child his father mentioned resembled him.

The usual 40–minute journey was completed in about 20 minutes. He casually parked the car in front of

the yard, the vehicle askew, and quickly got out.

With a click, he opened the door and saw Sherri’s mother chatting warmly with his own mother on the

couch. His mother no longer showed any signs of sadness.

Joy was puzzled. Wasn’t her son supposed to be at the company? She asked, “Weren’t you at the

company? Why did you come back now? And where’s your father?”

Hackett did not answer. His gaze was fixed on the little girl playing by the side of the couch. The girl

was wearing a princess dress, with two braids tied up and a pink butterfly hair clip on her head.

Hackett’s gaze was fixed on her face, but he could not see any resemblance to himself. How could

anyone see any resemblance? Besides, he did not even know what he looked like as a child.

He thought to himself that perhaps his father was making a big fuss over nothing. But since his own

father insisted on a paternity test, he had to do it. He would show the results to his parents later to

prove that they were wasting their time trying to find an illegitimate child for him day after day.

Joy noticed her son’s gaze and followed his line of sight. She realized he was looking at Ruby and

explained with a smile. “Don’t you think this little girl is cute? If you think she is, then put in some effort.

Don’t let me wait for long”

Hackett snapped back to reality and walked briskly towards the couch. He politely greeted Juana.

“Hello, Mrs. Landor. Who is this child?”

As soon as Juana saw Hackett, she liked him. He was handsome, perfectly in line with her expectation

of a son–in–law. She smiled warmly and said, “This child is Sherri’s goddaughter. She is the child of her

best friend. I am taking care of her for a while.”

Hackett was searching for an answer in his mind. Best friend? But he was not sure about Sherri’s

social circle. Besides Mrs. Wilson, did she have any other best friends?

Nevertheless, he politely replied, “Mrs. Landor, you are really warm–hearted. There aren’t many people

as kind as you nowadays.”

Juana was delighted to be praised, and she could not help but be talkative. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just

free and have nothing to do. It’s good to be able to help young people. Besides, this child is truly

adorable. Ruby, this is Uncle Hackett.”

Since Hackett entered, Ruby had been cautiously stealing glances. But even after she turned her

glance at Juana for a while, she still did not call out as she was told. She lowered her head and quietly

continued playing with her toys.

Juana felt a little awkward. This child was usually very good at greeting people. What was wrong with

her today? She did not greet Hackett at all..

Joy smiled to ease the situation. “Look, even the child can’t stand your appearance. When your father

left just now, Ruby even called him Grandpa on her own. But she won’t call you. Reflect on yourself

and figure out the reason.”

Hackett’s mind was buzzing. So it was because the little girl called his father “Grandpa” that he was

forced to rush back for a paternity test. What was his father thinking? Just because a little girl called

him “Grandpa, she could become his granddaughter? It seemed like his father was going crazy over

wanting a granddaughter.

However, he maintained his enthusiastic demeanor and seemed not to mind his mother teasing. “Oh,

don’t worry. There’s no rush. You’ll definitely have a granddaughter. Right, Mrs. Landor?”

Juana thought Hackett was continuing to talk about something related to Sherri, so she replied, “That’s

right. We don’t need to worry about the children’s matters. They definitely have their own plans.”

Hackett did not reveal the true purpose behind his words, and everyone was immersed in their own

thoughts.

After observing the little girl for a while, Hackett genuinely felt that she was really cute. But he was not

sure if she resembled him or not. Maybe he should take her back to his room and compare her with the

photos in his album. He thought that would be a good method. “Can Uncle Hackett play with you,

young lady?”

Ruby hesitated for a moment and then nodded slightly to indicate agreement.

Hackett had his own ulterior motive to avoid his mother and Juana. He said. “Mrs. Landor, it’s been a

long time since you last met. I’ll take the little one to my room to play. You can chat freely.”

Joy looked at her son with a suspicious expression. What was he doing? Did he run back from the

company just to take care of a child? “Aren’t you supposed to go to the company?”

Hackett calmly replied, “Well, Dad said he can’t be away from the company for even a minute. The

office is more suitable for him. He told me not to go today.”

Seeing Joy’s improved mood, Juana chimed in. “Stop worrying about Hackett all the time. He’s already

grown up.”

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She did not realize that she was also constantly arguing with Sherri at home.

Joy did not criticize her son any further, but just reminded him. “Be careful and make sure Ruby doesn’t

bump into anything”

“I know” said Hackett and then led Ruby upstairs. But halfway through, Joy started scolding. “Hackett,

can’t you use your brain? You let Ruby walk on such a high staircase by herself. Don’t you have arms

to carry her?”

Juana turned her attention to the stairs and indeed saw Ruby struggling to climb them with her short

legs. Men really were not suited for taking care of children. They could give you a heart attack.

Hackett paused, not realizing anything was wrong. After all, she was a big kid. Shouldn’t she be able to

walk by herself? It would help her grow taller if she took more steps. But due to the scrutiny of the two

professionals, he slowly crouched down and clumsily lifted Ruby into his arms

His movements were a bit awkward. He extended his right hand, then his left, not sure which hand to

use to carry her first.

Joy sighed at her son’s confusion and patiently instructed. “One hand goes on top, and the other hand

goes below. You don’t have to hold her too tightly.

Following his mother’s lead, Hackett lifted Ruby into his arms.

Watching the figure of the two of them entering the room, Joy grumbled. “He’s already so grown up, but

he still doesn’t have the demeanor of an adult. Sherri is going to be driven crazy.

Juana laughed happily. “Sherri is the same. It’s just that she learned a bit from her good friend these

past few years, so she knows more”

Hackett placed Ruby on his bed. “Wait for me, young lady. I will bring something over to play with you.”

Hackett opened the drawer and took out his photo album. He flipped to the photos of a similar age as

Ruby and glanced at them. Then be carefully looked at Ruby. Shit. It seemed that she resembled him a

bit.

His heart started racing, and his hands trembled as he closed the album and put it away.

Turning around, he said to Ruby, “Young lady, let’s play a game called Ask and Answer.”

Ruby did not understand what game Hackett wanted to play. With her watery eyes, she blinked and

nodded.

Hackett did not care if the understood or not. He assumed she did. “Alright, here’s the question. If you

answer correctly, I will give you something tasty as treats”

Ruby continued to nod, appearing to understand but not fully comprehend.

Hackett felt a bit nervous. He could not believe that an around one–year–old child was making him

nervous. “Who is your mommy?” He asked, using his gentlest tone to coax an answer out of her.

As Hackett waited for her response, he felt anxious. Ruby’s eyes shifted, and in a sweet, childish voice,

she said, “Natalie.” Instead of feeling relieved upon receiving the answer, Hackett inexplicably felt a

sense of disappointment.

He felt that he must have gone crazy.

But then he thought about it. Natalie, wasn’t she Mrs. Wilson? However, this child did not resemble her

at all. Instead, she looked a lot like him when he was young

But a child would not mistake her own mother, it was someone she had been calling since she was

little. This brought some certainty to his heart, and it seemed that the child truly was not his.

In the next moment, with a particularly positive attitude, Hackett started to scheme. If the child turned

out to be Natalie’s daughter, it would be interesting Mr. Wilson was still pursuing his wife, so he wanted

to confirm a bit more. “Is your mommy Natalie Foster?”

Ruby nodded, following the rules of the game.

With the confirmed answer, Hackett was now certain that the child was Natalie’s. He was sure that his

father was making a fuss over nothing. But this child was indeed well–behaved and likable. With a firm

grasp, he lifted Ruby onto his lap and casually pulled a few strands of her hair.

“Uncle Hackett saw something dirty in your hair. Let me remove it. Sit on the bed and play for a while.

I’ll bring you something to eat.”

He put the hair in a bag while taking out his favorite potato chips to give to the little one.

“Do you like them? These chips are really good. They’re my favorite. I’m sharing them with you, so

we’re good friends now.” He ruffled the little one’s hair again.

Polite and well–mannered, Ruby climbed down from the bed, holding the chips, and prepared to go

downstairs. “Thank you

“Look at you. So you have not been speaking to me because I did not give you something to eat. Are

you going downstairs?”

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“Yes” Ruby remembered that her mommy had said not to eat in the room, especially on the bed, as it

would attract bugu However, her language skills were limited, and she did not know how to express

herself properly. All she could say was that she was going downstairs.

Harkett found this little girl increasingly adorable. No matter how he looked at her he could not help but

like her. Mrs. Wilson had indeed taught her well. She did not seem like Sherri’s child at all. Cnid ta

woman have raised such a thoughtful child?

No, definitely not. But there was no way around it. The paternity test still had to be done to avoid being

lectured by his

father.