Chapter 162: Recognition

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Recognition

As his eyes met the woman’s, which were filled with caution and apprehension, Luke Lockwood instinctively furrowed his brow. An aura of cold detachment radiated from him, his expression guarded.

"Who are you?"

He was certain he had never seen this woman before. Judging by her clothes and demeanor, she must have come from a prominent family. But he had nothing now; he truly couldn’t fathom why someone like her would seek him out.

The woman’s lips trembled slightly, and the rims of her eyes instantly reddened. "My name is Nancy Linton... I’m your mother."

Luke Lockwood’s eyes turned cold. "Ms. Linton, this kind of scam is far too clumsy. I’m an orphan. I don’t have a mother."

He was at the end of his rope, his career in ruins, his future a complete blur. He had nothing left worth scamming him for; instead, he felt this woman was deliberately here to mock him.

Seeing his reaction, Nancy Linton said urgently, "I know this is hard for you to accept, but I’m not lying. Can we find a quiet place to talk? I have proof that you’re my son!"

Luke Lockwood’s gaze sharpened, his piercing eyes fixed on her face as if to weigh the truth of her words.

Memories from the past came flooding back. In his youth, he had tried time and again to find out where he came from, staring at countless notices from families searching for lost relatives. But every time, he would set out full of hope, only to return full of disappointment. Eventually, he gave up on the idea completely, accepted the fact that he was an orphan, and never again dreamed of finding his biological family.

"Just give me a chance. If you still think I’m lying, you can leave then. You won’t have lost anything!"

Luke Lockwood was silent for a moment before finally nodding. His tone was cold. "You’d better not be playing any tricks."

The two found a quiet café nearby. Inside a private booth, the atmosphere was heavy. Nancy Linton took a file out of her bag and gently pushed it in front of Luke Lockwood.

"Take a look at this first."

Filled with doubt, Luke Lockwood took it. When he saw the conclusion at the end—"biological mother-son relationship"—his pupils contracted. His fingers tightened unconsciously on the paper, his knuckles turning white.

"This report... how did you get it?" he asked in a deep voice, looking up.

"The source isn’t important. What’s important is that it’s absolutely true, not faked in the slightest." Nancy Linton sniffled, her eyes filled with guilt and heartache. "I know you have so many questions, but before all that, I want to tell you a story."

Luke Lockwood said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

Half an hour later, Nancy Linton’s eyes were red, her voice filled with regret.

"I never thought he could be so heartless, abandoning his own flesh and blood for the woman on the side. It’s my fault. I was a poor judge of character, and that’s why you’ve suffered out there for so many years. Mommy has let you down..."

Her emotions completely broke down. She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Luke Lockwood watched her cry, his heart a maelstrom of emotions. He had imagined the moment he found his family countless times, thinking he would be ecstatic. But now that it was actually happening, shock, confusion, helplessness, and an indescribable twinge of bitterness all mixed together, leaving him unsure of how to react.

But what stunned him even more was that he was a member of the Hawthorne family.

’Doesn’t that mean he and Jared Hawthorne are blood relatives?’

Suppressing the storm raging in his heart, Luke Lockwood asked in a low voice, "Ms. Linton, how did you find me?"

"It was my nephew, Jared Hawthorne, and his wife who helped me. If it weren’t for them, I might have never found you in this lifetime." Nancy Linton hid nothing, telling him the whole story from beginning to end.

Luke Lockwood’s heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out, "Your nephew’s wife... is it Vesper Grayson?"

Nancy Linton was a little surprised. "You two know each other?"

Luke Lockwood didn’t answer, his lips tightening into a firm line.

’He never would have imagined that Vesper Grayson would set aside their past grievances to help him find his long-lost family.’

’Shouldn’t she hate his guts? Why would she help him?’

’Was it out of pity?’

Seeing him remain silent, Nancy Linton assumed he was unable to accept this reality and refused to acknowledge her. Her throat choked up again as she said softly, "It’s okay. I know this is all so sudden, and you need time to process it. It’s all my fault. I didn’t watch over you or protect you back then, and I let you suffer so much. It’s only right that you don’t want to accept me."

Luke Lockwood remained silent. He reached up, untied the red cord from around his neck, and took off a smooth jade pendant, holding it out to Nancy Linton.

"This jade pendant... I’ve worn it ever since I was a child. I’ve never taken it off."

Nancy Linton took it with trembling hands. As her fingertips gently traced the familiar patterns on the pendant, her tears fell even harder.

"This was part of the dowry my mother gave me. The day you were born, I tied it around your neck with my own hands. I can’t believe you’ve kept it safe all this time..."

"This was the only thing I had that connected me to my origins. I always thought it was a memento my birth mother left for me." Luke Lockwood lowered his gaze to the unremarkable jade pendant, never having imagined his background could be so illustrious.

"It’s Mommy’s fault you’ve suffered for so many years." Nancy Linton wiped away her tears, her eyes full of heartache as she looked at him and asked urgently, "Have you been doing okay all these years? Did anyone bully you? Where are you living now?"

"I was living in Ashmore before. I only came to Northolme recently," Luke Lockwood replied flatly, his tone betraying no emotion.

"So you were in Ashmore..." Nancy Linton said, realization dawning on her, followed by a wave of regret. "No wonder I couldn’t find any trace of you after searching for so many years. I always limited the search to Northolme and the surrounding cities. I never dreamed that Kevin Hawthorne would send you so far away."

She looked at her son’s haggard face, her heart filled with guilt. She reached out, wanting to touch him, but then hesitated, afraid of startling him. In the end, she could only look at him with eyes full of expectation.

"Luke, come home with Mom, okay? I’ll be by your side from now on. I’ll never let you suffer even the slightest bit again, alright?"

Luke Lockwood remained silent, not agreeing immediately.

Nancy Linton thought he was worried about the Hawthorne family’s attitude and quickly said, "Don’t worry. Everyone at home is eager for you to come back. Your grandfather already knows about you and told me to bring you to the old family estate to see him. With the old master’s word, no one will dare to say a single bad thing about you. You can just come home without any worries."

After a long moment, Luke Lockwood finally gave a slight nod.

"Okay."

"You really agree?" Nancy Linton was so happy she started crying, too excited to know what to do with her hands. "Then let’s go to your place to pack your things. Mom will take you home."

"Mm."

The car drove toward the old part of the city. When it stopped in front of a block of low, rundown apartment buildings, Nancy Linton looked at the mottled old walls and the narrow, cramped stairwells. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes again, and her heart ached as if pricked by needles.

"You’ve been living in a place like this?"

’She couldn’t imagine her own son living in such a simple, dilapidated environment, enduring so much hardship. Meanwhile, Aidan Hawthorne had spent over twenty years living a pampered life of luxury in the Hawthorne family. How utterly ironic.’