Ch. 441..450

Chapter 441 Gavin Pretends To Be Sick

“Sweethearts, are you ready? I’ll send you all to school if you are,” Darius asked dotingly.

“Issa, have a good rest at home. Let me send them to school today,” he reassured Arissa while carrying the five kids one by one from the dining chairs.

They had no choice but to make their way toward the living room with Darius. Even Edwin had dashed upstairs to bring them their bags.

“Grandpa, we don’t feel like going to school today,” the five kids stated in unison.

“How could you guys skip class? No way! You must attend school today and never neglect your studies.” Darius knitted his brows, leading them toward the car.

“Grandpa, Gavin is still not feeling well. That’s why we feel like staying at home with him today,” Zachary piped up to remind his grandfather.

Darius turned to look at Gavin, questioning him apprehensively, “Gavin, are you still feeling unwell?”

At the sight of Zachary hinting him by throwing him a glance, Gavin nodded at Darius, pretending to feel under the weather.

Darius carried him onto his lap at once, touching his forehead.

Gavin could not help feeling a rush of anxiousness. He cowered on Darius’ lap, fearing that his grandfather would find out he was lying.

Darius did not sense anything awry. In fact, he was worried sick about Gavin when he caught sight of the boy’s face, which seemed to have turned red gradually.

“Gavin, tell me where you’re feeling uncomfortable. I’ll call the doctor to come over.” Darius carried him down from the car.

“Grandpa, you don’t have to call the doctor to come over. I just have a bloated stomach and feel like vomiting.” Gavin stopped him hastily. This is bad! If he calls the doctor to come over, he’ll find out very soon that I’m pretending to be sick!

“Did you catch the flu?” Darius lowered his head and pressed it lightly against Gavin’s forehead to feel his temperature.

At the same time, Zachary, Oliver, Jasper, and Jesse got out of the car one by one.

Zachary raised his head and explained, “Grandpa, maybe Gavin’s not feeling well because he didn’t sleep well last night. Is it all right to let him have a rest at home today?”

He tried to talk Darius into changing his mind. Worrying about Arissa, he and his siblings were not in the mood to attend school.

After throwing Gavin a glance, Darius eventually decided not to let the kid attend school as he seemed weak as a kitten.

“If that’s the case, don’t go to school then. You kids can rest at home today,” he announced while carrying Gavin back into the house while instructing the other four kids to follow him.

Zachary and the others’ eyes lit up as they exchanged looks. The next moment, they ran into the house excitedly.

Meanwhile, Arissa was about to go upstairs for a rest when Darius carried Gavin back into the house.

Astounded, she asked quizzically, “What’s the matter? Why are you back?”

“Gavin’s not feeling well,” Darius replied briefly before assigning Edwin to summon the doctor.

Arissa darted toward them, her heart skipping a beat.

Since Gavin suddenly fell ill the day before, she was worried he might have a fever again.

She took the boy over from Darius and touched his forehead nervously. “Sweetheart, are you feeling discomfort anywhere?”

Gavin felt a rush of guilt when he noticed the sheer apprehension in her eyes.

“Mommy, don’t worry. I think it’s because I’ve overeaten just now,” he responded casually.

Arissa was dumbfounded. The next moment, she sat down and placed Gavin on her lap, rubbing his belly to ease his discomfort.

“Mommy, you’d better let Gavin lie down. He still feels like vomiting,” Zachary reminded her.

“I’ll carry you up to the room now,” Arissa told Gavin softly and carried him upstairs immediately.

At the same time, the other four kids made a beeline after them and opened the door to the room for them.

Oliver went to pour some water for Gavin. “Here Gavin, drink some water.”

Darius whipped out a small bottle. “Issa, apply this to his belly.”

“All right.” Arissa took it and applied the ointment to Gavin’s belly.

“Mommy, you’d better catch some sleep now. Don’t worry about me. I’m just feeling slight discomfort.” Gavin tried to convince her.

“Mommy, just go ahead and have a rest now. We’ll accompany Gavin,” Zachary urged her.

Needless to say, Arissa could not be at ease.

“Mommy, you should have a rest now after a sleepless night. We’ll take great care of Gavin. Besides, Grandpa has asked the doctor to come over,” Jesse echoed.

Stupefied, Darius asked right away, “Issa, you didn’t sleep last night?”

It only struck him then why the kids kept asking her to go to bed.

“Yeah…” Arissa nodded as she continued massaging Gavin’s belly to ease his discomfort.

 

Chapter 442 How About Sleeping Together With Me

“Go and have a rest now then. I’ll take good care of them,” Darius urged Arissa again in a reassuring tone.

Prevailed by Gavin’s discomfort, Arissa could not sleep at all.

“I’ll wait till the doctor comes and has a look at him,” she uttered resolutely. The others could only give in to her when she insisted on staying by Gavin’s side.

Meanwhile, Gavin could only lie in bed and continue to pretend that he was not feeling well.

“Mommy, how about you sleep together with me?” he asked.

Stroking Gavin’s hair hanging over his forehead, Arissa replied gently, “It’s all right. I’m not sleepy. Are you feeling any other discomfort?”

Wearing a look of utter apprehension, her frown deepened into a scowl. Her gut instinct told her that Gavin had not recovered properly after falling ill the previous day.

“Mommy, I might have overeaten,” Gavin stated softly.

After casting her eyes on him, Arissa assigned Zachary to get Edwin to prepare a glass of lemon water for Gavin.

Jasper and Zachary rushed downstairs without thinking twice.

“Old Mr. Graham, take a seat,” Arissa greeted Darius courteously.

The older man nodded. “Sure.”

“Grandpa, here you go.” Oliver carried a chair over and pulled Darius’ hand.

Rubbing his head, Darius flashed him and Jesse a smile. “All right. Go and have some fun now. I’ll accompany Gavin.”

“We’re thinking of accompanying Gavin too!” Jesse emphasized as she beamed sweetly.

Darius suddenly recalled that he had not seen Benjamin since he stepped into the house. Stroking his grandaughter’s hair affectionately, he asked curiously, “Where’s your daddy?”

“He’s not at home.” The girl looked at him innocently.

Darius’ forehead creased into a frown as he turned to look at Arissa. “Has Benjamin already left early in the morning?”

Arissa glanced at him and explained, “He never came home after going out with you last night. According to him, he’s on a business trip.”

“A business trip?” Darius furrowed his brows before asking, “Why didn’t he mention a single word about that to me?”

Right that instant, Zachary and Jasper brought in the lemon water for Gavin. “Mommy, we got the lemon water.”

“Okay. I’ll let Gavin drink it.” The next moment, she carried Gavin up and placed him on her lap. After that, she let him take a sip of the lemon water. “Sweetheart, drink some lemon water first. Let’s give it a try and see if you’ll feel better.”

Fearing that his stomach would be bloated again, she only let him take a few mouthfuls.

“Mommy, I still want more.” Gavin licked his lips.

“Wait for a while more, okay? You can’t drink so much in one go. What if your stomach gets bloated again?” Arissa coaxed him.

“Okay,” Gavin responded obediently. At the sight of an exhausted Arissa, he was overcome by a sense of intense guilt. We shouldn’t have lied to Mommy. After a sleepless night, she is worried about me again.

He shot Zachary a glance instinctively, but the latter hinted at him to hold his tongue.

“Why isn’t Shaun here yet?” Like a cat on hot bricks, Darius called Shaun, urging him, “Shaun, are you here yet? Hurry up! Gavin is not feeling well!”

Right after he hung up, the sound of someone closing the door of a car sounded from downstairs.

“Gavin, hang on. Uncle Shaun is here,” Darius consoled the boy gently.

“Okay,” Gavin replied sheepishly.

Zachary and the others dashed toward the door, cranking their necks to catch a glimpse.

The moment they caught sight of Shaun, they rushed toward him hurriedly. “Mr. Bailey, you’re finally here!”

The doctor grabbed hold of the kids darting toward him and asked anxiously, “How is Gavin?”

“He’s feeling discomfort,” Jesse chimed in solemnly, knitting her brows. Anyone would easily believe her that Gavin was very sick.

“I’ll check on him now.” Shaun was about to quicken his pace.

However, Zachary grabbed hold of his arm and stood in his way. “Uncle Shaun, I need to tell you something.”

Perplexed, Shaun looked at him for a while and stated, “Tell me later, okay? I have to attend to Gavin first.”

Zachary knew he had to be extra careful so Edwin would not sense anything amiss. Thus, he hinted at Shaun with some finger movements on his palm while heading toward the room with him.

Puzzled, Shaun turned to look at Zachary.

 

Chapter 443 Does He Not Care About You

After ensuring that Edwin’s eyes were not on them, Zachary winked discreetly at Shaun, hinting at him by gesturing with his mouth.

Evidently, the boy was hinting at him that Gavin was fine and requesting him to keep it under wraps from Darius and his mother.

After Shaun entered the room, Arissa called out to him anxiously, “Dr. Bailey, please check on Gavin now. He mentioned that he’s overeaten and feels like vomiting. Can you help to see if he has caught a cold or if there’s anything wrong with him?”

“Calm down, Arissa. Let me check on him first,” Shuan put his medical box down and pressed on Gavin’s abdomen lightly. At the same time, he glanced obliquely at the boy’s countenance.

Moments later, it struck him why Zachary and the others were eager to tell him something earlier.

“It seems that Gavin has a bloated stomach after overeating. I’ll give him some digestive tablets. Don’t worry. He should be fine after that,” Shaun stated matter-of-factly.

“So his stomach really is bloated?” Arissa furrowed her brows. Undeniably, she recalled how Gavin had eaten quite a lot when they were having breakfast earlier. On top of that, he took some more of the food brought over by Darius again.

In actuality, Gavin did not feel the slightest bit of discomfort. He shot Shaun a glance with a hint of warning. Hence, the latter replied nonchalantly, “Yeah.”

“They usually don’t eat much but tend to eat a lot more whenever they’re together with you,” Edwin told Arissa tactfully. He did not doubt Shaun’s judgment at all.

“I shouldn’t have brought so much food over just now. It’s all my fault.” Darius could not help blaming himself.

Arissa looked at them before asking Shaun, “Is there anything else wrong with him aside from a bloated stomach?”

“Don’t worry, Arissa. There isn’t any other problem,” Shaun reassured her with a smile and let Gavin swallow the digestive tablets. He then pretended to massage Gavin’s belly to boost his digestion.

Surrounded by the others, Gavin felt relatively awkward. Thus, he told Arissa, “Mommy, I’m feeling a lot better now. You’d better catch some sleep now. Mr. Bailey will take good care of me here.”

Stunned upon hearing the boy’s words, Shaun turned to look at Arissa and queried, “Arissa, are you feeling unwell too?”

“No. I’m only feeling a bit sleepy because I didn’t sleep last night,” Arissa explained with a chuckle.

“Don’t you know that staying up the whole night is harmful to your health? How could you do that when you’re not feeling well yesterday? I can’t believe Benjamin just let you be! Oh my! I’ll be the one to be blamed again if you fall sick later!” Shaun wailed, utterly speechless.

Arissa could not utter any words to refute him.

Just then, Edwin cut in, “Mr. Bailey, Mr. Graham is not at home at the moment.”

Shaun’s jaw dropped at that. “Huh? He’s not at home? Did he step out last night?”

Edwin nodded.

“Where did he go?” he asked.

Edwin looked at him and replied, “He’s on a business trip.”

Shaun frowned. On a business trip?

“Arissa, go ahead and have a rest. Don’t worry about Gavin. I’ll take good care of him!” He tried to talk her into having a rest.

Darius echoed, “He’s right. Issa, take a good rest. We’ll look after the kids. So don’t worry, okay?”

“Mommy, you should go to bed now,” Gavin urged her.

“Mommy, go and have a good sleep. We’ll take great care of Gavin!” Jasper pushed his mother slightly toward the door.

Feeling touched by their words of concern, Arissa chuckled. “Okay. I’ll go for a rest now. Gavin, remember to tell Mr. Bailey at once if you’re not feeling well again, okay?”

“Okay. Don’t worry, Mommy. I’m fine, and I’ll take medicine on time!” Gavin convinced her.

Arissa tucked her son in before she left the room to have a rest.

After she stepped out, the five kids fastened their gazes on Darius. Zachary got straight to the point. “Grandpa, you should go down to have a cup of tea. Don’t worry. Mr. Bailey will be by Gavin’s side.”

Flashing them a smile, Darius uttered gently, “It’s all right. I’ll go down after Gavin sleeps.”

Hearing that, Zachary and Gavin exchanged glances.

Moments later, Gavin pretended to drift off to sleep after taking medicine.

Shaun’s lips twitched at the boy putting up a show.

Zachary gestured to his siblings and whispered, “Look, Gavin’s asleep now. Grandpa, let’s go downstairs.”

“Grandpa, let’s go downstairs to play games. Let Gavin have a good rest, okay?” Jesse grabbed her grandfather’s arm coquettishly.

Oliver and Jasper, too, grabbed his other arm. “Grandpa, Mr. Bailey will take care of Gavin. Let’s go down for tea.”

“All right. Let’s go then.” Darius had no choice but to take their suggestions. He only went down with his other four grandchildren after requesting Shaun to take good care of Gavin.

 

 

Chapter 444 Arissa Had An Emotional Breakdown

“Gavin, why are you pretending to be sick?” Shaun cut to the chase right after Darius and the other kids left.

Little did they realize that Arissa suddenly turned back to check on Gavin again. She scratched her head after overhearing Shaun’s question.

Gavin is pretending to be sick? She halted in her tracks, refraining from opening the door. Why is Gavin pretending to be sick? Could it be he’s worried about me staying alone at home?

After quite a while, Gavin replied sheepishly, “We don’t feel like going to school because Mommy is not feeling well…”

His words sent a ripple of warmth into Arissa’s heart.

Shaun cut him off, “You can call me any time if your mommy’s not feeling well. I can attend to her at once. Besides, she’s not feeling well because she stayed up all night last night. I presume she’ll be fine after taking a good rest. Regardless, you shouldn’t have pretended to be sick. Don’t you know everyone is worried stiff about you, especially your mommy? This is definitely not something an obedient kid like you should do.”

Arissa was about to open the door and enter. It never crossed her mind that she would have an emotional breakdown in the next moment because of the devastating news she was going to hear.

Gavin stuttered, “W-We have something to tell Mommy.”

“What is it?” Shaun asked in bafflement.

After taking a deep breath, Gavin muttered, “We’ve managed to track down our missing brother.”

Shaun was flabbergasted. “What? Where is he now?”

“That heinous woman threw him into a dumpster. Nobody rescued him. I think… I think he’s gone forever…” Gavin’s voice trailed off as he choked up.

Pin-drop silence ensued in the room.

In a blink of an eye, Arissa felt her world turned upside down. It was as if someone was clutching her throat, trying to strangle her.

She did not even realize that she had collapsed on the floor. As she stared blankly at the ceiling, there was a glint of indecipherable agony in her eyes. My child’s gone…

Shaun’s face turned ashen when he heard the sound outside the room. He dashed forward and opened the door right away.

“Arissa!” His heart dropped at the sight of Arissa on the floor.

“Mommy!” Startled by the look of despair on his mother’s face, Gavin rushed forward to help her up with Shaun.

Arissa’s legs gave way several times. She only managed to stand after a few stumbles.

On the brink of tears, Gavin mumbled incoherently, “Mommy… Mommy… I’m sorry.”

“Arissa…” Shaun was at a loss for words to console her.

“Gavin, help your mommy into her room,” he instructed Gavin.

“Okay.” Gavin bit his lip to restrain himself from bursting into tears as he helped Arissa into her room.

Deep down, he reprimanded himself for being reckless. I shouldn’t have acted impulsively. Now that Mommy’s overheard our conversation, she won’t be able to take it.

Gavin felt a surge of indescribable guilt from within him. Gazing at Arissa, he was a bundle of nerves.

Arissa only blinked her eyes after what seemed like an eternity. As she locked her gaze with Gavin, tears that welled up in her eyes started trickling down her cheeks.

After sobbing silently for quite a while, she finally burst out crying.

“Ahh!” Arissa let out harrowing yowls of grievance.

“My sweetheart… I’m sorry… I wasn’t able to protect you…” She wept in sheer grief, her tears flowing down her cheeks like streams.

Seconds later, she started to slap her face.

It caught Gavin and Shaun off guard.

Shaun rushed forward and grabbed hold of her hands. “Arissa, it’s not your fault! Stop hurting yourself!”

“It’s my fault! As his mommy, I failed to protect him…” Arissa lamented in despair.

A tiny figure appeared as her vision blurred with tears. Her heart wrenched at the heartbreaking scene of a child being abandoned in a dumpster. It was as though someone was clutching her heart and slicing it continuously with a dagger, causing it to bleed profusely.

“He’s just an innocent kid… To be thrown away so cruelly… it’s just…” Arissa yelped in agony.

Grief-stricken, she could hardly breathe. The next second, she passed out due to the suffocating anguish.

Panicking, Gavin screamed at the top of his lungs, “Mommy!”

“Mr. Bailey, please check on my mommy now!” he cried hysterically, breaking into tears uncontrollably.

Shaun laid Arissa down immediately, trying to feel her pulse.

D*mn it! I must take prompt action! Without hesitation, he gave her an injection.

“Mr. Bailey, how’s my mommy?” Gavin asked hastily, on pins and needles. Wiping his tears, no words could describe how guilty he felt at the moment.

“Don’t worry. She’s just passed out.” Shaun tried to appease him.

Right that instant, Darius and the other four kids rushed upstairs after hearing Gavin’s squeal earlier.

“Mommy!” the kids yelled out.

 

Chapter 445 We Need To Avenge Him

The sight of Arissa lying on the bed worried the kids to no end.

“What happened?” Darius asked Shaun.

“What’s wrong with Mommy?”

The kids, who were already worried sick, panicked even further when they saw Gavin crying like that.

Plagued by guilt, Gavin sobbed as he said, “M-Mommy found out about our brother! It’s my fault! She overheard it because I didn’t hear her coming! She was crying so hard!”

The other kids’ eyes reddened upon hearing that.

Darius furrowed his brows, but he was so worried about Arissa’s condition that he didn’t have time to ask the kids what happened.

“Shaun, how is Issa?”

“She fainted from overwhelming sadness,” Shaun replied as he continued examining Arissa.

Darius knew her condition was rather serious when he saw how concerned Shaun looked. “Should we take her to a hospital?”

He figured a hospital would be much better equipped to treat her.

“Yes. Get the car ready.”

Shaun agreed to send her to the hospital when all attempts at waking her up had failed.

“Why isn’t Mommy awake yet?” Jesse asked while sobbing loudly in fear.

“Mommy’s just unconscious. She’ll wake up soon,” Zachary comforted his sister even though deep down, he was panicking like crazy too.

To their surprise, Arissa woke up right when Shaun was about to carry her into the car.

“Mommy’s awake!” Jasper exclaimed excitedly and wiped his tears.

“Mommy! You’re awake!” Oliver cried out in relief.

The kids were all excited and relieved to see that Arissa had regained consciousness.

“All right, you can put Issa down now that she’s awake,” Darius said as he stepped forward to hold Arissa steady.

“Are you okay, Mrs. Graham?” Shaun asked while helping her lie down on the bed.

“Yeah…”

Although Arissa was no longer overwhelmed by emotions like she was earlier, she was still trapped in a state of grief.

“Please take better care of yourself, Mrs. Graham. Gavin and the others are really worried about you,” Shaun advised after giving her a quick examination.

Arissa looked up and saw all five of her kids staring at her worriedly with reddened eyes.

She held her hand out, and they all came in for a hug.

Oh, my sweethearts! My precious sweethearts!

Tears flowed down Arissa’s cheeks as she hugged them tightly.

It pained Darius deeply to see her so sad. He turned to look at Shaun, and the latter motioned for him to talk outside.

While Arissa and the five kids continued to cry, Darius followed Shaun out of the room and asked, “What happened to Issa?”

“Gavin and the others discovered what happened to the missing child, and Mrs. Graham couldn’t take the shocking news,” Shaun replied with a sigh.

Knowing that it couldn’t possibly be good news, Darius narrowed his eyes and asked softly, “What happened to the child?”

Shaun looked him in the eye and said sadly, “Danna threw him into a dumpster. They say he died because no one rescued him.”

Darius trembled all over as a look of grief filled his face.

“I… I haven’t even gotten a chance to see him…”

Shaun’s eyes reddened as well. The sounds of Arissa and the kids crying in the bedroom only worsened their feelings of sadness.

“Please stop crying, Mommy.”

Jesse tried wiping the tears off Arissa’s face, but the tears refused to stop.

“He won’t blame you, Mommy. It’s the bad guys who are at fault!” Oliver shouted angrily with a sniffle.

“We should avenge him, Mommy!”

Jasper’s eyes were filled with hatred as he clenched his fists.

“You need to pull yourself together, Mommy! You still have us! We’ll always be with you!” Zachary comforted her.

“Say something, Mommy…” Gavin pleaded.

Instead of crying her heart out as most people would, Arissa simply sat there in silence while her tears kept flowing. Naturally, seeing her like that worried the kids even more.

Hugging them tightly in her arms was the only way for her to keep herself grounded.

Neither Darius nor Shaun knew how they could comfort her as they watched from outside the room.

With a frown on his face, Darius decided to give his son a call and fill him in on the situation.

 

 

Chapter 446 The Child Is Still Alive

Benjamin was still searching for the missing child in the village when he got the phone call.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Where are you right now?”

“I’m in Rutaceae Village. Is something the matter, Dad?” Benjamin replied.

Darius exchanged glances with Shaun before saying, “Issa fainted earlier.”

“What happened to her?” Benjamin raised his voice out of concern.

“S-She found out about what happened to the child… T-The shock and sadness proved too much for her to bear…” Darius replied in a shaky voice as he tried to stop himself from sobbing.

Benjamin frowned upon hearing that. But I already had someone erase the surveillance camera footage, so how did she find out?

“How is she now, Dad?” he asked.

“She’s crying together with the kids,” Darius replied worriedly.

“Put her on the phone,” Benjamin urged him.

Figuring that Benjamin would do a better job at comforting Arissa, Darius did as told and handed the phone over to her.

“Issa, Benjamin wants to talk to you.”

Arissa stared blankly at Darius for a brief moment before wiping her tears and answering the phone.

“Hello?”

Benjamin frowned worriedly when he heard how hoarse her voice sounded.

“Arissa, I’ve found some clues about the child!”

Hearing no response from her, he continued, “I was going to wait till I had found him before telling you. I didn’t think you’d find out about it first. Don’t be sad, okay? The child is still alive! I’ll bring him home as soon as I find him!”

Thinking he was just trying to comfort her, Arissa didn’t believe him at all.

“Okay,” she mumbled coldly and hung up the phone after that.

“Don’t be too upset now, Issa. The kids will get worried. You need to pull yourself together!” Darius comforted her as he took the phone back.

Arissa nodded. “All right.”

She then wiped her tears and turned toward the kids as she continued, “I want you all to stay home, okay?”

Gavin and the others stared worriedly at her as they had a feeling she would be heading out.

“Where are you going, Mommy?”

“There’s something I need to take care of, so I’ll be heading out for a bit,” Arissa replied while patting them on their heads.

The anger and hatred in her heart fueled her desire to avenge her child, and her patience was running out.

“Maybe you should stay home today, Mommy. We’re worried about your safety,” Zachary advised her.

“No, I must head out today.”

There was no way to change Arissa’s mind once she had decided on something.

“Mommy…”

Gavin blamed himself to no end for not being more careful earlier.

Arissa gave him a hug and suppressed her emotions as she asked, “I don’t blame you at all, Gavin. It’s only a matter of time before I find out about it anyway. Tell me, how did you get your hands on that information?”

“Actually, we found out about it last night. We didn’t dare tell you because we were afraid that you would get upset…” Zachary explained apologetically on behalf of Gavin.

Arissa froze. “Huh? So you kids conducted your own investigation?”

Gavin, Zachary, Oliver, Jasper, and Jesse all nodded in unison.

Recalling their strange behavior from last night and that morning, Arissa finally understood what was going on.

So, they already knew about everything there is to know about their missing brother?

“Don’t worry, I won’t collapse so easily this time. I’ll be back really soon, so just stay home and wait for me,” she said with a sob while the kids stared at her worriedly.

Zachary knew they wouldn’t be able to change her mind on something she had already decided, so he suggested, “Have Mr. Bailey go with you, Mommy. We won’t be able to rest easy otherwise.”

Arissa nodded as she knew they were simply concerned about her safety. “Okay, sure.”

Gavin then ran off and called out to Shaun, “Mr. Bailey! Mommy will be heading out for a bit. Could you accompany her?”

“No problem,” Shaun agreed to it right away.

“Make sure to keep Mommy safe, okay?” Gavin reminded him.

 

Chapter 447 Getting Danna Sentenced To Death

“I will.” Shaun patted Gavin on the head as he came into the room and asked, “Where are you headed, Mrs. Graham?”

“I’ve just got some errands to run, that’s all.”

After taking a moment to regain her composure, Arissa turned toward Darius and said, “Old Mr. Graham, will you help me look after the kids while I’m gone?”

Darius nodded. “What are you going to do? Your condition is still unstable right now. Maybe you should rest up before heading out.”

“I’m fine. It won’t take long,” Arissa reassured him before leaving with Shaun, who then drove her out of the Graham residence.

Sensing the intense hatred that Arissa was emanating, Shaun glanced at her and asked with a sigh, “Where are you going, Mrs. Graham?”

“To the police station,” Arissa replied with an icy-cold expression.

Whoa! Arissa looks just like Benjamin in this state! Now I see why he treats her so differently!

With that thought in mind, Shaun asked cautiously, “What will you do at the police station?”

“I’m going to kill Danna!”

The emotionless look on Arissa’s face suggested that she really meant what she said.

What? Has she lost her mind? Was the grief too much for her to handle?

“Please don’t do anything rash, Mrs. Graham! Think about Gavin and the others! We have other means of getting her killed! There’s no need for you to get your hands dirty!” Shaun advised her, but she simply kept quiet.

Unsure if she was even listening to him, Shaun decided to give Benjamin a call when they stopped at a traffic light.

“What are you doing?” Arissa asked when she saw him pull out his phone.

“I-I’m going to give Benjamin a call!” Shaun stammered nervously.

With a glacial look in her eyes, Arissa snatched the phone over and canceled the call.

“Calling him won’t do her any good! I’m going to kill Danna one way or the other!”

Arissa was furious as she thought they were trying to defend Danna.

Realizing that she had misunderstood his intentions, Shaun quickly explained, “You’ve gotten the wrong idea, Mrs. Graham! I’m calling Benjamin because I want him to talk some sense into you before you do anything rash! Neither I nor Benjamin is trying to defend Danna!”

“Then just keep driving!” Arissa said and shifted her gaze toward the front.

Seeing as she was still holding on to his phone, Shaun had no choice but to continue driving.

When they were about to arrive at the police station, Arissa changed her mind all of a sudden and ordered, “On a second thought, take me to Jonathan instead.”

“Sure thing!” Shaun replied.

Going to Jonathan is definitely a much better idea!

With that in mind, he then drove her straight to Jonathan’s law firm.

“Mrs. Graham?” Jonathan exclaimed in surprise when he saw her.

Let’s talk inside,” Shaun said while motioning at him with his eyes.

Jonathan nodded and had someone prepare some coffee.

“Oh, either milk or water will suffice. Mrs. Graham hasn’t slept since last night, so she shouldn’t be having coffee now,” Shaun whispered at him.

“Sorry to drop by so suddenly, Mr. Patterson. I hope we’re not getting in the way of your work,” Arissa said with a frown.

“Not at all, Ms. York. Please, have a seat,” Jonathan reassured her while gesturing at them to sit down.

After taking a moment to compose her thoughts, Arissa decided to get straight to the point. “Mr. Patterson, how confident are you in getting Danna sentenced to death?”

Jonathan paused and glanced at Shaun in confusion.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard about this, but Mrs. Graham has another child with Benjamin. However, that child is gone because of what Danna did. She got him killed…” Shaun explained with a sad look on his face.

Jonathan was shocked when he finally understood the reason behind Arissa’s sudden visit.

“Do you guys have solid evidence to prove it?”

Shaun had only heard about this from the kids, so he didn’t have any evidence at all.

“I do,” Arissa replied confidently.

 

Chapter 448 The Boy Escapes Again

Jonathan frowned as he wondered why Benjamin didn’t come with them.

“Okay, this should be easy if you have evidence.”

Not only did Danna steal Benjamin’s child, but she even got him killed.

That alone was enough for them to give her the heaviest sentence possible.

Arissa’s eyes were filled with hatred as she clenched her fists. “I hope that Danna can be brought to justice as soon as possible, Mr. Patterson.”

“Please be patient, Mrs. Graham. There are certain procedures that we need to go through. I’ve already submitted the request, and I’ll inform you as soon as I get a confirmation on the date for the court hearing. Right now, what we need to do is focus on gathering as much evidence as possible,” Jonathan reassured her.

Still feeling worried about Arissa, Shaun secretly sent Benjamin a text while she wasn’t looking.

Unfortunately, Benjamin was so busy with the search that he didn’t notice it.

“Any news, Ethen?” he asked while standing next to the border with a pair of shades on.

“We’ve checked all the cars that came through here, but we haven’t found anything!” Ethen replied with a frown.

He, too, found it puzzling how a child could go missing without a trace in such a small town.

Suddenly, an ambulance happened to be heading their way.

The kid inside the vehicle panicked and quickly hid himself when he recognized them as the guys looking for him.

“Mister, please don’t tell them that you’ve seen Grandma and me! They’re bad guys!”

The driver found his request a little strange and tried to reassure him, “Those are policemen, Tim. They’re not bad guys, so you don’t have to be afraid. They’re probably investigating something else.”

Hearing that, Tim glanced out the window and saw actual policemen standing there.

Policemen? What are those bad guys doing with the police? Are they in cahoots?

Believing that they were Raphael’s men, Tim insisted, “My uncle owes a lot of money due to his gambling. He hit me and Grandma yesterday because we couldn’t give him any money. Those guys are here to capture me and use me to repay the debt! Please help us out, mister! Grandma needs to see a doctor, so I can’t afford to let them take me away!”

He was so afraid of being captured that he had fear written all over his face.

“Will you please help us out, young man? They can do whatever they want with me, but Tim is only five years old! Please don’t let them take him away! How about you turn the car around now? We’ll forget about heading into the city!” Mary pleaded.

She, too, was convinced that they were bad guys as she was still traumatized by the debt collectors smashing up their house.

“They’ll only get suspicious if we turn back now. I suggest you two keep yourselves hidden as we pass them by. Who knows, maybe they won’t notice you two,” the driver replied with a sigh when he saw the policemen in front.

It wasn’t uncommon for him to hear of similar cases at the clinic, so he really did sympathize with them.

“Thank you, mister!” Tim exclaimed gratefully.

He then helped hide Mary with a blanket before climbing into a box on the side.

“Please hurry it up, gentlemen! I’m in a hurry to replenish my medical supplies here! The clinic needs it urgently!” the driver called out to the policemen as he pulled up at the border.

As the policemen saw no one in his van, they let him pass through without any hesitation.

Tim helped Mary get out of the ambulance when they got far enough from the border.

“Thank you, mister!”

“Thank you very much, young man!”

“Don’t mention it!” the driver said as he dropped them off at the hospital.

Tim thanked him again before helping Mary into the hospital to get her treated.

Meanwhile, Benjamin was stressed out of his mind as he continued searching the town.

Where the heck could this child have gone? Could we have scared him off with our intimidating presence?

With that in mind, Benjamin glanced at his bodyguard before calling out to his assistant, “Ethen!”

Ethen came running over immediately. “Yes, Mr. Graham?”

“Go through the surveillance camera footage carefully once more. Also, tell them to be mindful of their expressions when searching. We don’t want to scare the people here. We should also try to advertise our search here.”

“Understood!”

With that, Ethen quickly ran off to give the orders.

 

 

Chapter 449 The One Who Got Abandoned

Soon, pictures of Tim could be seen all over the screens in public areas in town.

Naturally, it didn’t take very long before those at the hospital saw it too.

The nurses were staring wide-eyed at the advertisement in shock.

“W-Wait… Isn’t that the kid that showed up earlier?”

“Yeah! I think his name was Tim or something! Looks like those guys are searching for him because he went missing! I don’t think they’re bad guys!”

“Why did Tim call them bad guys, then?”

“Maybe they really are bad guys!”

“I don’t think bad guys would boldly advertise their search like this. The fact that they’re offering a huge reward should confirm this theory.”

As the advertisement gained the attention of the hospital staff, one of them contacted Ethen shortly after.

“Mr. Graham, we’ve just received word that the child spent a night in a clinic,” Ethen said as he reported his findings to Benjamin.

Benjamin immediately headed over to the clinic with his men upon hearing that.

The nurses were startled when they saw him arrive, especially when they noticed how wealthy he seemed.

That suit he’s wearing must cost a fortune! There’s no way he’s a bad guy!

“Has any of you seen Mr. Graham’s son?” Ethen asked while showing them some pictures.

The nurses exchanged confused glances.

“Mr. Graham’s son?”

Ethen nodded. “Yes, that’s right. We’ve been looking for him for quite some time now.”

“We have. He brought an old lady over for an injection last night. I think they were scared by how intimidating you guys look, so he asked us to keep their visit a secret,” said the nurse that called Ethen earlier.

Benjamin’s eyes lit up upon hearing that.

“Is he still here now?” he asked.

The nurses shook their heads. “No, they left this morning.”

“Where did they go?” Ethen asked excitedly as they had finally found a clue on Tim’s whereabouts.

The nurses simply exchanged uncertain glances and kept quiet.

“Please tell us if you know something. This boy’s mother has been so worried that she fell ill last night!” Ethen urged them.

Sensing that they weren’t faking their anxiety, the nurses decided to tell them the truth.

“They’re probably headed for the city. They left in one of our ambulances earlier today. I think he said something about getting the old lady treated at a hospital.”

Ethen cast Benjamin an excited glance as he pressed on, “Which hospital would that be?”

Meanwhile, Tim was sitting in the corridor while waiting for Mary to finish her examination. He frowned when he noticed that the people around him were murmuring among themselves while pointing fingers at him.

As he lowered his gaze, he realized that his clothes were incredibly filthy.

Had it not been for his clean-looking face, he would’ve looked no different from a random beggar down the street.

Someone stepped forward and asked, “What are you doing here all by yourself, little boy?”

Grandma told me I mustn’t speak to strangers!

With that thought in mind, Tim simply bit his lip and glared warily at the person in silence.

“You look a lot like the boy on TV! Are you the one they’re looking for?”

Huh? On TV?

Tim frowned upon hearing that.

The person tried pointing it out to him, but he pretended to not be interested. It wasn’t until the person left that Tim took a peek at the closest television, and his eyes went wide with shock when he saw Gavin’s picture on the screen.

What the hell? Since when did I end up on TV? Wait, no… That’s not me in the picture! I have never worn such fancy clothes before! Still, why does that kid look just like me?

Countless thoughts flashed across Tim’s mind.

Suddenly, he realized something odd when he took a closer look at the television screen.

Wait, the boy in the picture has fair skin, but mine is very tanned. I was adopted by Grandma, so could it be that this boy is actually my brother? But why was I tossed into the trash while he gets to live a fancy life? Why did I have to be the one that gets abandoned? We look exactly the same, so why throw me away? Wait, could it be that we were both thrown away? Is that what happened? No, that doesn’t seem likely… Regardless, why are they searching for me now if they abandoned me back then?

 

Chapter 450 Except With Darker Skin

A look of sorrow filled Tim’s eyes when he saw the contact details in the advertisement.

The more he compared himself to the boy in the picture, the more intense his feelings of sadness and hatred became.

Mary felt her heart ache when she came out of the clinic and saw him sitting there all by himself.

“Tim!” she called out to him affectionately.

Tim looked up and ran over to hold her steady when he saw her.

“Are you okay, Grandma?” he asked worriedly.

“I’m fine. It was just an examination,” Mary reassured him while patting him on the head.

“You have to take good care of yourself and get better, Grandma. Don’t worry about the money. I’ll work really hard to pay for your treatment,” Tim said decisively.

Grandma is all I have now…

Mary felt really upset too as she knew Tim needed her very much and would be all alone without her.

“All right, I’ll definitely get better,” Mary replied with tears in her eyes.

Tim still needs me, so I have to stay strong!

As neither of them was able to understand the medical report for the examination, they decided to consult a doctor about it.

“Wait for me outside, Tim. I’ll go ask the doctor about this myself.”

Mary didn’t want him to go in with her as she didn’t want him to worry about her.

However, Tim was smart enough to see through her intentions and replied sternly, “I think I should go with you, Grandma. You might not be able to remember the doctor’s instructions. I have an excellent memory, so you’ll definitely need me!”

He then waited for the patient to come out before asking the doctor, “Doctor, the medical report for my grandma’s examination is out. Could you help take a look at it?”

“Sure thing! Come on in,” the doctor replied with a friendly wave as he remembered Tim really well.

“Let’s go, Grandma,” Tim said as he led Mary into the consultation room.

Benjamin had his bodyguards surround the hospital the moment they arrived.

Ethen then accessed the surveillance cameras and located Tim fairly quickly.

“They’re in a consultation room on the third floor, Mr. Graham!”

“Let’s go!”

Feeling excited to finally see his child, Benjamin ran toward the elevator while Ethen followed closely behind.

The people in the hospital all had puzzled looks on their faces when they saw Benjamin pass by with a huge group of men.

Fearing that he would end up scaring the child, Benjamin paused when he arrived outside the consultation room and asked Ethen, “Should I go in like this?”

Ethen nearly burst out laughing at how nervous Benjamin looked, but he managed to hold it in and said, “Maybe I should go inside instead, Mr. Graham.”

Benjamin shot him a cold glare, but waved at him and said, “All right, make it quick!”

Ethen took a moment to adjust his attire and put on a smile before knocking on the door.

“Come in!”

“Please pardon my intrusion,” Ethen mumbled as he opened the door and scanned the consultation room, only to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw Tim inside.

Not wanting to scare Tim, Ethen told the doctor to carry on with the consultation.

“What’s the matter? Where’s the child?” Benjamin asked with a frown when he saw Ethen come out of the room by himself.

“I think we should wait a little while longer, Mr. Graham. We might frighten the child if we just take him away like this,” Ethen explained.

Benjamin’s eyes lit up instantly. “He really is inside?”

“Yes, sir. He really looks a lot like your other sons, except with darker skin!” Ethen replied with an excited smile.

He made sure not to mention how skinny Tim looked as he didn’t want to make Benjamin worry.