Chapter 2174
“Life is unpredictable,” Cecilia murmured.
Nathaniel brushed slow, steady circles over her knuckles and nodded. The gesture carried more comfort than words ever could.
“What about their baby?” she asked, her voice barely louder than the wind.
“He took the child back to Tudela,” Nathaniel said. “The grandparents are looking after the baby now.”
The news left Cecilia unmoored, unsure which emotion should rise first—sympathy, anger, or a quiet, hollow despair.
Jennifer had loved Ernest with a fierceness that ultimately consumed her own life.
The child had been born, barely out of swaddling clothes, already motherless, now growing up in the care of grandparents.
If she had known how it would all end, would she still have made the same choice?
“Nathaniel… do you think Ernest will ever marry again?” Cecilia asked. The words slipped out before she could stop them.
She had seen too many men step past graves as if love were nothing more than a passing season.
Nathaniel didn’t answer right away. His snow-gray eyes fixed on a distant point beyond the parking lot.
“Ceci, I can’t say,” he said at last. “People’s hearts are storms we rarely understand.”
“What if it were me?” The question escaped her—soft, aching, faintly childish—yet impossible to take back once spoken.
Nathaniel’s chest tightened, as if an unseen hand had closed around his ribs.
“Don’t say such nonsense,” he scolded. “You’re not Jennifer, and nothing will happen to you. And I’m not Ernest. I would never ask you to risk your life for a child.”
The response wasn’t poetic, but it cleared the bar his racing heart had set.
Cecilia’s lips curved. “I was just wondering. No need to panic.”
“Promise me you won’t joke about that again,” Nathaniel said. His voice softened to velvet, yet remained unyielding at its core.
She nodded and smoothly shifted the topic. “By the way, how did you find out Charlotte was in trouble?”
“I heard everything when I got home. Jon and Eli filled me in,” Nathaniel replied. His tone was quiet, but beneath it ran a current of restrained resolve.
Cecilia had nearly forgotten that her two boys had been at the center of the earlier chaos. At the sound of their names, guilt flickered across her face before she masked it with composure.
As the brief exchange settled, Ernest stepped out of the police station’s glare-white lobby. Walking beside him was Charlotte, her release papers still warm in her hand.
Cecilia paused at the entrance, her gaze locking onto Charlotte like a searchlight. In that instant, awe flickered in her eyes. Dmn… that’s the power of Imminence Corporation’s legendary counsel. Ernest really is something.*
The moment Charlotte spotted Cecilia, she broke into a half-run and wrapped her arms around her, relief spilling out after hours on a prison cot. “Boss, see? I told you I’d be out!”
She took a steadying breath, turned, and met Nathaniel’s cool gray gaze.
“Mr. Rainsworth, thank you,” she said softly, the sincerity unmistakable.
Charlotte knew full well that without Nathaniel pulling the right strings, Ernest would never have taken her case—let alone secured a rapid release.
Nathaniel slipped his hands into his coat pockets. “Save your thanks for your boss,” he replied, his voice cool as polished steel.
If it were anyone but Cecilia, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in this mess.
“This is only temporary bail,” Ernest reminded them, adjusting his glasses as if setting a countdown clock. “Unless we find proof that Charlotte never laid a finger on Felix, the court will send her back the moment the deadline expires.”
Charlotte scratched the back of her head, anxiety shredding her earlier relief. “How are we supposed to find evidence? I never hurt Felix—not even a scratch. That report is completely fabricated.” Her voice trembled between outrage and desperation, fingers twisting the hem of her coat.
“Whether it’s fake or not isn’t for us to decide,” Ernest replied, each word landing with the precision of a judge’s gavel.
Charlotte’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Then what do we do?”
“The simplest solution is a second medical examination,” Ernest said. “And the sooner, the better.”
Everyone present understood the original report reeked of manipulation. Without a second set of hospital records, though, they had nothing to fight back with.
Cecilia folded her arms. “Miranda will never allow Felix anywhere near another doctor.”
“It’s just a medical exam, isn’t it?” Nathaniel finally said, his patience sharpening into a thin smile. “I’ll take him.”
Cecilia turned to him, stunned. “And how exactly do you plan to do that?”
“Leave it to me,” Nathaniel said gently, a command wrapped in calm. “Go home, both of you, and get some rest.”
He ushered Cecilia and Charlotte into the waiting car, then motioned for Ernest to ride with him. Moments later, their taillights bled into the night, headed toward Rainsworth Manor.
Watching the city blur past the window, Cecilia had no idea what Nathaniel intended. Unease crept into her chest like smoke she couldn’t clear.
Beside her, Charlotte sat stiffly, shame and worry coiling until it was hard to breathe.
“This is my fault,” she murmured, her voice raw. “I shouldn’t have gotten involved. Boss… I’m sorry. I dragged you and Mr. Rainsworth into this mess.”