Charles' subordinates had worked for Charles for a long time, and it was the first time they had seen him with such a reaction. However, the subordinate closest to Charles felt worried when he saw what was written in the document. "What could Mr. Yackley be thinking about? Why did he show such an expression." Everyone was curious, and the room was silent. No one dared to breathe and showed intriguing expressions. Charles stared at the document quietly. There was only one page, but he seemed to have read it a hundred times as if he wanted to look at the words more thoroughly.Finally, he gently put the document on the table, closed his eyes, and leaned on the sofa. At this moment, all of the fragility in his heart was undoubtedly revealed. The document clearly stated everything that had happened five years ago in that hotel that night. The reason why he could get such a detailed report was that five years ago, the person who ordered Javier to be drugged was him. However, he had
Charles' calculating look terrified even his own underlings. They averted their gaze fearfully, not daring to look him in the eye. "Come here," Charles called to one of them.The man he called out to snapped to attention and said respectfully, "Yes, sir?"Charles laughed. He fiddled with the document he was holding for a moment, eyes flashing with intent. "Go and find everyone who was involved with that incident five years ago. Tell them that I need to talk to them. Offer a reward if need be. Find all of them."Despite not knowing where he was going with this, the man nodded. "I can do that, but may I ask why, sir? We've already gotten all the evidence we need. Even if we find those people, I doubt they will be of any use." Why spend so many resources to find them?He didn't say the last sentence out loud, settling instead with a quizzical look.If it were before, Charles would have just glared at him and told him to mind his own business, but surprisingly, he answered the question. "
Claire dismissed the thought again. Ollie and Javier must have spent too much time together, she told herself firmly. However, the suspicion planted itself firmly in her mind.Time ticked by slowly. Things seemed to be getting better, but at the same time, it wasn't a happy process.Ollie was finding it harder to stay awake. Despite his boisterous manner when he was awake, it was still clear that he was in pain. He had always been a considerate child, so he never made a single complaint.Claire was riddled with guilt, but she kept it all in. The pain and agony just multiplied as time went by. Javier took time off to accompany them. They got on well together as a family, but there was always a hint of sadness between them. Claire knew why, and so did Javier.As it were, the next few days were spent in peace until Claire finally lost it when Ollie fainted and had to be rushed to the emergency room again.When the doctors pushed Ollie into the operating theater, Claire broke down into te
The entire hospital was excited to hear that the famous doctor, Randy Xenos, was coming here. They all clamored for the chance to watch him perform the surgery and even interact with him personally. Even the senior doctors were fighting to be his assistant.Therefore, when Ollie was rushed into the operating theater, he was accompanied by quite a crowd, which somehow comforted Claire.When Randy came out, his face was pale. "Javier, Claire. We've stabilized Ollie for now, but we really need to get the donor settled as soon as possible. I can give you about a week."Hearing this, Claire almost fainted. Javier caught her just in time, but he was worried too. "Is that all we can do now?" he asked with a heavy heart.Claire's tiny sparkle of hope quickly distinguished at Randy's shake of his head. There was nothing else they could do now.She grabbed Randy's sleeve in desperation. "You have to help him, Randy. I'll find Ollie a suitable donor. Please, help him. I'll thank you in advance,"
"No, it's okay, I don't want any. You can have it all." Claire wiped away her tears discreetly so that Ollie wouldn't notice anything wrong with her.Ollie lowered his head and continued eating silently. For some reason, the apples tasted bitter today. After zoning out for a while, he snapped back to attention and asked cautiously, "Mommy, Dad, I wanna ask you something. Can you promise not to lie to me?""Silly boy, why would I lie to you? Ask away," Claire said, ruffling his hair fondly. She and Ollie had spent most of their lives with only each other to rely on. They had been through a lot, so neither of them would hide anything from the other. However, she had a bad feeling about this.Was he going to … Just as she expected, Ollie asked, lips trembling, "Mommy, am I sick? Am I going to die?"He wasn't stupid. He knew his body, and the fact that both Claire and Javier had been inseparable from him over the last few days confirmed that he was sick. He wouldn't believe any answer con
The room was so bright that Claire had to squint until her eyes were adjusted to the sudden light. When she could see again, she saw Charles sitting at his usual place, smoking a cigarette. He looked lonely.Claire opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She settled with sitting quietly at a side while Charles continued smoking unbothered. The emotions in his eyes were unfathomable.Claire sat in silence until she couldn't take the heavy atmosphere any longer. She cleared her throat. "Charles, is what you told me over the phone true? Don't lie to me."A strange light flashed in Charles' eyes. He stubbed out the remains of the cigarette and laughed lightly. "I wouldn't lie to you now, Claire. It's true. I found him." As he spoke, his smile deepened, but it did not reach his eyes.Claire felt her heart skip a beat. She wasn't sure if it was because of her nervousness or something else. After a while, she swallowed uneasily and asked, "Who—who is it then? Did you tell him we need him to c
Charles just stared at Claire silently, watching as she came to her own shocking conclusion. Things were going just like he had planned; he should be happy about it, but he wasn't. In fact, he felt a little sad.These memories were between Claire and Javier, not him. They had nothing to do with him.But what did it matter now? He just needed to convince Claire that he was the man she had slept with five years ago, and she would come to him eventually. As for Ollie, he was sure that he would be able to cure him with the best doctors in the world.This wasn't something even Javier could do, so it would also be impossible for Charles, but he didn't know it yet. Neither did he care about that at that moment; all he could think about now was how to keep Claire by his side. With that thought, he got up and sat down beside Claire, ignoring the slight flinch that she gave. He took a file and handed it to Claire. "I know this isn't easy to accept. I was as shocked as you were when I found out.
Claire could not bear to hurt Javier or Ollie, so she chose to bear this secret on her own. She'd do it at any cost.Charles was furious. He glared at Claire and asked through gritted teeth, "What if I say no, Claire? What makes you think you can interfere with my decision? You want me to save him, but you won't allow me to tell my son the truth. How selfish can a woman be, Claire?"Selfish? Claire laughed at that word. She was selfish. Only a selfish person could ask something like this. How could she expect this to have a good ending at all? At this point, she should be expecting the worst. This would never end well.Pale-faced, she said softly, "Then what do you want to do? I'll do anything as long as you save Ollie."Charles began to doubt himself when Claire showed no signs of yielding. Did she really hate him so much? What a joke. At that moment, he decided to throw caution to the wind. "I'll save Ollie, but I will also take responsibility for what happened five years ago," he s
Hattie looked extremely sincere in her pleading. However, when Sofia did not answer or even look at her, she began to lose confidence. Sofia's face was impassive. "Hattie, I've known you since you were a baby, but I can't help you with this. Please leave." She did not want to discuss the other stuff with her yet.However, Hattie was obstinate. She looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Aunt Sofia, please, please help me. I know it's not much trouble for you, but it can save our entire family. You've always been so kind to me. I promise that the Snyder family will repay you for your kindness!"Hearing this, Sofia felt uncomfortable. She raised her head and gazed at her coldly. "In this case, Hattie, I'll tell you why I won't help you," she said impatiently. "Do you really not know what you've done? I won't say it, but I know exactly what you've done to Ollie. You deserve everything that's happening to you now."Hattie widened her eyes, partly in shock and partly in disbelief when she h
Javier paused outside the door and waited until Claire left before giving his subordinates a look. They understood perfectly and grabbed Chantelle at once.As Javier had ordered, they were to send this woman abroad as far away as possible and leave her to fend for herself.Outside the hotel, Claire looked up at the sky blankly. She felt like a huge burden had been taken off her shoulders; for the first time in a long time, she felt relieved of all the hurt that she had suffered five years ago. Turning back, she told Javier, "Thank you, Javier, for allowing me to face my fears. I feel so relieved now."Javier's expression fell when he heard her thank him. He tapped her on the nose fondly in exasperation. "What are you talking about? Of course, I won't let those who hurt you get off so easily. They have to pay for what they have done."Claire was touched to see him so protective of her. A surge of warmness spread in her chest as she gazed at him fondly. "I'm lucky to have you, Javier."T
That was all Armand could think of.In just a few minutes, Chantelle admitted to everything she had done to Claire over the past few years.From drugging Claire out of jealousy and getting a stranger to assault her to getting Liam to banish her abroad, she admitted to everything. Claire knew some of them, but not all; only now did she know the extent of her crimes.When she was finished, everyone in the room sported conflicting expressions. Liam looked especially hurt and remorseful. It turned out that his younger daughter had always been evil, and he had wrongfully blamed Claire for all these years.Armand, on the other hand, didn't know how to feel about all this. He glanced at Claire and Javier. He felt that he really didn't deserve Claire, after all he had done. He had thought Chantelle to be kind and naive and had trusted her blindly to the point that he almost married her.Thank goodness the wedding didn't happen. Even so, he had lost Claire thanks to this. It made him regret eve
If Chantelle told Claire the truth about what happened that night, then there would be nothing stopping her from having a happily-ever-after with Javier.Back then, driven by jealousy, she had drugged Claire and put her in Javier's bed without their consent. She had planned all of this out herself meticulously. She had gotten Armand to catch Claire in the act so that he would call off the engagement and be with her instead. Liam banished Claire abroad to fend for herself. However, if she had known that the random stranger she had arranged to assault Claire was Javier, she never would've done it.Even so, it was a perfect plan worthy of a blockbuster film. Claire and Javier never found out the truth, nor did they know that Ollie was actually Javier's son.It took them two years of skirting around each other only to find out that they were meant to be in the first place. Now that the truth was out, Claire would not settle for prison as a punishment for the cause of all her suffering. Sh
After a lot of persuasion, Claire and Sofia finally managed to get Ollie to agree to stay in the hospital for another three days.Of course, three days weren't enough. Sofia and Pedro tried everything they could to convince Ollie to stay in the hospital for as long as possible.However, Ollie was smart enough to see through their ruse. He felt guilty when he saw them trying to cajole him into staying, so one day, after another attempt, he spoke up hesitantly, "Grandma, Grandpa, I'm glad that you're trying to keep me happy, and I'm touched that you're concerned about me, but I've been in the hospital for too long and it's making me sad. I promise that I'll listen to the doctor even when I'm at home, okay?" Under his bright, clear gaze, Sofia's protests died in her throat, leaving only exasperation and wordless sorrow.Ollie was too mature for his age. How could they not love him?Therefore, Ollie got his wish and was discharged three days later. In order to take care of Ollie, Sofia an
Hearing this, Javier narrowed his eyes. He felt like he was on the verge of grasping something, but the feeling passed too quickly for him to register it. Softening his tone, he said, "There's no need to be scared, Ollie. We're all right here with you. We'll protect you no matter what happens. Can you tell me what you remembered?"Ollie might have regained his memories from before he'd been drugged.Buoyed by the encouragement, Ollie thought hard for a moment and said with a frown, "I … I remember a lady beating me. She locked me up and didn't let me eat anything while saying bad things about me and Mommy all the time. I wanted to fight back, but I was too weak. After I tried to run, she caught me and beat me up some more and forced me to eat food off the floor." Toward the end of this, Ollie burst into tears.Claire's heart hurt for him. She wanted to hug him, but Javier got there first."Tell me, Ollie, do you know her name?" Javier's voice was thick with tears as well. "Do you remem
With that, Henry threw a glance at the rest of the employees and hurried them out. He also dragged Raina and Thomas out with him, leaving only Claire and Javier's parents to keep him company.Since it was only a small procedure for Javier, he did not get a lot of anesthesia. He tried to wriggle his body a little. Realizing what he was doing, Claire quickly helped him sit up.Javier did not look like he had just come out of surgery. Thanks to his strong physique, he looked fine.Seeing this, Sofia finally eased up a little on her worries. "How are you feeling, Javier?"Javier shook his head. "I'm fine, Mom. I just need some rest. How about Ollie? Did they say when he'll wake up?" He already knew that the surgery was a success, so he wanted to know when he would be able to see Ollie."Randy said that Ollie will be out for some time, but he's fine," Claire replied. Javier nodded. He, too, finally eased up on the tight knot of worry that was weighing his chest.Once he was sure that Javie
The surgery took three hours.As time went by, Claire got more and more anxious. However, there was nothing she could do but wait.In the end, Sofia was the first to crack. She went up to Claire and said anxiously, "Claire, are you sure that Dr. Xenos is good? It's been three hours, why aren't they out yet? I have a bad feeling about this."Claire wasn't exactly relaxed either, but she didn't show it. She gathered her thoughts and comforted Sofia. "Everything will be fine, Mrs. Marquez. Randy is a well-known surgeon, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Don't worry." She wanted to reach out to comfort her, but in the end, she just sat there with an awkward expression. This was probably how their relationship would be in the foreseeable future—awkward and distant.Pedro watched their interaction with an air of knowingness. "Stop crying, Sofia," he said. "They're fine, you don't have to cry about them. Claire's still pregnant, don't upset her."Sofia was about to get angry about his admoni
At that, Javier narrowed his eyes dangerously.The Weiss family wasn't in a stable condition right now, so it wouldn't be hard for him to take revenge on Claire's behalf. Now that he knew the truth of what had happened, he had to find a way to punish the perpetrators.The news that Ollie was Javier's biological son quickly spread, especially after Sofia held a party in celebration. In fact, it made headlines the day before Ollie's scheduled surgery.Javier wasn't surprised about it. He had been looking for an opportunity to announce it to the public so that there wouldn't be unsightly rumors that would affect Claire. Claire, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable about the announcement. After all, she had always been a private person; she didn't want anyone to disturb her peaceful life.After a while, though, she got used to it.The most important contributor to this was that it benefited Ollie. From now on, he wasn't a fatherless child anymore. He could tell anyone who would l