Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Ella's behavior was really hard to understand.

This left her parents not knowing how to explain things to the Thomas family.

But Ella was their daughter they had lost and found again, and they really couldn't bring themselves to be harsh with her.

If they spoke too harshly, they were afraid Ella would completely distance herself from them.

Heath and Rhea were also at a loss about what to do.

Outside, heavy rain began pouring down.

When they saw Joshua outside, several people rushed with an umbrella, urging him to come in.

Aurora and Dorian also learned about this and ran back to their mom's room, saying angrily, "Mom, why are you making Dad stay outside? The rain is so heavy, he's completely soaked."

Ella reached out and pulled Aurora to her side, explaining, "He did something wrong and is doing this to ask for my forgiveness. It has nothing to do with me, understand?"

"You're lying. Dad didn't do anything wrong. You're the wrong one. You shouldn't be with Dad while thinking about someone else."

Aurora felt terrible for Joshua getting drenched in the rain outside, and for the first time felt annoyed with Ella.

Her voice unconsciously got much louder when speaking to Ella.

"What you're doing is called being unfaithful, and people will look down on you for it. Mom, please stop this, okay?" Aurora held Ella's hand, crying and begging her.

Dorian stood nearby and said, "He has a wound on his head. If he stays out in the rain, it might get infected. Mom, please let him come inside, okay?"

Ella looked at the two children in front of her.

She hadn't expected them both to come speak up for Joshua.

Was Joshua really not wrong?

She didn't know.

She only knew that she couldn't control her desire to torment him, to make him taste what pain felt like.

Ella got out of bed and walked to the window, lifting a corner of the curtain.

Sure enough, she saw Joshua kneeling in the yard below, completely soaked, with someone holding an umbrella over him.

Looking at him like that, she felt no sympathy in her heart.

She ignored the children's pleas, walked over to the sofa, sat down and drew them in front of her.

"Those who do wrong should be punished. This is his choice, I didn't force him."

Aurora looked at her with teary eyes. "Mom, you've changed. You're no longer the gentle, kind mom who only had Dorian and me in her heart."

"You've changed so much, I don't even recognize you anymore. I hate what you've become." She really couldn't accept Ella treating Joshua this way.

Aurora was very angry. She shook off her hand and ran out crying.

Dorian's expression also turned cold. "Our family was doing so well, we were so happy, but you had to destroy everything."

"Mom, you've really disappointed me. You've not only hurt Dad's heart, but mine too."

He didn't want to stay with Ella anymore either. After saying this, Dorian also turned and left.

He was going to persuade Joshua to come inside.

If rainwater got into the wound, it would cause the infection to worsen.

And Joshua's leg already had an old injury. Kneeling like this for so long might cause it to flare up again.

Although he hadn't formally called Joshua "Dad" yet, in Dorian's heart, he had long accepted him.

Watching both children leave her, Ella felt a dull pain in her chest.

But she still didn't care.

It seemed like everyone around her had become unimportant to her.

Even her own children—she no longer had the heart to consider their feelings.

Ella went over and locked the door from inside, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone anymore.

She walked to the window and looked down again. The rain was getting heavier, and Joshua was still kneeling in the storm, looking quite miserable.

But she didn't feel sorry for him.

Ella went back to bed and fell asleep on her own.

Joshua stayed in the rain like that all night long.

The rainwater soaked through the bandages, causing the wound on his head to get infected, triggering a fever of 40 degrees Celsius. He eventually collapsed on the ground from the severe pain and high fever.

Both the Lewis family and the Thomas family were very worried and quickly called Samuel over.

Dorian knew some basic first aid, so he stayed by Samuel's side to help.

Joshua had a high fever all night, and he kept watch by his side all night.

And that night, no one went to disturb Ella anymore.

Everyone was very disappointed in her and seemed to have given up on reaching her for now.

Only Joshua, even while unconscious, kept murmuring Ella's name, asking her not to leave, not to abandon him and the children.

Seeing Joshua still worried about Ella even in this state, Dorian's eyes reddened.

He looked up at Samuel.

"Mr. Harris, my mom is completely different from before. Don't you really have any other way to make her normal again?"

It was all that Lena's fault.

If he saw her again, he definitely wouldn't let her off.

He didn't know what she had done to Ella to make her become someone everyone now disliked.

Samuel sat down next to the child and sighed, "If it's not a problem caused by hypnosis, then I don't have any other solutions."

He didn't believe in things like being cursed or possessed.

In this world, mystical things had no scientific basis. They had to believe in science.

But Dorian felt that Ella must be controlled by something.

He thought about how Ella insisted on finding Michael and contacted him every day, so Michael must know what was going on.

He got up and went back to the study, opening his computer.

He used hacking techniques to break into Ella's phone, found Uncle Michael's phone number, and called it.

After a long wait, the other party answered.

Dorian immediately identified himself, "Uncle Michael, it's me."

Michael recognized Dorian's voice.

He asked with a smile, "What's wrong, baby? Do you miss me?"

Dorian kept a straight face and asked with suppressed anger, "What did you do to my mom? Why is she thinking about you all the time now? Please leave my mom alone, okay?"

When Michael heard he was questioning him rather than missing him, his smile deepened. He said to the child in a gentle tone, "Your mom loves me, and I love your mom. Why should I leave her alone?"

"Baby, you can come find me with Aurora and your mom too. I'll treat you like my own children."

"But you're not our father."

Dorian angrily retorted, "I know you saved Aurora and Mom. Whatever compensation you want, I can give you. But please don't take our mom away. Can you make my mom normal again?"

That woman called Lena must have been sent by Uncle Michael.

They must have used some drug or other means on Ella to make her so abnormal.

And the solution must be in Michael's hands.

Michael was somewhat displeased. "Dorian, you need to be clear about one thing—I've known your mom since we were kids. It was Joshua who took her from me."

"You're Joshua's children, and I'm not angry about that. I can even accept you."

"But if you say I'm taking your mom away, I don't accept that. Your mom was mine to begin with. She must return to my side."

"If you try to stop us, then just watch as your mom dies for me!"

He hung up the phone, not wanting to waste any more words with Dorian.

No matter how much he said, Dorian wouldn't understand anyway.

Dorian held the phone, frozen in place, unable to process what had just happened.

So Ella really was being controlled by Michael.

But he had no idea how they did it.

To find out the truth, Dorian could only log onto the dark web and post a high-reward bounty, looking for someone who could solve this kind of problem.

When Joshua woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

His fever hadn't broken yet, and he felt dizzy all over.

He saw many people standing by the bed. Knowing Ella didn't like noise and worried they might disturb her and make her angry again, Joshua asked them all to leave.

The problem between him and Ella—he wanted to handle it himself.

The elders had no choice but to leave first.

Samuel still had surgeries to attend to, so after giving some instructions, he left as well.

Joshua dragged his sick body out of bed, wanting to check on Ella and ask if she had eaten.

But when he returned to the room, it was empty.

He walked out of the room and happened to run into Aurora and Dorian, each carrying a tray upstairs with fruit and some snacks on them.

He asked weakly, "Aurora, Dorian, where's your mom? Where did she go?"

Aurora walked up to Joshua and saw that he could barely stand, his face abnormally flushed from the high fever.

She quickly helped Joshua back to the room.

"Mom went to the company. Dad, you're still sick, quickly go back to bed."

Dorian also reminded him, "You need to take care of yourself first before you can care about others. Eat these things quickly."

Joshua listened to the children obediently. Even without an appetite, he forced himself to eat a little when they brought him food.

He was very worried that if he wasn't careful, Ella would buy plane tickets on her own to go find Michael again.

Joshua took out his phone to check Ella's location.

Only after confirming that she was indeed at the company did he relax a little.

Dorian sat nearby and comforted him, "Don't be too sad. Mom must be under some influence to be acting like this. Let's work together to find a solution. When Mom gets better, she'll go back to how she was."

He had already posted a bounty on the dark web.

The world was so large that if someone could make Ella like this, there must be someone who could help her return to normal.

They definitely couldn't lose heart. There would be a way.

Joshua looked at Dorian, his eyes dull and lifeless. "You also think Mom is being controlled by something, and this isn't her true intention?"

Dorian nodded vigorously.

Joshua reached out and patted Dorian's head.

"Since you think so, then it must be true. I'm not sad. I will definitely make your mom normal again."

Dorian encouraged him, "We're with you. Even if Mom really wants to leave you in the future, we won't leave you."

Aurora also added, "I won't leave you either, Dad. I'll stay by your side forever."

Joshua felt a bit of comfort.

He reached out and gently hugged both children.

With their company and support, he was even more determined to find a way to help Ella return to normal.

As for the grievances and hurt he suffered during this time, they didn't matter.

He didn't blame Ella either.

When Ella came home from work, as soon as she entered the estate, she saw Joshua waiting for her at the door with the two children.

She was wearing an elegant business suit, with a graceful posture.

Even though she wore flat shoes, it was hard to hide her striking looks and elegant presence.

As soon as she got out of the car, Joshua, still not fully recovered, walked over with a smile.

"Ella, you're home from work. You must be tired. Dinner is ready."