Chapter 80
Jessa paced back and forth, clearly troubled and anxious.
Cleo, on the other hand, remained calm and composed, looking like she was ready to teach her a lesson.
I nudged Levi's arm, "Why don't you take Hayden to your car first? We shouldn't let the kid be affected by this kind of thing."
"OK."
Levi didn't trust anyone now. He personally went downstairs to take Hayden to the car.
When he came back, Cleo's husband, Michael Johnson, came with him.
Now that Hayden had been found, there was really no need for me to stay here, but leaving suddenly would be kind of awkward.
I've never been into gossip, though Nola occasionally shares some.
I looked at the group of them until I met Levi's eyes, then looked down.
"Michael, you're finally here. Quick, explain things to Cleo."
Cleo stood up and smiled, "I don't believe what she's saying. She claims she picked up the child from you today."
"Who?"
Michael seemed confused about what they were talking about.
"Hayden! She said she saw you with Hayden, and then she offered to help you watch the child." Cleo explained.
Jessa chimed in, "Yes, that's exactly what happened."
Michael scratched his head, "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"See, he doesn't even know about this. You're just making things up. You wanted to use my son, and you should just admit it. Everyone's here anyway, so let's just clear this up." Cleo acted like she had taken the moral high ground.
Jessa gave a bitter laugh, "I can't believe this. Why would I admit to something that never happened?"
She turned and stared at Michael, "I only offered to help because you're Cleo's husband. How can you be such a liar? You were clearly with some woman, and if I wasn't worried about Hayden, I wouldn't have bothered."
"Who's the liar? You're really rude. I never realized you were such a good liar before."
Cleo was defending her husband. In her mind, her husband was great.
Even though she suspected Michael of cheating, she still had to speak up for him.
"You two are really bullying me."
Jessa's eyes were full of frustration and regret.
Michael smiled, "I was just working today. When did I ever have the child? Plus, I was working overtime just now. I was at the company. If you don't believe me, call the company and ask."
"I... I really think this is ridiculous. Good deeds really go unpunished. You're lying through your teeth. I should have taken a photo of you with that woman, so I wouldn't be wrongly accused like this." Jessa's voice trembled with anger.
"We've barely met a few times, right? Are you even good friends with my wife? How could I possibly trust you with my child? If you're going to lie, at least come up with a better excuse."
Michael was desperately trying to prove his innocence.
Put that way, it kind of made sense.
Levi and I stayed quiet since they were the ones directly involved.
"I've always been upright and honest. If I had picked up Hayden, I would have admitted it already. Plus, Levi's house has security cameras - you can check if you don't believe me."
"How dare you mention the cameras?"
Cleo pointed at her nose, "Now I get it. You must have deliberately blocked the cameras so they wouldn't catch you."
I watched Michael's expression. When Cleo said the cameras didn't catch anything, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
But it was just for a moment. Before I could observe more carefully, his face went blank.
"Levi, go check the cameras. The footage will prove my innocence." Jessa walked over to Levi and pleaded with him.
Cleo pulled her back.
"Are you blind? How dare you order my brother around? Don't you see his wife is right here? Stop daydreaming. If you try to get into the Morgan family, I'll be the first to object."
Jessa was stunned, "Cleo, how can you not tell right from wrong? We're talking about what really happened. Don't change the subject."
"Where's Hayden anyway? At the end of the day, where is my son now?" Michael pressed.
"In our car."
I quickly explained. Now wasn't the time to make things bigger.
Michael pressed his lips together and said nothing.
"Stop playing games. I can let today's incident slide. I'll just assume you still have feelings for my brother. But don't let it happen again." Cleo wanted to settle things peacefully.
If this continued and Jessa brought up Michael and the other woman, Levi definitely wouldn't let it go and would demand to know what was really going on.
Jessa gave a bitter laugh, "You want me to admit to something that didn't happen? Should I tear off your fig leaf?"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Cleo cut her off first. I turned my attention back to Michael. I felt like he was even more nervous than Cleo.
"I'm telling the truth. Even though Levi and I broke up, I've maintained my relationship with you. We've met up, gone shopping, and had meals together. I always thought we could become friends who could talk about anything."
"If it wasn't for that, I would never have agreed to watch Hayden. What right do I have to watch your child?"
Jessa's thoughts were clear and her expression perfect.
I started to have doubts. What really happened? Everyone seemed to make sense.
"But you can't slander me. I've been working the whole time. Where would I have time to watch a child? When was I ever with the child?"
Michael looked at us, "This is really embarrassing for you to witness. I was suddenly called here, and I can't even figure out what's going on."
Seeing his innocent look, Levi and I couldn't take a position.
But we had to let this settle down somehow. Arguing endlessly wouldn't reveal the truth.
If only the cameras had caught something...
Thinking of this, I suddenly remembered the video Faye sent. The mall's cameras hadn't been upgraded - checking them would show who was lying.
"Did you watch the video I sent you?"
I asked Levi urgently.
"I did. The mall's cameras have been tampered with."
How terrifying.
Who could it be? Who could delete the mall footage so quickly? Now there really was no evidence at all.
In such a short time, who could have predicted tonight would turn out like this?
I got goosebumps. What seemed like simply helping watch a kid turned out to be increasingly complicated.
"How could this happen..."
Jessa became even more desperate. She had no way to clear her name now.
And Michael completely denied ever seeing Hayden.
Cleo was certain that Jessa had picked up Hayden from our house.
"Cleo, I really haven't seen Hayden. The company was very busy today. I might not even finish today's work with overtime." Michael looked miserable.
"Forget it. Hayden's safe anyway. We won't pursue this. Let's go, this is really unlucky."
Cleo suddenly became generous.
"No way. Don't pin this on me. I didn't do this, and I won't admit to it." But Jessa wasn't planning to let it go.
Even though there was no evidence, her attitude was very firm.
"You really don't know when to quit. Are you not going to let us leave now?"