Chapter 161

Silverlight City, Sapphire Hill Estate.

Leaving that absurd wedding of the century behind, the black business sedan glided smoothly into this quiet private estate.

The car door opened. Sawyer helped Scarlett step out.

In Scarlett's arms, she clutched Arthur, who was still trembling.

Five years.

From the moment doctors declared him dead to today, when he returned to her embrace—more than eighteen hundred days and nights had passed.

"Mommy!"

The instant they stepped into the living room, a small figure in pink darted toward them like a joyful bird.

Orla lifted up with her rosy little face. When she saw the boy in Scarlett's arms, her big eyes lit up at once. She clapped her hands excitedly. "It's Starry! Mommy, you really brought Starry home!"

Hearing this familiar childish voice, Arthur—who had been burying his face in Scarlett’s neck—stiffened.

He quietly turned his head. His hollow eyes met Orla's gaze, bright as stars.

Though they had never spent a single day together, the bond etched into their genes as twins created a quiet, miraculous connection in that instant.

"Starry, don't be scared, okay?" Orla stood on tiptoe and gently touched Arthur's pale, cold cheek, her sweet childlike voice saying, "This is my home with Mommy, and now it's your home too! Nobody will bully you. I'll share all my strawberry cake with you!"

Arthur didn't pull away.

He looked at Orla, then looked up at Scarlett, who held him close.

In this woman's embrace, there was a scent he had never known before. This scent gave him an unprecedented sense of peace.

Scarlett gathered both Arthur and Orla into her arms. Tears slipped silently down her face, falling onto Arthur’s hair.

She didn't dare hold too tight, afraid of shattering this hard-won dream.

She gently patted Arthur's thin back, humming a tender lullaby through her tears.

It was the same melody she had hummed every day during her pregnancy.

As the gentle tune filled the room, something in Arthur’s eyes seemed to soften.

He cautiously extended his arms and wrapped them around Scarlett's neck, burying his face in his mother's embrace. "Mom... Mommy..."

Tears streamed down Scarlett's face. She held her son close, sobbing. "Baby... Mommy's here, Mommy's here... Mommy will never lose you again!"

Watching the three of them embrace and cry together, Sawyer's eyes reddened as well.

He turned away, giving space to this family who'd finally reunited after enduring so much suffering.

In a hidden room at the Getty Manor.

The air was thick with the heavy smell of blood.

Thaddeus kicked the man before him, sending him flying!

"Talk! What really happened at Lakeside Hospital five years ago?"

The bloodied man on the floor was one of the attending physicians who'd participated in Scarlett's emergency treatment that year.

After hearing that recording at the wedding, Thaddeus had completely lost it! He'd mobilized the Getty Group's most core forces to drag this doctor—who had taken a hefty sum and fled overseas years ago—here.

"I... I'll talk..."

"It was... it was Mr. Bourbon..."

"He paid us ten million dollars to bribe our medical team... During Ms. Savoy's hemorrhage and emergency treatment, we took advantage of the chaos... took advantage of the chaos to swap the newborn boy with a stillborn infant who had just died..."

“He also told us to inform you… that the child died of oxygen deprivation…”

So the stillborn infant he had held in grief and buried in the Getty family cemetery wasn't his son at all!

And his real son—the Getty family's firstborn grandson who should have been cherished from birth—had been taken by that bastard Ulysses to a foreign country and tortured for five whole years!

"Damn it!" Thaddeus let out a piercing howl.

He pulled the gun from the bodyguard's holster and pressed it against the doctor's forehead. His fingers trembled violently, wishing he could tear this scum to pieces!

"Mr. Getty! Calm down!" Aiden grabbed Thaddeus's wrist, his voice urgent to the point of breaking. "Mr. Getty, something's happened!"

Thaddeus turned, his bloodshot eyes locking onto him.

"Just now, Ulysses's overseas consortium mobilized nearly a hundred billion dollars in massive capital to maliciously short the Getty Group's stock on international markets!"

Ulysses—humiliated at the wedding and stripped of his so-called adopted son—had finally dropped his mask.

"Mr. Getty, the board is in complete chaos. All the executives are waiting for you to return and take command!" Aiden urged desperately.

Thaddeus slowly lowered his gun. Looking at his blood-stained hands, he suddenly laughed—a low, hollow sound.

He had once neglected his wife's feelings for these illusory things, lost his benefactor, and caused his son to suffer five years of torment!

Now, was he supposed to fight desperately for these same things?

Thaddeus threw the gun on the floor and staggered toward the door.

"Mr. Getty! Where are you going?" Aiden shouted anxiously.

Thaddeus didn't look back.

Where?

He only wanted to see her.

To see that woman he'd hurt beyond recognition, who still fought so fiercely to get their child back.

Late at night, a sudden rainstorm swept across all of Silverlight City.

Outside Sapphire Hill Estate.

Thaddeus stood alone without an umbrella, outside the ornate iron gates of the courtyard.

Cold rain poured down, drenching him completely.

The once-invincible business titan now looked like a stray dog.

He didn't dare knock. He only wished to stand here, guard this gate, and know the mother and child inside were safe—that was enough.

The rain fell all night long.

Thaddeus stood in the wind and rain all night long.

Until the next morning, when the wind stopped and the rain ceased.

A faint ray of morning light broke through the heavy clouds and fell on the courtyard's iron gate.

The heavy ornate gate was slowly pulled open.

Thaddeus's body was stiff. He struggled to lift his head. His bloodshot eyes looked in disbelief at the person emerging from inside.

Scarlett stood there expressionlessly.

She wore a thin windbreaker and held a black umbrella. Her cool gaze fell on Thaddeus's wretched face.

“Scarlett…” His voice was hoarse as he took a step forward.

A soft sound.

A white document folder was mercilessly thrown at his feet by Scarlett.

The folder wasn't sealed. Papers slid halfway out.

At the top, bold black letters read: Divorce Agreement.

And in the signature space at the bottom right, the name "Scarlett" was written sharp and resolute.

Thaddeus's gaze fixed on that agreement. His heart felt as though an invisible hand had crushed it viciously. The pain made it impossible to breathe.

"Thaddeus." Scarlett's voice was colder and more cutting than last night's rain. "Ulysses is a lunatic. His revenge will destroy everything. The Getty Group can barely protect itself right now. Your presence will only bring endless danger to the children and me."

She looked down at him from above. "Sign it."

“It’s the only way you, as a father, can protect them from being dragged into the Getty family’s vendetta.”

Scarlett paused, a flash of resolute coldness passing through her eyes. "From now on, we part ways—in life and in death."