Chapter 179: I Misjudged Mom
News that Nathan had been found spread quickly throughout the building, bringing visible relief to all the staff members who'd been searching.
If the child had truly gone missing in their hotel, the consequences would have been severe.
William arrived with Laura, and immediately noticed Isabella holding Nathan.
Given the consistently strained relationship between mother and son, seeing Nathan in Isabella's arms sparked multiple suspicions in William's mind.
Why had Nathan suddenly disappeared? Why, after so many people had combed through the hotel repeatedly without success, was it Isabella who'd found him?
Laura hurried forward to take Nathan from her, examining him carefully from head to toe.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Do you feel sick? Let me see!"
Laura was genuinely the most concerned about Nathan.
He was, after all, a direct descendant of the Montagu family. If anything happened to him, she couldn't bear the responsibility.
Nathan cooperated obediently with Laura's examination.
"I'm sorry, Laura. I made you all worry." Nathan kept his head down, apologizing in a barely audible voice.
Hearing those words, Isabella felt her heart turn a few degrees colder.
In his mind, his precious Laura clearly mattered most.
Once Nathan had been confirmed safe, Isabella prepared to leave.
But William suddenly spoke up.
"You deliberately hid the child just to make us panic, didn't you?"
Isabella looked at him in disbelief. Had William concocted another sinister narrative? How could he possibly connect this to her?
"Besides you, Nathan has no acquaintances in this hotel. You must have lured him out of the room... Was your goal to get my attention, or to use Nathan to gain sympathy?"
William fixed her with a knowing look, as though certain she'd crack and reveal guilt any moment.
Isabella raised her eyelids and rolled her eyes hard at William.
"Just how bored are you to think I'd deliberately hide Nathan? Don't you know whether your room door was opened or not?"
William's expression darkened slightly.
When Nathan went missing, he'd been arguing with Laura. How could he have noticed sounds from the door?
"You're having a paranoid episode and came up with this nonsense, but I'm not capable of such behavior. So I'd advise you not to slander me." Isabella's warning was expressionless.
Richard stepped forward, making no effort to conceal his defense of Isabella.
"After Isabella brought Nathan back to you, she stayed in the suite reading Olivia bedtime stories. She didn't have time to go out, let alone hide him."
Isabella reasonably suspected William's persecution complex had worsened.
No normal person would jump to such conclusions.
But when William heard Richard speak, his expression only grew more sinister.
"Who's to say you two didn't conspire together?"
Isabella was so exasperated she actually laughed.
"Our divorce agreement clearly states Nathan goes with you. I have no objection whatsoever. If I wanted to fight for custody, I wouldn't have waited until now to hide him in a linen closet only to 'discover' him. What would I gain from that?"
Isabella wished invisibility cloaks existed so she could completely vanish from William's world. Why would she use such methods to get his attention?
"Like I said, narcissism is a disease. If you're sick, go get treatment. Stop having episodes and slandering innocent people!"
If they hadn't helped, who knows when William would have found Nathan.
William's cold gaze fixed on Isabella, his expression profoundly complicated.
"Isabella, your tactics are truly pathetic."
Isabella felt anger flare inside her like a lit match.
"Screw you, William! If you can't understand normal human speech, go back to school with Nathan and learn some basic respect!"
She finally cursed out loud. If she could, she'd happily slap him twice.
When would this man realize not every woman in the world needed to revolve around him? She could live perfectly well without him!
Seeing them argue again, Olivia was frightened to tears. She grabbed Isabella's arm and shook it gently.
"Mommy, Mommy, please don't be angry! I don't want you fighting with Daddy!"
Olivia's crying brought Isabella back to her senses. After glaring coldly at William, she reached down to stroke Olivia's head.
Taking a deep breath, Isabella spoke rapidly to William: "I'll say this one last time. I have zero interest in you. I can't wait to get home tomorrow and finalize the divorce so we never have to deal with each other again."
Nathan was also frightened by their argument. His body trembled slightly before he instinctively clutched at Laura, trying to hide behind her.
Suddenly he heard laughter.
Looking up, he saw Laura standing among the crowd, her face bearing both contempt and mockery.
She looked as though she was gloating over Isabella and William's fight.
Nathan's heart dropped. Laura's expression scared him.
He'd always thought Laura was kind, but her current look was genuinely terrifying.
Nathan wanted to step back, but Isabella and William's voices grew louder and louder.
Knowing all of this was his fault, that enormous panic felt like boundless darkness threatening to swallow him whole.
Finally, Nathan mustered his courage and took two steps forward.
"Dad, you misjudged Mom."
William froze, turning to Nathan with astonishment written across his face.
"I heard you and Laura arguing. I got so scared that I ran out. But there were lots of strangers outside and I couldn't understand what they were saying, so I hid in that room."
Actually, when Nathan had heard people calling outside, he'd wanted to come out.
But he'd been afraid the adults would blame him, so he'd stayed hidden in the linen closet, not daring to move.
Nathan's lips trembled as he said softly, "Mom and Olivia found me."
He didn't even dare raise his head to see Laura's expression, terrified she'd be disappointed in him too.
Isabella was somewhat surprised Nathan had voluntarily stepped forward to tell the truth.
"You heard him? Now even Nathan acts more like a man than you do!" Isabella mocked William.