Chapter 247
Cedric turned his head to look at her. In the moonlight, her profile was sharp and defined, her eyes carrying a kind of calm that came from seeing through everything.
"That's just how this world works. This kind of thinking didn't form overnight."
The reason Gideon got forgiveness so easily wasn't just because he was a man—it was also because he was one of the Getty family heirs.
Affairs, mistresses—all of it.
That was charm. That was being suave.
Josephine drained her champagne in one gulp. "I hate that kind of thinking."
"Then change it."
Josephine froze, looking at Cedric.
In the darkness, his eyes seemed to hold a thousand stars—deep and brilliant.
"Change is hard. It just depends on whether you want to do it."
"I do." Josephine's voice was firm, decisive.
Josephine stood on the terrace, the night breeze stirring her hair, that word "I do" still echoing in the air.
Cedric looked at her, something churning in the depths of his eyes in the darkness.
He was about to speak when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, his expression tightening slightly. "I need to take this."
Josephine nodded, watching him turn and walk back into the event hall. She remained alone on the terrace, tilting her head back to look at the night sky, her heart a tangle of complicated emotions she couldn't quite name.
Change the world's thinking? How could that be easy?
But she wanted to do it.
Not to prove anything, but so that when she stood on stage, people wouldn't measure her worth by whose woman she was.
Footsteps sounded behind her. She turned to see Cedric returning, but his expression looked off.
"The hospital called. Lorelei's situation... the baby's not doing well. Premature birth complications. Needs to be transferred."
Josephine was silent for a moment before asking softly, "Are you going to see him?"
"It's not my kid. Why would I go?" Cedric's tone was flat. "But you—aren't you going to Hopewell Hospital tomorrow?"
Josephine's father was receiving psychological treatment from Jagger at Hopewell Hospital.
But she hadn't told anyone about this. "How do you know?"
"Noah reports your schedule to me."
Josephine laughed dryly. "Well, at least you're honest about it."
"With you, there's no need to hide anything." Cedric took the champagne flute from her hand and took her hand in his. "Let's go back. You've got a busy day tomorrow."
Josephine glanced down at their joined hands. She didn't pull away.
The next day, the sunlight was beautiful.
But in Lorelei's hospital room, the atmosphere was as dark as the sky before a storm.
Gideon stood by the window, his back to the bed, his figure cold and hard as iron. Lorelei leaned against the headboard, her face pale, her eyes red and swollen, the tiny baby cradled in her arms.
"You didn't embarrass yourself enough at the press conference?" Gideon's voice was ice-cold. "What the hell were you thinking, running off with my mother to make a scene? Do you have any idea what kind of event that was?"
Last night, David had summoned him urgently and chewed him out.
He'd demanded that Gideon keep Lorelei under control. If there was a next time, he wouldn't spare either of them.
"I just..." Tears rolled down Lorelei's face again. "I just didn't want her to take you from me."
"No one's taking me." Gideon turned around, his gaze landing on her without a trace of warmth. "Lorelei, I'm keeping you around because you were pregnant with my child. Now it's because the baby's too young to be without a mother. Once the baby's stable, I'm sending you abroad."
Lorelei's fingers clenched the bedsheet so tightly her nails nearly pierced her palms. She kept her head down, not letting Gideon see the hatred churning in her eyes.
He didn't just dislike her—he was going to discard her like trash.
"I understand."
After a long silence, Lorelei answered in a low voice.
Only after Gideon slammed the door on his way out did she lift her head. The sunlight outside the window was warm, but she felt frozen to the bone, the hatred in her eyes thick as a rising tide.
Josephine...
It was Josephine again!
Why wouldn't that woman just disappear? She'd already married Cedric—why was she still trying to take everything from her? If not for her, how would Gideon look at her with such cold eyes?
Her phone rang. She answered it, and hearing the voice on the other end, a vicious glint flashed in her eyes.
"Help me with something..."
Hopewell Hospital.
Josephine parked her car and walked into the inpatient building with the file in hand. The psychologist's office was on the third floor. She took the elevator up and handed the file to the nurse's station.
"Ms. Kennedy, please wait a moment. The professor is making rounds and will be here shortly," the nurse said politely.
Josephine nodded and sat down on a bench in the hallway.
At the end of the corridor was the nursery for the neonatal unit. Through the glass, she could see the incubators and the tiny babies inside.
Her gaze drifted there involuntarily.
Some of the babies were sleeping, others crying. Nurses moved among them, working efficiently.
Josephine stood up and walked toward the nursery window as if drawn by some unseen force.
Her eyes landed on an incubator in the corner—inside lay an especially small baby, skin still slightly red, connected to various monitoring devices. She saw the name on the medical chart: Victor Getty.
Lorelei's baby.
So small. So fragile.
Josephine's fingers lightly touched the glass, a sharp pain twisting in her chest.
She thought of her own child, that little life that had left before ever seeing the world.
If he were still here... he'd be a healthy baby now. Maybe not able to call her 'mama' yet, but he'd smile at her with his gummy grin.
Her eyes suddenly stung.
She took a deep breath and pulled her gaze away, about to turn and leave when the baby in the incubator suddenly let out a few weak cries.
Josephine's steps froze. She looked back at the child one more time.
He was so small. So helpless.
She sighed and turned away.
What she didn't notice was that shortly after she left, a figure in a white coat hurried toward that incubator, swiftly lifting the baby out and stuffing him into a prepared bag.
Two o'clock in the afternoon, Starlight Group conference room.
Josephine was chairing a project review meeting. Emma sat beside her taking notes as everyone discussed things heatedly.
The conference room door was suddenly slammed open.
Lorelei burst in like a madwoman, her hair wild, her eyes red and swollen, clutching an empty baby blanket. The moment she saw Josephine, she lunged forward, her scream nearly piercing eardrums. "Josephine! Give me back my baby! You stole my child!"
The entire conference room fell deathly silent.
Everyone froze, staring at the disheveled Lorelei in the doorway.
Josephine frowned, setting down her pen. "What are you talking about?"
"Stop pretending!" Lorelei rushed toward her, reaching out to claw at her face. "My baby's gone! You were at the hospital this morning, weren't you? You went into the nursery, didn't you? You stole my child!"
Before Josephine could react, Lorelei lunged at her and slapped her hard across the face.
The sharp crack echoed through the silent conference room.
Josephine's head snapped to the side, her cheek burning with pain. Emma cried out and rushed forward to restrain Lorelei. "What are you doing? Are you insane? If your baby's missing, call the police! What are you doing coming after us? Do you have proof? Keep this up and I'll have you charged with assault!"
Cedric had already risen and positioned himself in front of Josephine and Emma, staring at Lorelei expressionlessly.
"Enough!"
A sharp rebuke came from the doorway.
Gideon strode in quickly and grabbed Lorelei's arm. "Stop this!"
"She stole my baby!" Lorelei struggled hysterically, her eyes so red they looked ready to bleed. "Give me back my child! Give him back!"
Briana rushed in as well. Seeing the scene, she immediately pointed at Josephine and snapped, "Josephine! How vicious can you be? Causing my grandson to be born prematurely wasn't enough—now you've stolen him! I've already called the police! If that child isn't found, you can wait to go to jail!"
Cedric glanced at Gideon. "Control your people. Cause trouble here and I can have you escorted to the police station myself."
That was putting it mildly.
Given Cedric's temperament, throwing them into the ocean wasn't out of the question.
Gideon took a deep breath and held Lorelei tightly. She was still crying, her voice shrill and desperate. "It had to be her! She stole my baby! She's jealous of me—she hates me! She took advantage of the broken surveillance cameras and took my child. Josephine, what do you want from me? Please, just give him back. I can't lose my baby."
She collapsed to her knees with a thud.
Briana chimed in from the side. "Cedric, protecting her won't help! The police will be here any minute!"