Chapter 201
Michael's phone rang too. It was Veda calling.
Michael frowned and ignored it.
Veda was the person Nolan and Luna were using to test the waters.
"Need to rush back?" After Nora hung up, Michael asked.
"Jasper's mom got out of prison. She says she wants to see me." Nora sat to the side, somewhat distracted.
She didn't know how to face her, or even what to call her.
After being kicked out by the Adams family, Nora had nowhere to go. Jasper took her home to live in their rental apartment.
Back then, Opal hadn't gone to prison yet. She kept telling her to get rid of the baby, saying that with this child, she'd be a burden and would never be able to get married.
She also said that a single woman raising a child was too hard, that she'd end up like her—worn out until she broke.
At the time, Nora really did want to get rid of the baby. A child of unknown origin, a child whose biological father she didn't even know—she didn't have the courage to give birth.
Jasper went with her to the hospital. The examination results said Nora's physical condition wasn't suitable for an abortion. If she insisted on going through with it and something went wrong, they'd have to remove her uterus too.
Nora hesitated.
Back then, she still fantasized about getting married someday, having her own family, her own children, having a husband who would protect and love her.
She chose to keep the baby, and at the same time, she chose to fall into hell.
James was disgusted by her, the Adams family hated her. For a while, Nora was like a rat crossing the street—everyone wanted to beat her, everyone bullied her.
At first, Nora thought about just giving up—giving up on this child, getting rid of it, and moving to a different city to start over.
But when she watched her belly grow little by little, watched the child grow little by little, she gave up that idea.
Since she chose to keep this child, she had to take responsibility for this child all the way.
"If you don't want to see her, then don't." Michael felt sorry for Nora, knowing she still had resentment toward this mother in her heart.
"It's not that I don't want to see her. From her perspective, shouldn't I even thank her for saving my life? Because I'm actually the one who benefited from the switched-at-birth case." Nora smiled weakly.
She had enjoyed the Adams family's care and education for twenty-one years for nothing.
If she hadn't taken Evelyn's place, maybe she should have died as a child.
"Should I come with you?" Michael draped a bathrobe over Nora's shoulders.
"No need." Nora quickly waved her hand.
These family matters of hers—she was afraid they'd dirty Michael's ears.
She was also afraid Michael would be disgusted by her like everyone else.
Michael's phone rang again. This time he was getting annoyed.
He was about to block Veda too, but saw it was David calling.
"This better be important." Michael answered the phone.
Before coming to the resort, he'd warned David not to call and bother him unless it was something really important.
"Mr. Smith, Jasper and Veda called saying Samuel and Joseph snuck out after school and no one knows where they went. Clea didn't pick up the kids and is about to tear the school apart."
David spoke nervously, worried not just about Samuel and Joseph, but also about Clea tearing down the school.
Michael's eyes darkened. Samuel was so well-behaved—how could he suddenly run off?
Were the Smith family people trying to force him to come back, now even scheming against little kids?
How shameless.
"Mr. Smith?" Nora looked at Michael nervously.
"Pack up, we're going back." Michael stood up and scooped up Nora with one hand.
Emerald City, kindergarten.
"Ms. Williams, Ms. Williams, please calm down, calm down. We'll find the surveillance footage right away." The principal was scared to death, wiping his sweat while stalling for time.
"I think you're tired of living." Clea hadn't seen the kids yet and was already asking to see the surveillance. This principal was deliberately stalling.
"Ms. Williams." The bodyguards surrounded the principal, and only then did he fearfully take them to the surveillance room.
From the surveillance footage, Samuel and Joseph had run out of the classroom before school ended, and where they went was exactly a surveillance blind spot.
"Ms. Williams, look, the kids ran off on their own, so..." The principal wanted to dodge responsibility.
"During class time, your teachers let the kids run out, and you have the nerve to say this to me?" Clea grabbed the principal by the collar, "I'm telling you, with such a huge safety hazard at the school, you better wait to go to jail!"
The principal was terrified, looking at Clea in horror, "This surveillance blind spot, we didn't know about it either, but somehow..."
"But somehow what? Such a big school with cameras every ten steps, but somehow not here, and the two kids somehow went exactly here. They're just over five years old—do you think they're secret agents?" Clea pushed him away and told the bodyguards, "Call the police. Have them investigate why two kids ran here so openly during class time."
With that, Clea kept a dark expression on her face the whole time and ran toward the small broken warehouse shown in the surveillance.
The warehouse.
Samuel found what he was looking for and wanted to leave with Joseph, "Joseph, I found it—our little flower basket."
Joseph was searching around covered in dust, saying happily, "Samuel, you're so amazing."
"Let's go." Samuel held Joseph's hand and opened the door to leave, but found the warehouse door was locked.
Joseph was a bit scared, "Samuel, it's so dark in here."
Samuel's little face showed some displeasure. He frowned and knocked on the door, "Is anyone there?"
Outside the door, there was no one.
Samuel looked at the watch on his wrist—it was a phone watch Michael had bought him.
Looking at the time, it was already after school.
If Jasper couldn't pick him up, he'd definitely be worried.
"Samuel, I'm scared." Joseph started crying.
"Don't cry. I'll call Uncle Jasper." Samuel found the phone and called his uncle.
"There's no signal." Samuel looked at his little watch, a bit angry.
"Samuel, what do we do?" Joseph was already crying and hiccupping.
Samuel thought for a moment, looking at Joseph who was trying hard to hold back his crying.
"Don't be afraid. This is the school, it's still safe. If Uncle Jasper can't find me, he'll definitely come to the school to check the surveillance. There are cameras on both sides of the little warehouse." Samuel wasn't panicking at all.
Michael had taught him that day—when something happens, don't panic, think calmly about the problem.
"But I'm scared." Joseph's eyes turned red from holding it in. He wanted to cry but didn't dare cry out loud because Samuel would think he was too noisy.
"What should we do now, Samuel?" Joseph, wearing his little overalls, hugged Samuel tightly with snot and tears all over.
Samuel looked at Joseph with disgust, "Just cry louder."
Joseph's long eyelashes blinked, with teardrops still hanging on them.
"They'll definitely come here to find us after watching the surveillance. If you cry loudly, Uncle Jasper will hear us." Samuel said like an adult.
"Samuel, why aren't you crying?" Joseph looked at Samuel very obediently, and now he couldn't cry anymore.
"I don't cry." Samuel lowered his head.
When Nora went to prison, Jasper raised him. He was very sensible.
"Samuel, I can't cry anymore." Joseph felt really wronged.
"I heard there's a monster in the little warehouse that eats kids." Samuel made a scary face at Joseph.
Joseph burst into loud crying.