Chapter 146
The Lewis Villa.
As Rhea was playing with Dorian in the yard, several bodyguards dressed in black suddenly stormed in and forcefully pulled Dorian away from her.
They acted so quickly that before Rhea had a chance to respond or cry out for help, Dorian was already being shoved into a car.
Regaining her composure, Rhea hurried over to try and stop them.
"Who are you? How dare you?! To steal my grandson in broad daylight? Give him back to me!"
Dorian, too, was fighting against the man in black's grip, yelling, "Grandma, help me!"
"Dorian, Dorian..."
Rhea screamed painfully, desperately reaching out to grab Dorian.
But two imposing men in black blocked her way, speaking to her calmly, "We're taking the child to the Thomas family. If you want to see him, come to the Thomas Manor!"
"Of course, you can call the police, but the child belongs to Mr. Thomas. Whether the police will do anything about it, who can say."
With that, the group quickly got into their cars and drove off, taking Dorian with them.
"Dorian! My grandson!"
Rhea attempted to chase after them, but since her foot injury hadn't healed, she stumbled and fell to the ground.
The housekeepers, hearing the commotion, rushed over in concern, asking, "Mrs. Lewis, what happened? Where is Mr. Garcia?"
Rhea, filled with panic and anxiety, cried out, "Quick, call the police and report that someone broke into our home and took the child. Also, call Ella and let her know that Joshua sent people to take Dorian."
The housekeepers quickly went to carry out her instructions.
They assisted Rhea back into the house.
Ella was at the hospital, looking after Zachary, when she received Rhea's call and heard her crying, explaining that Dorian had been taken from the Lewis Villa by people Joshua had sent,
Sitting by Zachary's hospital bed, her face drained of color, overcome with anger.
Putting her phone away, Ella looked at Zachary and said, "Stay here and rest. I'll arrange for someone to take care of you. I need to step out for a while."
Seeing the grim look on Ella's face, Zachary reached out and took her hand.
"What's wrong?"
Ella didn't hide the truth from him, "Joshua took Dorian. I need to go get him back."
That Joshua was truly out of his mind.
Not only had he brutally injured Zachary, leaving his face disfigured, but he also had the audacity to go to the Lewis family and take the child.
Did he really think that in Emerald City he could do whatever he pleased and that the law wouldn't touch him?
If he pushed her too far, she would bring him down with her.
"How can Joshua be so repulsive? He never once cared for the child, yet he has the audacity to take him away."
Zachary wasn’t comfortable letting Ella go alone. Despite his discomfort, he tried to sit up, determined to go with her.
"Let's go together. I’ll make sure we get Dorian back."
"Zachary."
Ella gently pushed him back down onto the bed.
"Your hand is fractured, and your face is so swollen. You need to stay here. I'll take the police and a lawyer to the Thomas family to get him back. They won’t dare refuse."
She would also carry a knife with her.
If Joshua didn't return Dorian to her, then she would kill him with her own hands.
Some people—if you don’t stand your ground, they’ll just keep pushing you further.
Zachary felt a sense of unease.
He held Ella’s hand tightly, unwilling to let go. His eyes searched hers, "You’ll come back soon, right?"
He didn’t know why, but a bad feeling lingered inside him.
He feared that once Ella left, she might never return.
Even though he knew that he and Ella were now husband and wife, that she was his, and that they had many good years ahead of them—
Still.
Zachary just couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.
Ella squeezed his hand in return, reassuring him, "Don't worry. Once I get Dorian, we'll come back to be with you. You don’t need to worry about me."
"Okay, I'll wait for you."
Zachary reluctantly let her go.
He silently prayed, hoping Ella would be able to bring the child back without any trouble.
Otherwise, he had no confidence that this marriage would survive.
After Heath and Mason found out that Joshua had sent people to take the child, the entire family quickly headed to the Thomas Manor.
Joshua was aware they would come for the child.
He had Ava take Dorian upstairs and lock him in, while sending several bodyguards to guard the front door, preventing the Lewis family from entering.
At that moment, Joshua had been taken to the police station for questioning due to the assault.
After the questioning, Brian brought him out.
As soon as he left, the police brought him back, stating that he had sent people to break into a private residence and abduct a child.
Joshua calmly explained the situation.
The police deemed it a private family matter since the child belonged to Joshua, and with the bail money paid, they allowed him to leave.
When Joshua returned to the Thomas Manor, he found the Lewis family blocking the entrance, demanding the child.
He and Brian sat in the car, calmly smoking.
Brian watched from the side, looking a bit concerned, "Mr. Thomas, should I send someone to drive them away?"
Joshua spotted Ella in the crowd.
The woman who had gone to get a marriage certificate with Zachary earlier that morning.
Did she really think that by bringing the Lewis family and a lawyer, he would just hand the child back to her?
Dream on.
He had made it clear that if Ella ever dared to be with another man, he would take custody of the child.
Although custody wasn't technically in his hands yet.
But if he wanted it, wasn't it easy to obtain?
Joshua told Brian to drive.
Brian honked the horn, and the car slowly rolled forward toward the Lewis family standing ahead.
When Mason turned around and saw Joshua approaching in the car, he quickly alerted Ella.
The family moved forward, surrounding Joshua's car and shouting for him to hand over the child.
But Joshua acted as though he couldn’t hear them. With the car windows rolled up, he told Brian to keep driving.
The iron gates slowly opened on both sides. As the car drove in, the Lewis family tried to rush in after it, but they were stopped by the bodyguards inside.
Ella grabbed the iron gate in frustration, shouting hoarsely, "Joshua, give Dorian back to me! What right do you have to take him? You're not fit to be a father!"
Heath, equally enraged, ordered the bodyguards they brought to forcibly break down the gate.
But Mason stopped him, stepping forward and advising, "Dad, if we get into a conflict with them, it won’t benefit us. Joshua just wants the child; he won’t hurt him. We need to handle this calmly and negotiate with him."
"Did he negotiate with us when he sent people to take Dorian? If I don’t get my grandson back today, I don’t deserve to be called his grandfather."
At his age, Heath was ready to charge forward and break down the gate without a second thought.
At that moment, Brian pushed through the crowd of bodyguards and stood in front of Ella, delivering Joshua's message through the iron gate.
"Ms. Garcia, Mr. Thomas wants you to come in and speak with him. Everyone else should go back! The child belongs to the Thomas family, and naturally, the Thomas family won't mistreat him."
Heath refused and still wanted to break down the gate.
But Ella stopped him.
"Dad, you and Mason wait for me. I'll go in and talk to him."
Violence definitely wouldn't solve the issue.
Ella only wanted to find out what Joshua wanted to talk about. If they couldn't come to an agreement, she would kill him with her own hands.
Let’s see if the Thomas family will still have the nerve to covet her son after that.
"Okay, we'll wait for you here. Talk to him properly."
Heath agreed.
He could never have imagined that Ella was hiding a knife on her.
This time, as she entered the Thomas family, she was prepared to die.
Brian guided Ella into the Thomas family living room, where she saw the man sitting on the sofa, his face bruised and his hands wrapped in bandages.
Dressed properly, still looking so noble.
Her eyes filled with hatred, she gritted her teeth and moved closer to him.
"Where's Dorian?"
Joshua coldly stared at her and said, "I'll give you two options. Either Dorian stays with me, and you and Zachary go live your married life."
"Or you can divorce Zachary, and I'll return Dorian to you."
How could he let his own child call someone else dad?
How could he watch the woman he loved become someone else's wife?
The fact that he didn't let Zachary die on the spot was already him showing mercy.
If Ella refused to comply with his demands, he would resort to even more terrible actions.
"Joshua, what right do you have to order me around? You forced me to divorce you back then, and you watched Aurora die with your own eyes."
"Now you're taking my Dorian away. Aren't you afraid that when he grows up, he'll seek revenge for how you've treated him?"
Dorian had told Ella several times that he hated Joshua.
That he would never accept him as his father.
Now that they had brought him here, wouldn't it hurt Dorian more?
He might never forgive having such a cruel and cold-blooded father for the rest of his life.
Joshua's heart ached, but he masked it, pretending not to care.
"The child is only three years old, what does he understand? I'll train him slowly, spend more time with him, and eventually, he'll forget everything."
He still wanted Ella to divorce him, staring at her with a dark, unsettling expression.
"Divorce Zachary tomorrow, and I'll let you take Dorian. If you don't, don't even think about seeing him."
Ella stood there frozen, letting out a bitter laugh.
She had just gotten a marriage certificate with Zachary today, and tomorrow she should divorce?
What would that make Zachary?
She wouldn't divorce.
Ella gritted her teeth as she looked at Joshua again.
"Dream on. I love Zachary. Not only will I not divorce him, but I'll live happily with him and Dorian."
Hearing this, Joshua finally couldn't hide his emotions any longer.
Fighting back the bitterness in his heart, he stood up and approached Ella with a menacing presence.
"You love Zachary?"
Ella met his gaze, her resolve unwavering, "That's right."
Joshua felt as if his heart was being stabbed by a sharp weapon again, his chest tearing apart until he couldn't breathe.
He stood in front of Ella, seized her shoulders in a fit of rage, and shouted, "If you love him, why did you sleep with me after marrying me? If you love him, why didn't you have children with him? Why did you come back to the country?"
"It’s all because you forced me!"
Ella faced him, shouting back in fury, "If you hadn’t lied about Grandpa dying and called me back, how could I have returned and been forced to marry you?"
"Joshua, give Dorian back to me, or I'll kill you with my own hands."
Ella truly couldn't bear it any longer.
If he didn't hand over Dorian, she really would kill him.
Joshua laughed, convinced she didn’t have the courage to kill anyone.
He turned around, picked up a fruit knife from the table, and placed it in Ella's hand, guiding it to his chest, "Come on, stab me here. If you really kill me today, you can take Dorian and leave. For the rest of your life, no one will control who you're with."