Chapter 157
Joshua was unconscious for three whole days.
When he woke up, he found himself back home again.
Samuel was sitting by the bed. He was very unhappy. Propping himself up to lean against the headboard, he asked, "Why did you save me?"
He had told Ella that if he couldn't find Dorian within a week, he would pay with his own life.
Now Dorian had been missing for a week, and it was time for him to keep his promise.
Samuel felt somewhat helpless.
"I'm also very sad that Dorian is lost, but Joshua, death would be an escape for you. Have you thought about how much pain the people who care about you in this world would suffer?"
He would miss him, would be heartbroken.
And there were Jasper and Ava—he was their only son.
How could they accept burying their own child?
Joshua looked gaunt and pale, leaning there lifeless.
"I've caused both my children to leave me, and Ella hates me to the bone. Tell me, do I even deserve to live? I'm not fit to be a father at all."
His life up to now had been a complete failure.
If he could choose again, he definitely wouldn't have called Ella back to get married.
He definitely wouldn't have left Aurora to die.
He definitely wouldn't have kept Dorian trapped by his side.
But he had no chance to make amends or fix things.
Aurora couldn't come back, and Dorian couldn't be found.
The current Ella probably wished he would die.
At this moment, Joshua really wanted to go to another world to be with Aurora.
"Maybe Dorian has already been found."
Samuel analyzed, "Mrs. Thomas said Dorian ran away on his own. That child is smart and clever—he couldn't possibly fall into bad people's hands, and he could definitely protect himself."
"These past few days, the Lewis family has been completely quiet. I pretended to look for Mason, and Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Lewis seemed extremely calm. Also, I didn't see Ella either."
Joshua raised his eyes to look at him, still dim with no trace of hope.
"Ella must be so worried about Dorian that she's fallen ill and is in her room, so naturally you wouldn't see her."
"No!" Samuel shook his head.
"I'm a doctor. If Ella had fallen ill, when I went there, they couldn't have not asked me to prescribe medicine for her."
And Zachary wasn't there either.
He suspected Ella had taken Dorian abroad with Zachary.
He needed to check to be sure.
He had already asked Brian to check Ella's immigration records.
The results might come back soon.
"You mean the Lewis family has already found Dorian?"
Joshua was dazed and somewhat disbelieving.
He was so worried about Dorian—if the Lewis family had found him, they couldn't possibly not tell him.
Besides, there were so many police and media helping to search.
If there was really news about Dorian, the media would have reported it already.
"They may not only have found him but also taken him abroad."
Samuel said, "Let's wait a bit. Wait for Brian to check Ella's immigration records. It won't take long before we know the results."
Anyway, these past few days he hadn't seen Ella or Zachary.
He went to the Lewis family and didn't see them either.
They couldn't just disappear into thin air.
So they must have left.
If they left when Dorian wasn't even there, they must have taken Dorian with them.
Joshua still didn't believe it was as Samuel said.
At noon, Brian came over with some documents.
He handed the documents to Joshua.
"Mr. Thomas, surveillance and records show that Ms. Garcia did take Dorian abroad."
Joshua couldn't believe it and grabbed the documents.
When he saw in the surveillance photos that it was indeed Ella holding hands with a little boy wearing a hat and mask as they left the country, he cried.
He cried, but then he started laughing.
Then he looked through those photos over and over, asking Samuel and Brian in disbelief.
"So Dorian is really okay, he's still alive."
Samuel smiled, "I told you, the Lewis family couldn't be that calm. They must have found Dorian. Maybe they hid Dorian from the start."
That wasn't quite accurate—it should be that Dorian came home on his own later, and Ella didn't want Joshua to take the child away again, so she took Dorian and left.
Otherwise, Ella was helping to search at first too, and she couldn't have acted that convincingly.
"It's good he's okay, it's good he's still alive."
Joshua wept tears of joy, holding those photos. His anxious heart finally settled.
He would never do anything foolish again.
He would never snatch Dorian back and keep him trapped by his side again.
If Dorian wanted to be with Ella, he would let him be with her.
He would never separate them again.
Seeing that Dorian was still alive felt more valuable than having everything.
"So you're not going to interfere anymore? And you won't send people to snatch him back from Ella?" Samuel asked.
Now Dorian, Ella, and Zachary were abroad. If they didn't come back, the family of three would surely be happy.
He also hoped Joshua could let go.
After all, Dorian was sensible. Even if they snatched him back again, Dorian would still find ways to escape.
If one day Dorian really had an accident while escaping, they would regret it too late.
Joshua looked at the mother and son in the photo, though his heart was reluctant.
Especially thinking that Ella had married Zachary again, and they had taken Dorian over there, they definitely wouldn't come back.
In the future, his child would call someone else dad.
What man could accept such a thing?
But what could he do if he didn't accept it?
He didn't dare forcibly take the child away anymore.
He was too afraid of something happening to Dorian.
If Dorian stayed by Ella's side and calling someone else dad meant he was happy, he would let go.
Joshua put away those photos and told Brian, "Don't bother them anymore. I choose to let them be."
Brian nodded and turned to leave.
Samuel agreed, "Actually, you should have done this long ago. If you hadn't taken Dorian away, maybe Ella would have been willing to raise him together with you. But now look, she's gone abroad with Dorian. It'll be very hard for you to even see them."
It wasn't too late to understand now.
After all, Ella's parents were still here, and Aurora was also buried here.
Maybe the mother and son would come back sooner or later.
"I know I was wrong. I'm giving them up."
Joshua felt his body wasn't doing well, but he wanted to live. He asked Samuel to prescribe medicine for him.
He wanted to take good care of his health, and when he missed Dorian after recovering, he could secretly go see him.
In fact, Ella had already returned to the country with the child.
They rented a small house with a yard there. The environment was quiet and peaceful, and Dorian really liked it.
The mother and son quickly settled in.
After everything was arranged, Ella contacted her parents and told them about her situation.
Still afraid Joshua would come to snatch Dorian, she told her parents not to tell anyone.
But after Zachary finished the funeral, the Baker family wouldn't let him leave and locked him up directly.