Chapter 582 Agreeing to Perform the Exorcism Ritual

Chapter 582 Agreeing to Perform the Exorcism Ritual

Chloe froze, straining her ears to listen for a moment. I could see the color drain from her face. "Nolan, what I'm hearing really isn't a cat... it's..."

Everyone noticed that Chloe was scared. Under normal circumstances, Bob should have been the first person she called out to.

But in that instant, her first instinct was to turn to me — after all, it was our child.

Everyone in the room, including Bob, was stunned. Nobody was stupid. The person Chloe should have turned to first was the one closest to her.

I realized how serious this was. To avoid any awkwardness, I quickly jumped in: "You kept saying you heard a cat, and when I said I couldn't hear anything, you didn't believe me. See? Turns out it was..."

The caregiver chimed in too: "That's right, you were saying you heard a cat all morning, and none of us could hear a thing."

That seemed to ease the tension on everyone's faces. It was easy enough for them to figure — since Chloe had been going on about the cat sounds for nearly a day, it made sense that she'd want to tell me right away once she realized it wasn't a cat after all.

Bob seemed to buy it. Then, out of nowhere, he asked: "Byron, if the miscarried baby became an Infant Spirit, why is it only haunting my wife and child, and not me?"

The question made me tense up. I quickly glanced at Chloe, but she didn't react at all — she just kept watching Byron with a calm expression.

Bob was clearly mindful of his status. As Vice President Smith, he wasn't about to call Byron "Master" — he just used his name.

Byron explained: "An Infant Spirit has just adapted to the mother's body. Women have a weaker constitution, which makes them easier to attach to and inhabit. You're a man — it's much harder for it to take hold of you. As for your child, she's simply too young, which makes her an easy target."

Byron's explanation quietly got me off the hook. Apparently Infant Spirits were put off by a man's physical strength — which conveniently helped cover up the truth.

"Of course, there's another possibility," Byron continued. "The baby you lost may have been a boy. Generally speaking, a male Infant Spirit will attach itself to the mother, while a female one goes after the father — same principle as opposites attracting."

When I heard the lost baby might have been a boy, the pain hit me in a way I can't even put into words.

Bob's parents must have been devastated at the thought of losing a grandson. His mother couldn't hold back, and burst out: "That driver should be thrown in jail and torn to pieces!"

"My poor grandson... gone before I even got to meet him..."

Byron said: "This is not the time for grief. What we need to do is remove the Infant Spirit from Chloe as quickly as possible. This is very dangerous if left alone. There was once a woman who kept getting into car accidents after her abortion — and what made it so strange was that the same foot was injured every single time. That's because the Infant Spirit had attached itself to her foot. There was also an elderly woman who had an abortion when she was young but never knew about the Infant Spirit. It attached to her lower back, and her spine kept fracturing for the rest of her life. She never recovered."

Chloe's parents were far more worried about their daughter. They clasped their hands together and bowed to Byron: "Master, please, don't say another word — just get ready to perform the ritual."

Byron pressed on: "There's an even more serious issue. Doctors often talk about women who miscarry repeatedly — what they don't realize is that after an abortion, an Infant Spirit forms in the woman's body. Because of its revenge, she may never be able to conceive again."

Bob's parents, who were still hoping for another grandchild, bowed together without a word between them: "Byron, please do us this kindness. You must remove the spirit from Chloe. We will be grateful to you for the rest of our lives."

Byron nodded. "I will do everything in my power. But you all need to prepare yourselves mentally — especially Chloe. You must cooperate fully during the ritual. As they say, faith is what makes it work. I understand you're all educated people and may be skeptical. But if you don't believe, your subconscious will resist, and that only gives the Infant Spirit more power. At that point, there will be nothing I can do."

All four parents quickly agreed: "Don't worry, Byron — we believe. We all believe!"

"Good. I need to go home and prepare a few things. Can someone take me back now?"

Sabrina said yes right away, then grabbed Bob's arm. Once Byron had stepped out, she turned to Bob and said: "A friend recommended this Master. Apparently he's helped quite a few people. His fee for each ritual is twelve thousand dollars, and it has to be paid upfront — that's just how he works."

Bob wasn't worried about the money. He just felt a little uneasy about the whole thing — it all felt a bit superstitious, especially with me and the caregiver standing right there.

I stepped in right away: "Vice President Smith, for Chloe and Jasper's sake, it's better to believe than not to."

"Exactly," the caregiver added. "Back in my village, there was a woman who accidentally took some medication while she was pregnant, and lost the baby. Later, when the floods came, she and her husband survived — but their son drowned. Someone said it was the spirit of the lost baby taking revenge by taking the son away. We all thought it was nonsense back then. But hearing what this Master said today... it actually makes sense."

Chloe wasn't much of a believer in superstition either, but she was hearing the Infant Spirit's cries with her own ears, she was worried it might harm Jasper, and she was afraid she might never be able to get pregnant again. So she agreed to cooperate with Byron's ritual.

Bob didn't say anything more. He turned and walked out to go speak with Byron.

Dane Smith and Cordelia Smith were more concerned about Jasper. They got up right away, saying they were heading to the infectious disease hospital to be with him, but they'd make sure to be back for the ritual that evening.

After Bob's family and Byron left, Chloe completely ignored her own parents and gestured for me to come sit beside her.

The caregiver, seeing how crowded the room was, gave me a quick nod and slipped out of the ward.

I sat down at the edge of Chloe's bed. Right in front of her parents, she reached out and held my hand tightly, her voice soft and a little needy: "Nolan, please don't leave during the ritual tonight. I'm scared."

Her parents had seen enough of life to know what this meant. They looked at each other, clearly uncomfortable, not sure what to say.

I quickly smiled and said: "It's okay, Chloe. I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry."

Chloe kept her grip on my hand and turned to her parents: "Mom, Dad, you should head home. He'll stay with me — that's enough."

Her parents looked torn. It was obvious they'd picked up on just how close Chloe and I were, but they didn't know what to say. She was their daughter, and there was really nothing they could do except pretend not to notice.

Noah Jones looked visibly uncomfortable. Sabrina, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had registered at all, and asked cheerfully: "Sweetheart, should I make you some chicken soup and bring it over tonight?"

Chloe nodded. "Yes please. Go to the market and get a proper free-range hen — don't worry about the price, and let it simmer for a long time."

"Of course. We still have some good dried shiitake mushrooms at home — I'll throw those in too."

With that, both of them couldn't quite bring themselves to look at me, let alone say goodbye. They managed a strained smile at Chloe, then turned and left.

"You really didn't have to do that," I said, a little reproachfully. "Why put them through all that trouble? I thought you weren't supposed to eat anything heavy."

Chloe took my hand and pressed it against her cheek, her voice quiet and tender: "I want them to make it for you. You've been running yourself ragged these past few days."