Chapter 296: The Child in Evelyn’s Belly Is Not Yours

"No, Mom, my gut tells me the baby Evelyn's carrying is Michael's."

Elysia didn't catch on right away.

Scarlett's grip on her shoulder tightened. "Silly girl, whose baby Evelyn is actually carrying doesn't matter at all. As long as Michael believes it's Lavern's, that's all we need."

Elysia smiled. "Mom, you're brilliant."

"To avoid any complications, go tell Michael right now that Evelyn is pregnant with Lavern's child. But be careful how you handle this—prepare some evidence ahead of time to make sure Michael has absolutely no doubt that the baby is Lavern's."

Elysia wasn't stupid. She grinned immediately. "Mom, trust me. I've got this."

The Johnson Group.

Chase stood beside the desk, watching Michael, who sat in his executive chair reviewing documents with his head down.

"Mr. Johnson, as of now, Evelyn still hasn't agreed to perform the surgery for Elysia."

Michael's hand paused mid-turn of a page, but he said nothing.

Watching him, Chase hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking up.

"Mr. Johnson, aren't we going too far? After everything that's happened before, no matter how angry Evelyn got, she was never this disappointed in you. But this time... It's obvious she's completely heartbroken."

Michael's mind immediately conjured up the look in Evelyn's eyes when she'd looked at him:

Shock, disappointment, coldness...

He knew what he was doing wasn't quite right, but he truly couldn't just stand by and watch Elysia die.

He didn't want to hurt Lavern, and he didn't want to hurt Evelyn either. He simply wanted Evelyn to perform the surgery for Elysia so she could live.

A knock sounded at the door. Elysia walked in, her heels clicking against the floor.

"Michael, what are you working on? I'm not interrupting, am I?"

Michael frowned slightly. "I'm very busy today. I don't have time to keep you company."

"Michael, I'm not here to make you spend time with me. I have some news to tell you."

Michael wasn't interested.

Elysia's lips curved slightly. "It's about Evelyn."

"Evelyn?" Michael immediately looked up. "What about Evelyn?"

Elysia hesitated for a moment, looking conflicted.

"This is something Evelyn wanted to keep secret. I only found out by accident. I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but after thinking it over, I felt you should know."

"What is it? Just tell me." Michael's impatience was showing.

"Michael, here's the thing—I discovered Evelyn has been secretly taking medication to prevent miscarriage. She's pregnant."

"What did you say?" Michael's expression changed instantly.

"I happened to run into Evelyn having someone deliver medication to her today. I looked it up online and asked a doctor about it. I'm certain Evelyn is pregnant."

Michael's face darkened further.

Before, when he'd suspected Evelyn was pregnant, he'd taken her directly to Silvercrest Medical for testing. Later, he'd accidentally run into Evelyn having dinner with Landon from Silvercrest Medical and had assumed they'd only met that one time at the hospital.

Now, thinking back, Evelyn knew Landon from Silvercrest Medical. That test result must have been falsified—Landon had lied to him at Evelyn's prompting.

Michael's jaw clenched tight.

A moment later, he stood and headed for the door.

He needed to find Evelyn and get answers. If she was carrying his child, why hadn't she told him? Why had she deliberately deceived him, claiming she wasn't pregnant?

What was she trying to do?

And that day at Eldon's grave—had her stomach pain been because the baby was in distress?

"Michael." Elysia's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Where are you going? You don't actually think the baby Evelyn's carrying is yours, do you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Michael turned around, frowning at Elysia.

In Michael's mind, even though he and Evelyn were divorced, even though Evelyn had once said she'd slept with Lavern...

He still believed that if Evelyn was pregnant, the child had to be his.

Elysia sighed and stood up. "Michael, how can you be so naive?"

She walked over to him and pulled out a document.

Unfolding it, she revealed a pregnancy test report with Evelyn's name on it. The gestational age listed was just over one month.

Michael took the report, his fingers beginning to tremble.

The baby Evelyn was carrying... really wasn't his?

But she...

Didn't she love him?

How could she be pregnant with another man's child?

Michael's jaw tightened. He crumpled the report into a ball, threw it in the trash, then turned and walked out.

"Michael, where are you going?" Elysia called after him.

Michael didn't stop, striding directly out of the office.

He drove to Haven Sky Residences and knocked on Evelyn's door.

Evelyn opened it to find Michael with a stormy expression. She looked genuinely confused. "Where did all this anger come from? I'm not your punching bag."

With that, Evelyn started to close the door.

Michael pushed her aside and walked straight in.

"Michael, this is my home. You're not welcome here. Leave right now, or I'm calling security!"

Evelyn's voice was sharp with reproach.

Michael shut the door behind him and walked right up to her.

He stared at Evelyn's abdomen for a long moment before lifting cold eyes to her face. "Evelyn, is there something you're hiding from me?"

Noticing where Michael's gaze had been, Evelyn's heart sank.

He knew she was carrying his child?

But no matter what, she absolutely couldn't admit it.

Evelyn kept her expression cold. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Michael's eyes grew even colder. "You already knew Landon from Silvercrest Medical. That day I took you there for testing, Landon was covering for you."

Evelyn's fists slowly clenched.

So he'd figured it out after all.

Michael's face grew darker and darker.

Seeing her silence, he grabbed both her arms tightly. "Say something. You're usually so fierce when we argue—why so quiet now? Or do you know perfectly well you lied to me, so you've got nothing to say?"

Evelyn frowned, trying to pull free from Michael's grip, but she couldn't.

She sighed helplessly. "Fine. Since you already know, I'll tell you the truth. Yes, I lied to you that night. I'm pregnant."

Michael, who had been gripping her arms so tightly, suddenly let out a cold laugh, released her, and stepped back two paces.

Evelyn didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed by Michael's reaction.

Was he this unhappy to learn she was carrying his child?

With this attitude, he definitely wouldn't fight her for custody.

Evelyn pressed her lips together. "Don't worry, this baby has nothing to do with you. I'll handle it my—"