Chapter 88
Susan was genuinely shocked anew by Iris's shamelessness.
"Give it to you?" She sneered. "Alice's will stated it clearly—there's no share for you in the inheritance."
"Why should I give it to you? Because you schemed to drive Emily away?"
Iris's expression changed. Just as she was about to speak, Susan added another line.
"Besides, what makes you think I haven't found Emily's daughter?"
Hearing this, both Iris and Howard froze.
"What?" Iris spoke through gritted teeth. "You found that bastard child of Emily's?"
"Bastard child?" Susan's gaze turned cold. "She's also my granddaughter. Who dares call her that?"
She leaned back in her wheelchair, looking at the couple with a calm voice that carried undeniable authority. "You two don't need to worry about it. The Gray family's resources, the Maple family's resources—they'll all belong to my granddaughter from now on."
"I advise you to stop making trouble. There's no point. Leave with some dignity while you can, before everyone loses face."
Howard and Iris stood frozen, their minds in chaos.
Emily's child had been found? And was Susan's granddaughter?
Didn't that mean the child was his own? Howard shocked himself with this deduction, his expression turning ugly.
"Emily was pregnant when she left?" He frowned. "How could the child possibly be mine?"
"If she hadn't been involved with Soren Lavien, why would I have divorced her? Even if there was a child, it couldn't possibly be mine!"
Susan looked at her son, kept in the dark all these years, feeling both angry and sorrowful.
Hadn't she herself been deceived for decades just like this foolish son?
"Emily and Soren were completely innocent," she said with sadness in her eyes. "Back then, someone set them up. I've investigated and found the evidence. If you really want to know, I can show you."
Howard fell silent, his expression clouded with uncertainty.
Seeing this scene, Iris's heart trembled violently.
"Mother-in-law!" She rushed forward, tears rolling down. "It's one thing if you can't tell truth from lies, but to make Howard suffer like this? What are your true intentions?"
She grew more agitated as she spoke, crying until she couldn't breathe. Finally, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Howard's train of thought was interrupted by this distraction. He quickly gathered Iris in his arms, shaking her anxiously. "Iris? Iris! What's wrong? Wake up!"
Iris came to in his arms, looking at him weakly.
"Howard, I don't want to stay here anymore..." Her voice was as thin as gossamer. "Mother-in-law has humiliated us too much. Let's leave..."
"Without her support, we can still live well. As long as I'm with you, anywhere is the same..."
Howard was deeply moved and held her tightly. "Alright, let's go."
He paid Susan no more attention and quickly left carrying Iris.
The farce before her eyes finally ended, but Susan didn't feel the relief she'd imagined.
She let out a heavy sigh. "What karmic ties..."
Just as she was thinking, her phone rang. She received an email. Thinking it was just spam, she glanced at the subject line and froze.
"Evelyn cheats, Matthew angrily forces Evelyn to abort."
What?
Susan's heart jumped. She quickly opened the email.
Inside were photo after photo: Evelyn being blocked, Matthew with a grim expression, Evelyn being carried into an operating room...
Crystal clear and shocking.
"Quick!" She shouted at Logan. "Book me a flight back home! Now!"
How had her granddaughter's baby nearly been aborted the moment she left the country?
What on earth had happened?
Her trembling hands sent Evelyn a message—no reply.
She made several calls—still no answer. Her heart grew more anxious.
Finally, just before boarding, Evelyn replied.
[Mrs. Gray, don't worry. We'll talk after you've landed.]
Susan's heart settled somewhat as she quickly boarded the plane.
The international flight was long. By the time they landed, it was already late at night.
Susan was surprised to see Kevin waiting at the exit.
"Kevin, why are you here?"
"Evelyn asked me to pick you up," Kevin said. "She's still at the hospital and it's not convenient for her to appear. She was worried you'd be concerned, so she asked me to come."
Susan's heart tightened.
"How's Eve? Her baby..." She didn't dare ask further.
"Don't worry, the baby's still there." Kevin lowered his voice. "The situation was critical at the time. I made emergency arrangements with doctors and deceived Matthew."
Susan let out a long breath of relief. The worry that had weighed on her heart finally settled.
But immediately after, anger surged up.
What right did Matthew have to abort Evelyn's baby? From now on, she would protect Evelyn!
On the other side, Evelyn wasn't lying in the hospital.
She'd quietly left and arrived at an abandoned building.
On the empty concrete floor sat a single chair. A person was bound tightly to it, head covered with a black cloth.
Hearing footsteps, he nervously lifted his head. "Who's there?"
Evelyn let out a cold laugh, walked forward, and yanked off the black cloth.
"It's you?" Eric's eyes widened in shock. "Why did you kidnap me? Do you know this is a crime?"
"Crime?" Evelyn laughed coldly, her gaze as cold as ice. "Compared to what you've done to me, this is far too merciful."
"If I'm committing a crime, then you're guilty of murder!"
Eric shut his mouth.
Evelyn pulled out a small knife and toyed with it in her hand. "I never willingly hurt others. Even when you hurt me, I always tried to keep the peace."
"When Matthew got engaged, I left and kept my distance early on." She paused, her voice turning colder. "But you never left me alone."
"If you hadn't made your move against me, Matthew might have already married Marigold."
"You shouldn't have—you absolutely shouldn't have hurt the people around me and tried to murder my baby."
"Monica, Ronald, and my child. You hurt them, so you must pay the price!"
Eric sneered coldly. "Now that you've caught me, I have nothing to say."
"But this has nothing to do with Miss Quinn. I did it all myself."
"Still stubborn, I see." Evelyn unhurriedly pulled up a file on her phone and held it before his eyes. "Did you think I couldn't find your call records and chat logs with Marigold?"
Eric's face instantly turned ashen.
It was one thing for him to get caught, but to drag Marigold down too...
Seeing his expression, Evelyn let out another cold laugh. "You're really devoted, aren't you? Does Marigold know you've been secretly in love with her all this time?"
Eric stubbornly kept his mouth shut.
Evelyn couldn't be bothered wasting more words on him.
The knife tip aimed at his thigh and stabbed down viciously. "This one is for Monica."
Eric screamed in pain.
Evelyn pulled out the knife and stabbed his arm. "This one is for Ronald."
Another stab, aimed at his side. "This one is for my unborn child."
Three stabs later, fresh blood gushed from the wounds, staining his clothes red.
Eric trembled all over from the pain, gasping for air.
"If you've got the guts, kill me!" He roared. "Otherwise I won't let you go!"
Evelyn put away the knife and methodically pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from the blade.
"Kill you? Wouldn't that be letting you off too easy?"
She pulled a photograph from her pocket and threw it on the ground.
Eric looked down and his eyes instantly went wide.