Chapter 218 Whose Child
In under 30 minutes, Adela was brought to Maple Estate. After nearly two months, she looked much thinner and more unkept. The moment Elise saw her, she rushed forward.
"Susan, are you okay?"
Adela looked angry. She pushed Elise away with her hand. "This is all because of you!"
Elise seemed scared of Susan. Her head drooped immediately.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry."
Seeing her act so humble in front of Susan, anger suddenly flared in Zachary's chest.
"Mom, you don't need to apologize to anyone. She's the one who should be apologizing."
He stepped forward to shield Elise behind him.
"Lucas, go tell Quinley to come back."
Zachary gave the order, and Lucas left immediately. Susan let out a cold laugh. She walked over to the sofa and plopped down.
"Zachary, I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be scared of your wife. What, you brought me here so the three of us could have a nice family reunion before you tear us apart again?"
Zachary squinted, his gaze sharp as a blade as it fell on Susan.
"You broke the law. You should face the repercussions."
Right in front of her, he called Chief Smith.
"Come to my residence."
"Who did you just call?"
Susan perked up. She jumped up from the sofa, tension flashing in her eyes. Zachary's lips curved slightly, but he didn't answer.
"What are you afraid of?"
"Mom, bring the child out."
Zachary said to Elise. The child was still in Elise's room. Elise was reluctant for a moment.
"Zach, the child is innocent. For my sake, can you please not make things difficult for him?"
"Mom, I'm not making things difficult for him. I'm assisting him."
He was firm. Elise hesitated for a long while before slowly getting up and heading to the bedroom. But after she went in, she didn't come back out right away.
Only Zachary and Adela remained in the living room. They sat across from each other on the sofas. Zachary lowered his eyes and slowly sipped his coffee. Susan felt uneasy, but now that she was inside Maple Estate, she had no chance of leaving.
"Zachary, what do I have to do for you to let me live? Look, all these years I've been quietly by your side, helping you, haven't I? We loved each other. I still love you. I never meant to hurt you. Can't we remember what we had?"
"No."
Zachary refused flatly.
Susan couldn't accept it. The rage she'd been suppressing threatened to explode. "Why not?"
Zachary's long fingers curled slightly into a tight fist, veins standing out on his hand, looking ready to burst.
"For my child."
"Your child?"
Susan repeated in confusion. But then she laughed lightly.
"Your child is my child, isn't he? Zachary, Cheese is our child. Look at him—he really does look like you. All these years I never told you because I wanted to surprise you."
"Surprise?" Zachary shot back.
"You know better than anyone whose child he is, but he is absolutely not my son. Susan, what you're doing disgusts me."
"How am I disgusting? What's disgusting about me? Cheese is your son! You can't just get married and refuse to acknowledge your own child. Zachary, he's the product of our love. I carried him for ten months and gave birth to him."
To make Zachary believe her, she rushed toward Elise's bedroom, threw open the door, grabbed Cheese by the arm, and dragged him toward Zachary. She walked right up to him and pushed Cheese forward.
"Look! Don't his eyes look like yours? And his nose—you have a high nose bridge, he has a high nose bridge. And look at his lips—they're just like yours too."
She desperately searched for similarities between the child and Zachary. The child was terrified, trying to hide. "Mommy, I'm scared."
"Cheese, sweetheart, don't be scared. This is Daddy."
Susan kept talking. "You've always asked Mommy where Daddy is, right? Well, Daddy's right here in front of you. From now on, you'll live with Daddy. Isn't Cheese happy?"
She kept rambling on. Zachary's frown deepened even more.
"Susan, that's enough."
"It's not enough!"
Susan shot to her feet, tears spilling from her eyes.
"I've given you so much! Why are you throwing me away for someone new? You said it yourself—you said I was the only one in the world you'd ever love. You said your wife would only ever be me. Why did you marry another woman? I gave birth to such a big son for you! Why aren't you even grateful?"
Her lips trembled as tears streamed down her face. Her emotions were running high, but Zachary's were even higher.
"How we broke up back then—I don't believe you've actually forgotten. Susan, we ended things five years ago. Why are you still clinging on? You made your choice back then. There's no such thing as a do-over in this world."
"And I need to tell you something. After that car accident, you didn't just lose that child—you also lost the ability to ever become a mother."
"What? What are you saying? Zachary, what are you talking about?"
Susan's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Susan had never known the truth about that accident—that it wasn't an accident at all, but a deliberate setup. She had no idea that because of her greed, someone in a fit of rage had taken away her ability to become a mother forever.
"If you don't believe me, you can go to a hospital and get checked. You'll know the truth soon enough."
Zachary said heavily.
His words struck Susan like a bolt of lightning. She staggered backward, her entire body in chaos.
"Mommy—"
The child was terrified, crying as he tried to run into Susan's arms. But Susan shoved him away, and he fell to the ground.
"That's impossible. Absolutely impossible."
She shook her head, looking completely lost. Elise was crying her heart out. She ran over and picked up Cheese, who was lying on the ground wailing.
"Cheese, come to Grandma. Don't cry. You're my precious baby."
Elise held the child close, her heart breaking for him.
Just then, Quinley arrived home. She'd heard the commotion from outside and already had a sense of what was happening.
"Mrs. Jennings."
At the gate, Chief Smith appeared with several officers. He greeted Quinley first. She nodded at him, and he walked steadily into the house.
Seeing Quinley and Chief Smith arrive together, Adela's face turned deathly pale.
"What... what do you want?"
Chief Smith greeted Zachary, then immediately presented an arrest warrant.
"Ms. Susan, you're a suspect in a murder case. Please cooperate and come with us for questioning."
With that, shiny handcuffs snapped onto her wrists. She began struggling violently.
"I'm not Susan! I'm Adela! You've got the wrong person!"
"Susan is Adela. Adela is Susan. We verified your identity before coming here."
Faced with ironclad evidence, Susan had no way to escape.
"Mom! Quinny! Save me! I don't want to go to prison! I don't want to go to prison!"
She cried out, desperately calling to Elise and Quinley for help.
"Cindy, Zach, please save Susan! I only just found her again..."
Quinley steadied Elise's arm. "Mom, begging anyone right now won't help. She broke the law. She has to face the consequences."
"Let's go, Ms. Susan."
Chief Smith gestured for her to follow. Quinley's righteousness enraged Adela. As she was led out, she cursed loudly.
"Quinley! You think you're so great because you married Zachary? Let me tell you—you're just getting my leftovers! I'm your sister! You're sending your own sister to prison! You're a terrible, heartless person!"
She screamed, venting all her fury, but through it all, Quinley remained silent.
However, the moment Adela was taken away, Elise collapsed.