Chapter 401

Chapter 401

Robert saw the conflict successfully redirected and deliberately guided her further. "Exactly. So if you want to rescue Alex, you need to find Alice. Coming to me is useless—I can't save him."

"I don't have wings to fly into a mansion Alice has locked down!"

"Then where is Alice?" Ava felt utterly helpless, her mind too scrambled to think clearly. Whatever Robert said became gospel. Right now, her brain held only one thought: save Alex.

She was willing to try anything.

Even if it meant getting on her knees and begging Alice. Whatever Alice demanded as atonement, she'd agree to it!

As long as Alice would spare Alex!

"How should I know where Alice is right now? If you want to find her, contact her yourself!"

Ava frantically pulled out her phone, preparing to call Alice. But the instant she opened it, she suddenly remembered—after Alice sent her that message, she'd panicked and unleashed a tirade at Alice, hurling every vicious insult she could think of.

She hadn't considered the consequences at all.

If Alice took her anger out on Alex because of those words, by now Alex was probably...

An image immediately formed in Ava's mind: Alex covered in wounds, lying in a pool of blood. Just imagining such a scene made her scream.

And she accidentally dropped her phone.

Robert, having successfully diverted Ava's attention, decided to make his escape. He'd already gotten into the driver's seat and was about to start the car when Ava's outburst startled him. He was about to curse at her when she suddenly realized he was trying to leave.

With lightning reflexes, she lunged for the steering wheel to prevent him from driving.

Robert exploded with curses. "What the hell do you want, you bitch?"

"Alex is your son too! I don't care—you're going to help me figure out how to save him!"

Robert's jaw clenched. "Go to hell! I've had enough. I'm going to tell you the truth today—if the two kids Emily and I had together hadn't both turned out defective, why would I have wasted all that care and affection on a son who looks nothing like me!"

"Alex, that useless waste of space, didn't inherit my brains or business talent at all. Instead, he's as dumb as a pig—just like you."

"I'm announcing it now: I'm disowning him. From now on, he can take your last name, okay? He doesn't count as my son. Besides, what are you and I to each other anyway? No marriage, no status. You've got some nerve asking an outsider to handle your problems!"

After listening to Robert's twisted logic, Ava felt her brain go completely blank. To avoid responsibility, he was calling himself just an outsider! He could actually say something so outrageous!

She released the steering wheel and began pounding on Robert's arm instead. "Robert, you heartless bastard! How can you say something so cold and cruel? You'll get what's coming to you!"

"You'll die a miserable death! I hope Alice tortures you to death! You won't acknowledge Alex? Fine! Perfect! Go acknowledge that grudge-holding daughter of yours instead. Was Alex the only one from the Baker family who bullied her back then? What about you and your snobbish mother? None of you are innocent!"

"She dares to go after Alex now, but you're next—either you or your mother!"

Robert was already on edge because of Alice's situation.

And now Ava was cursing him to his face. That was absolutely intolerable. Robert made a split-second decision to get out of the car.

He grabbed a fistful of Ava's hair and then slammed her head against the car door.

"Die a miserable death? Let me show you who's going to die miserably first, you shameless bitch! If you hadn't gotten involved with me back then, could you have lived in comfort for over twenty years? And you dare call me heartless? You have a conscience? You became a mistress!"

Robert vented all his pent-up resentment on Ava. She'd already been hit so many times her head was swimming, and she couldn't make out the vile things Robert was spewing from his mouth.

Her mind was in complete chaos now, even drifting back to what Robert had said when he first pursued her.

Robert had told her he'd grown sick of Emily long ago, that the children she bore all had problems—he truly regretted marrying her. If only he'd met Ava sooner.

Then he wouldn't have married Emily—he would have married her instead.

Back then, hearing those words had filled her with pride. She'd thought Robert's tenderness and consideration toward her proved she was superior to Emily, the high-society heiress. So she'd devoted herself wholeheartedly to Robert for most of her life, despite having no legal status.

She'd been tethered by Robert's empty promise: "I'll give you official status someday."

Robert had told her it was all because Emily refused to divorce him—that's why he couldn't give her a proper position.

For all these years, she'd directed her resentment at Emily.

Now, as Robert slammed her head against the car door, she finally understood why Robert had been willing to keep her around all this time: because she was cheap and obedient, willingly letting herself be strung along, asking nothing in return!

Why? Why had it taken her half a lifetime to wake up! Ava sobbed with heart-wrenching anguish. "I regret it! I regret it!"

Robert was startled by Ava's sudden deranged screaming.

His heart jumped.

Had he actually injured her?

He finally stopped.

Ava, now bleeding from her head, collapsed to the ground. Her hair was a tangled mess from Robert's grip.

Blood was still flowing from her forehead.

But she kept muttering obsessively, "I regret it! I regret it!"

Robert looked at Ava's crazed appearance with pure disgust. "Damn, psycho!"

He spat on the ground, kicked Ava once more in disgust, then got back in his car and shut the door. Just then, Ava suddenly pounded on the door with force. As she hit it, she said, "Robert, if I could do it all over again, I would never follow a bastard like you! You son of a bitch!"

Robert had exhausted his energy by now and couldn't be bothered to get out and beat Ava again. Having just vented his anger, he was in relatively good spirits. He sneered mockingly, "Do it all over again? You think this is some drama? You think you're actually going to get reborn? But I'll tell you this—if you don't let go, once I start this car, you're going to die."