Chapter 98 The Way to Ask for His Help
Hope flickered in Scarlett's desperate eyes as she crouched down abruptly. "Talk."
Brielle watched Scarlett's urgency but deliberately dragged out the silence for a few seconds before speaking. "When I took the child, there really wasn't anything wrong with him. But I'd never taken care of such a small baby before, and he caught a cold. Then he developed pneumonia, and by the time I noticed... it was too late. So he died." Brielle's words came out in broken fragments.
Scarlett couldn't accept it. Her emotions spiraling, she grabbed Brielle by the collar. "Pneumonia? I don't believe you. Take me to that doctor. Now."
Brielle lowered her head, mumbling weakly, "It's been so long... It was just some small clinic. I don't even know if that doctor's still there."
"What was the doctor's name? Which clinic?" Ambrose cut in.
Brielle pressed her lips together. After a moment, she lifted her head with that pitiful look she'd perfected, then shook it. "I don't know the doctor's name. The clinic was called... CareFirst Clinic, I think."
The cold smile on Ambrose's lips froze. His gaze locked onto her like a laser. Brielle glanced over timidly, shivered, and rushed to defend herself. "I'm telling the truth!"
Ambrose ignored Brielle entirely. Without a word, he extended his hand to steady the dazed Scarlett.
"Let's head back. We'll find that child. I promise."
Scarlett snapped back to reality and turned to look at Ambrose. In those dark, calculating eyes, she found something solid—something steady. Her racing heart gradually slowed.
She couldn't lose it now. Brielle was obviously playing them. That whole performance had been pathetic.
She stood, and together with Ambrose, walked toward the door. Just as they reached it, Brielle called out anxiously.
"You're letting me go, right? I told you everything!"
Scarlett turned her head, her gaze ice-cold. "Dream on. You stole my child. You trafficked my baby. That's a crime. You're going to prison."
The word "prison" cast a shadow over Brielle's face. Last time she'd been in the detention center, it felt like she'd been sent to a world without light.
She trembled, wrapping her arms around herself, muttering under her breath. "No... I won't go to prison. I won't."
Scarlett and Ambrose exchanged a glance. Silently, they understood each other perfectly. Brielle's reaction was a textbook trauma response—she was terrified of prison.
"We have witnesses. We have evidence. Brielle, you can't escape this. I'll make sure you rot in a cell for ten years. Maybe more." Scarlett pressed on.
"No! I'm not going to prison!" Brielle shrieked, clutching her shaking body tighter.
Scarlett seized the moment. "Just tell us where the child is. If you do, I won't press charges."
Brielle shook her head, muttering frantically. "I'm not going to prison. I'm not."
"Chase, take her to the police station." Ambrose's voice cut through the room like a blade.
"Yes, sir."
Hearing she'd be taken to the police, Brielle immediately backed away, staring at Ambrose in terror. "No! Don't take me there!"
Chase quickly summoned two security guards. They grabbed her and started dragging her toward the door. Brielle thrashed and kicked, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"I won't go! I won't!"
"I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Under pressure, Brielle finally cracked.
Ambrose made a dismissive gesture, and the guards released her. Free again, Brielle scrambled backward, retreating as she spoke.
"You promised! You said if I told you, you wouldn't send me to prison. You can't go back on your word!"
Ambrose regarded her coldly. "That depends on whether you're telling the truth or lying."
"It's definitely the truth!" Brielle blurted.
"A woman contacted me first. She asked me to help her get Scarlett's baby. If I got the child, she'd pay me two hundred thousand dollars. I needed the money badly, so I agreed. I went to Wesley and gave him a hundred grand to figure out a way to steal Scarlett's baby."
Brielle swallowed hard and continued.
"Later, I got the child like she wanted. She transferred the money, but she never showed her face. She just told me to leave the baby on a park bench. I did exactly what she said, so I really have no idea where that child ended up."
"Did you ever see this woman?" Scarlett asked.
"No. From start to finish, she never appeared in person. We only communicated by phone, and she wired the money into my account."
Brielle, terrified they wouldn't believe her, started swearing. "I'm not lying about any of this! If I am, may I die a horrible death!"
Hearing this, Scarlett's heart sank again. The child's whereabouts were still a mystery.
The room fell silent for several seconds. Ambrose remained calm, mentally retracing the entire sequence of events. Finding the critical point, he asked, "Why did Wesley's hundred thousand come from the Mitchell family?"
Brielle replied, "Because I didn't want Wesley to know I had money. So I thought I'd get it from someone else temporarily. I found someone I knew at the Mitchell family and borrowed from them, promising to pay it back in a week. Later, I repaid them in cash. If you don't believe me, you can check the Mitchell Group's records."
Silence filled the room again. Ambrose narrowed his sharp eyes, lost in thought. Scarlett, devastated by yet another dead end, felt her mind spiral into chaos. She had no energy left to question further.
Ambrose pressed on. "You knew the child wasn't Wesley's. Did you set Scarlett up?"
"I didn't! I had no idea how she got pregnant. That woman told me everything. She knew so much about it—she must have been the one who set up Scarlett."
Whether Brielle's words were true or false, Ambrose still needed to verify. But his questions had been answered. He immediately ordered her taken to the police station.
Hearing this, Brielle shrieked curses. "You lied to me! I told you everything, and you're still sending me to the police! You—"
Her words were cut off by a sharp slap from Chase. After Brielle collapsed unconscious, the guards effortlessly carried her out of the room.
The room grew quiet again. Scarlett stood there, dazed. Ambrose turned to her, took her hand, and spoke soothingly.
"At least we know the child's still alive. We'll find them. I promise."
Scarlett felt mentally exhausted. She murmured hopelessly, "Where would we even start looking?"
"Whoever did this came directly for you. That means the setup that night was deliberate. Anyone who could orchestrate something like that at such a precise moment must either have a grudge against you—or your family." Ambrose's analysis sparked something in Scarlett.
It happened the same night Owen had his incident. It had to be targeted at her family. One of Owen's enemies?
Owen's enemies... the Reynolds family bloodline. The Reynolds family?
"You've thought of something?" Ambrose caught Scarlett's shift in expression.
Scarlett looked up, her face grave. "Ambrose, what if the person behind this is really powerful? Would you still help me?"
Ambrose stared at Scarlett steadily, saying nothing. Anxiety gripped her as she clutched his hand tighter. "You'll help me, right?"
It was the first time Ambrose had seen this expression on Scarlett's face. His eyebrow arched slightly, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "That depends on how you perform."
Without hesitation, Scarlett leaned in and kissed him. "Is this good enough?"