The Lie Of That Night Chapter 12
Inside the hospital room, Gretchen slept deeply, her brow furrowed with exhaustion.
Sebastian closed the door quietly behind him and spoke in a low voice to Logan and Eleanor in the living room: “The Mendez family’s child, Ricky, was in a car accident. He’s badly injured.”
The air suddenly grew tense.
The three exchanged glances, each seeing the gravity and hesitation in the others’ eyes.
That child, for all his faults, was still the one Gretchen had once risked everything to protect.
Gretchen had just suffered the pain of losing her daughter, her body and mind devastated; she was at her most fragile now.
If she were to learn that Roderick’s life was hanging by a thread…
They dared not imagine whether this string of blows would become the final straw that broke her.
“That child… is pitiful too, raised to be like that.”
In the end, Eleanor’s heart softened, and she sighed.
Logan’s face was hard and cold, but there was a flicker of emotion in his eyes as well.
After a moment’s thought, he said, “The Mendez family’s affairs are no longer ours to meddle in. But we can’t tell Greta.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes.
Of all times for Roderick to have an accident, it just had to be when Terrence had seen the evidence and Paulina’s true face was about to be exposed?
That was just a little too “coincidental.”
“Dad, Mom,”
Sebastian spoke, his voice sharp. “I think something’s wrong. I’ll have someone look into the accident.”
Logan immediately understood what he meant, his gaze turning cold: “You suspect that woman is getting desperate?”
“It’s possible. She may not care about that child as much as she pretends to.”
As Sebastian spoke, he took out his communicator and quickly issued instructions.
Outside the emergency room.
When Terrence arrived, he saw Paulina holding Julia and sobbing.
Julia’s little face was deathly pale, and she whimpered softly in Paulina’s arms.
“Terry!”
Paulina rushed over, eyes brimming with tears. “Ricky is still in surgery. It’s all my fault for not watching him…”
Rage and hatred surged in Terrence’s chest, but when he met Julia’s frightened, tearful eyes, he forced it down.
He remembered the daughter who had been “dealt with” so early, and a dull ache filled his heart.
Stiffly, he took Julia from her.
The child’s warm, soft body curled up trustingly in his arms, sobbing, calling him “Daddy,” her tears soaking his shirt.
That dependence cracked the ice around his heart, letting in a flood of sorrow and regret.
He gently patted and soothed her until Julia cried herself to sleep, then handed her to a nurse.
Turning to face Paulina, the last trace of gentleness vanished from his face, leaving only a storm barely held in check.
“How did Ricky get hurt?”
His voice was hoarse. “Wasn’t he with you?”
Paulina’s shoulders trembled, and her tears fell even faster: “I didn’t watch him closely enough… He said he wanted some air and to look for you. I turned to get my coat, and in that moment, he ran out…”
She choked on her sobs. “Terry, you know I care about Ricky more than my own life! I wish it had been me instead.”
“Like your own child? More than your life?”
Terrence repeated her words, then suddenly let out a low, hoarse, mocking laugh.
A flash of the drug purchase records on the documents crossed his mind, and his reason snapped.
“Paulina!”
He roared, and with all his strength, delivered a fierce slap.
“Smack!”
The sharp sound echoed down the corridor.
Paulina’s face was knocked to one side, swelling and reddening quickly. She stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
“Like your own child?”
Terrence stepped closer, and with a violent motion, threw the bloodstained documents in her face.
“Then tell me, what are these?”
“When you poisoned him, when you pushed him off the balcony, did you ever treat him as your son? Did you ever think you might kill him?”
The papers fluttered to the ground.
Paulina’s gaze fell on the records she thought had long been destroyed. Her pupils contracted sharply, and all color drained from her face.