Chapter 3

With interest, Bradley observed Esther's pale face and reminded her, "Esther, the kids you spent months carrying, they're still alive!" Esther rose to her feet in shock. "That's impossible!" She had gone to prison while pregnant, but her children had been declared dead once delivered, having suffocated in her womb for too long. "How is that impossible?" Bradley leaned back confidently. "It's easy for the Warners to take a couple of babies out of prison. Don't forget you're still legally my wife. You think I had no right to deal with the bastards you carried?" Bradley's words overwhelmed Esther. She looked at him, trying to determine how true his words were. "Work with me obediently, and I might be kind enough to tell you where those bastards are." Esther stood up shakily, gazing at the ruthless man, and asked seriously, "Are my kids really alive?" "Do I have to lie to you?" Esther shook her head. She couldn't trust him, yet she hoped that everything Bradley said was true. "Bradley, I don't believe you." Bradley clenched Esther's jaw, mocking her cruelly. "Do you have another choice but to believe me?" Esther stared at Bradley, feeling his resentment like thin needles stabbing her heart. This man had once been the love of her life, but now he was her worst nightmare. Her one-sided love had transformed into searing hatred. She despised him so much that she wanted to rip into him and drink his blood. Finding unexpected courage, Esther opened her mouth and bit between Bradley's thumb and index finger while he wasn't paying attention. Bradley immediately grabbed her hair with his other hand. The taste of blood spread in Esther's mouth, and a discreet sense of elation filled her heart. Bradley tossed her aside as blood dripped from his hand to the floor. Esther wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and sneered. "Bradley Warner, you'll regret this." "Regret is not a word in my dictionary." There was a sinister look in Bradley's eyes. "If there's something I should regret in my life, it's that I shouldn't have married you." Bradley then turned to the nurse at the door. "Continue with the next check-up and give me a rabies shot." Esther stood frozen, watching Bradley slowly disappear from her sight. After attending Thomas ' funeral, she had wanted revenge, no matter the cost. After seeking revenge against Liliane for framing her, she planned to leave and have nothing to do with Bradley. However, Bradley's words had injected Esther with an unprecedented motivation to stay alive when she had once considered death. She was going to keep living. Yes, she had to keep living. She wanted to personally witness Bradley discover that Liliane, whom he had always protected and doted on, was the one responsible for Thomas' death. "Bradley Warner..." Esther stopped him when he was about to leave, her voice hoarse as she asked hesitantly, "Where are my children?" Bradley halted and told the hopeful woman, "You'll see them after you come out of the operating theater." "Do you swear?" Esther asked emotionally, clenching her fists. Bradley gave her an icy gaze, smirking at her like an ant he could easily squash. He didn't give Esther the promise she wanted. He was more certain than anyone that Esther wouldn't dare risk it. She would do as he said. It was ironic that a savage woman like her had such a loving heart. "When can she go for the surgery?" Bradley asked the doctor outside the door. The doctor glanced at Esther inside the room. Though he sympathized with her as a doctor, he knew that she could redeem her sins if she could save Felix. "Mr. Warner, from the check-ups we ran on Ms. Quill, she's been malnourished all year long. It'll be dangerous for her to go for surgery right now. My suggestion is to give her one to two weeks to recuperate." Bradley's dark eyes flashed with cruelty. "One week later. Schedule the surgery." After Bradley left the room, Esther went to the door and asked the nurse keeping an eye on her, "Miss, could I borrow your phone?" The nurse hesitated but passed her phone to Esther. Esther took it and dialed the number she had memorized. "Jasper, it's me, Esther. I'm in the hospital now. Can you come over?" Jasper Searle was stunned when he received Esther's call. She was out of prison? When? "I'll be right there." After hanging up, Jasper tapped the bouncing icon on his phone screen and only then realized that the group chat was filled with video clips of Esther being mocked at the funeral. He instructed his secretary, "Get me a few size S outfits and size 36 shoes." The secretary was inwardly surprised but replied respectfully, "Yes, Mr. Searle." After that, he called the number he had saved as "Y" on his contacts, but the call remained unanswered. - The nurse had already dressed the wound on Liliane's head in the hospital. There was a small piece of gauze on her forehead, but it did not affect her beauty at all. Felix worriedly looked at Liliane and asked, "Mommy, does it hurt?" Liliane looked at Felix, who was cute like an angel, and replied softly, "My dear boy, it won't hurt anymore after you blow on it for me." Felix remembered that the nanny who took care of him previously would blow on his wound carefully each time he fell, so he copied what she did and blew on Liliane's wound. Given how long Liliane had kept up the image of a loving mother, there was no way she would expose herself at this critical juncture. "My boy's so amazing. Mommy doesn't hurt anymore." This was the loving scene that Bradley saw when he entered. He did not love Liliane, but he was the one who ended up sleeping with her back then and had a cute child, Felix. Just for the sake of his son, he should give Liliane the official title of Mrs. Warner. "Daddy!" Felix called out happily when he saw Bradley. Bradley hugged him and told Liliane, "Felix will have the surgery one week later." Liliane asked in surprise, "She... She agreed?" Bradley did not tell her about his deal with Esther. He did not want his son to come across such a dark reality at such a young age. "Yes." Liliane put her hands together and delightedly exclaimed, "Thank goodness!" Bradley looked at Liliane, who was genuinely happy for Felix, and softly told her, "Felix's surgery will be successful." Liliane held Felix's face, which looked so much like Bradley, in her hands and gave him a loud kiss, telling him gently, "Felix, this is Mommy's happiest day." Felix didn't know why Liliane was happy, but he replied nonetheless, "I'm happy too if Mommy's happy!" Because he was always ill, he looked thinner and weaker than his peers. His small face was sickly pale. Bradley felt bad for him. He didn't understand what he had done wrong for God to punish him like this. He would rather be the one who was ill and had to undergo treatment than for an innocent child like Felix to suffer like this. "Liliane, I'll leave Felix under your care." Liliane nodded understandingly. "Sorry, Brad. It's Grandpa Thomas' funeral today, and I still called you over. Go back to it. Felix, say bye-bye to Daddy." Felix waved at Bradley. "Bye, Daddy." Bradley ruffled Felix's hair and told him, "Listen to Mommy well, and call Daddy if anything happens, okay?" "Yes, Daddy. I'll be good." Bradley had just left the ward when Cole stepped up and greeted him, "Mr. Warner." Bradley looked at him and asked indifferently, "All done?" Cole had been his assistant for a long time, and they had a certain degree of understanding. "The bodyguards are protecting Mrs. Warner." "Mrs. Warner?" Bradley asked icily. "Ms. Quill... I have people stationed 24/7 to keep her safe." "Keep a close eye on her. I'll hold you responsible if anything happens." Bradley had just stepped into the lobby with Cole when he ran into Jasper, who was coming in haste. Jasper was not alone. His assistant and secretary behind him were pulling along two suitcases. The suitcases contained the clothes, shoes, and daily necessities that he had asked them to buy for Esther earlier. "Jasper." Bradley looked at the man before him and sneered. "Five years, and you're still hung up on the woman I don't want."