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“Is this your child?” asked the Chief, his eyes filled with emotion as he looked at Isabelle Richardson. “Let him in,” he said to the people outside.

Bailey Gallagher walked into the office, noticing that everyone was looking at him.

“Bailey!” Isabelle excitedly squatted down and hugged him tightly, “Mom has missed you so much. Where have you been these past days? I couldn’t find you anywhere; you scared me to death.”

With Lana Lewis dead and Michael Gallagher in trouble, she had also been looking for Bailey. But, Bailey seemed to have vanished into thin air. No one had seen him since the day of the funeral.

Isabelle knew he was okay – he had just been hiding somewhere. Seeing that he was safe and sound relieved her.

“Bailey, did you come to stay with Mom?”

In this frigid Public Security Bureau, she had no family, and even the cops pitied her. She couldn’t stand this feeling. Bailey’s appearance was like a spark that ignited all the hope in her heart.

But Bailey, his little face wrinkled, pushed her away and stepped back, putting some distance between them.

“Bailey…” Isabelle was at a loss.

“I’m not here to keep you company,” Bailey’s tiny voice was stern beyond his years. “I’m here to be a witness.”

“A witness?”

Isabelle froze.

A witness? What kind of witness? Bailey is also going to be a witness?

She sharply turned to look at Molly Walker, but all she saw was Walker’s lips curving in a smirk, sitting there as if she were a harbinger of hellish doom.

Her heart skipped a beat, leaving her with an ominous feeling.

Elizabeth Aitken and Jake Leaford were walking out of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

“You’re free now,” Jake said, his laugh bitter-sweet.

Elizabeth lightly touched the paper in her pocket and nodded, “Yeah, I’m free.”

She hadn’t slept the night after she got the marriage certificate due to extreme joy, but when she woke up the next day, terror and concern were all that remained. They had rushed into getting the certificate.

No proposal, no meeting with the family, they just committed to each other. She began to fear what her own family would think, and was even more worried about how her friends would see her.

She didn’t know what Jake and the staff had talked about, but the divorce certificate was quickly obtained as easily as the marriage one. However, she felt a gnawing emptiness in her heart.

Looking at Jake’s profile, Elizabeth bit her lower lip and said, “I’m sorry about yesterday.”

Jake’s steps faltered when he heard her.

A car pulled up and stopped in front of them. As the car door opened, seeing the person inside made Jake’s face change. “Mom! What are you doing here?”

He then quickly stepped protectively in front of Elizabeth, his face tense.

Seeing his subconscious protective act, Elizabeth’s nose tingled and she could feel the sting of unshed tears. Yet she lifted her chin high and gazed back at Jake’s mother neither humbled nor overbearing.

Mrs. Leaford had a warm smile on her face, “What’s the point of worrying? I’m not going to eat your bride, am I?”

The term “bride” stopped them both in their tracks.

Jake’s face turned pale, then green, his face a mix of strange emotions.

Mrs. Leaford stepped forward, grabbing hold of Elizabeth’s hand. “Now that you’ve got the certificate, you’re part of our family. Jake, you can’t bully her, you have to treat her just as well as your dad treated me, understood?”

This unexpected warmth startled Elizabeth and Jake was equally surprised.

“Mom, why are you acting so differently…” He reached up to feel his mom’s forehead, but his hand was promptly swatted away.

“What, can’t I accept what’s been going on and allow you two to be together?” Mrs. Leaford’s laughter was gentle, though she did not bare the frustration in her heart.

Had it not been for this situation, she wouldn’t have agreed to them being together. But she had not expected her son to get a certificate with Elizabeth as soon as he was out, and it looked like they had been planning this all along.

Had her son plotted this deliberately?

Her heart filled with distrust and dissatisfaction, she turned to Jake, “You go back home first. Your dad is furious right now. Go and apologize. I’ll stay and talk with your bride for a while.”

Jake’s brows furrowed lightly as he thought back to a few years prior when his mom had chatted with Elizabeth once. After that, Elizabeth had vanished, ending up marrying another man.

Mrs. Leaford seemed as if she knew his concerns, casually saying, “Don’t worry, the two of you are married now. I won’t be a homewrecker.”

Marriage?

Elizabeth was briefly stunned.

Jake gave her a deep look but chose not to leave. Instead, he stood at a distance, watching the two women.

“You heard about what happened yesterday, didn’t you?” Mrs. Leaford cut right to the chase, “By choosing to marry Jake even after knowing what happened, it shows you really do love him.”

Mrs. Leaford smiled, though the laughter didn’t reach her eyes.

Coming out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, they’ve probably gotten their certificate by now.

Seeing that she can’t climb the social ladder, she’s decided to settle down. Such a preemptive move without consulting others, she despised.

“Since you’ve got the certificate, let’s arrange for the parents from both sides to meet sooner. The wedding should also be arranged as soon as possible, no more delays.”

Despite Mrs. Leaford trying to keep her composure, Elizabeth Aitken sensed the sarcasm in her voice.

Elizabeth’s lips twitched, replying neither humbly nor arrogantly, “I did not marry him.”

Mrs. Leaford was taken aback, frowning, “Then why did you go to the Civil Affairs Bureau?”

“To get a divorce.”

A divorce?

Mrs. Leaford’s eyes widened, her body cold like a block of ice.

“Indeed, to get a divorce.” Seeing her like this, Elizabeth’s smile deepened, “A few days ago he was dragging me to get a certificate, today we came for the divorce certificate.”

Speaking about marriage and divorce so lightly, Mrs. Leaford, shocked, clutched at her chest, her face as pale as a ghost.

Having obtained a certificate, and then gotten a divorce, didn’t this mean that her son had already been through a divorce?

She stared at Elizabeth with numbed shock, growing increasingly cold.

This woman has experienced a divorce, fair enough, but how did she manage to make her son experience one as well?!

“You should not have divorced.” Mrs. Leaford took a few deep breaths, her voice lifeless, “Getting married and divorced at such a young age, spreading this information is not good for your reputations.”

Elizabeth scoffed, “Thank you for your concern Aunt, I’ve never cared about my reputation.”

Mrs. Leaford’s face fell.

Who cared about her, she was bothered about her son’s reputation!

Suppressing the rage brewing within her, she forced a smile and said, “Yesterday’s incident had a huge impact on Jake. I know you guys still have feelings for each other. As long as you help him through this crisis, I will agree to whatever you want.”

Hearing that the incident had greatly impacted Jake, Elizabeth’s heart tightened slightly.

She indeed acted impulsively yesterday, looking back, she had always been feeling guilty.

“The impact on Jake’s reputation has already affected the company’s stocks, the Sawyer family is not acknowledging the engagement. He is in a crucial situation right now, without any help, I am afraid that his life will be ruined.”

Mrs. Leaford’s voice choked, it was obvious that she was suppressing something.

Elizabeth’s heart beat faster.

If Jake’s mother knew she caused this, she would probably fight her for it.

After thinking a moment, Elizabeth lowered her gaze, biting her lower lip, “What should I do to help him?”

In the Public Security Bureau, after listening to Bailey Gallagher’s account, Isabelle Richardson was shocked into silence.

“Little guy, is what you said just now true?” Captain Crane squatted in front of him, carefully pinched his face, “You can’t lie…”

Bailey raised his little face, his defiant eyes swollen like a white rabbit’s, “I am not lying, my mom is the murderer!”

“She picked up the vase and smashed it on that pretty Aunt from behind. Officer, my mom is a bad person!”

Bailey held up his chin, tears falling like droplets.

The atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point.

The faces of those present varied.

No one wants their parents to be bad guys.

To stand up and accuse one’s own mother is something that not just a child, even an adult, would find hard to do.

It is a kind of suffering and torment.

It is indeed too cruel to let a child face the harshness of life so early.

Molly Walker squatted down and hugged Bailey. Bailey clung to Molly’s dress, his lips trembling, crying out loud.

Isabelle Richardson felt like the last string in her brain had snapped. She couldn’t believe that Bailey would say such things.

Her lips trembled uncontrollably, her heart beating wildly.

She screamed in agony, the sound sharp and desolate.

“Bailey, are you out of your mind?! Do you have any idea what you are saying?”