Free Web NovelChapter 13: Chapter 13
"You deserved to lose your children."
Those words struck Elise like a blade, driven straight into her chest.
Something inside her snapped.
She stared at Alicia, her gaze turning cold and hollow, as if she were looking at something already dead.
"Alicia," she said quietly, "people have to pay for the things they say."
Alicia flinched, instinctively stepping back.
But Elise moved faster. In one swift motion, she lunged forward and seized a fistful of her hair.
"Ah—!" The woman screamed, her head yanked back at an unnatural angle, tears bursting from her eyes. "It hurts! Mom—Mom, help me! She’s gone crazy!"
"Let go of my daughter, you bitch!"
Ella rushed forward, grabbing Elise’s hair and yanking hard. Pain shot through Elise’s scalp. Before she could react, Alicia lashed out, her foot driving straight toward Elise’s abdomen.
Elise’s pupils shrank.
She twisted just in time, narrowly dodging the kick, but Ella shoved her hard from behind.
Attacked from all sides, she had no chance to steady herself. Her body pitched forward and slammed into a broad, solid chest.
Strong arms caught her instantly, steadying her before she could fall.
A familiar scent enveloped her like a veil—faint, clean, like pine in the rainfall.
It was Dylan.
Elise looked up, her breath still uneven, one hand instinctively moving to her stomach.
If he hadn’t caught her just now... If she had fallen...
Her heart clenched. She had already lost her twins. This child... could not be lost too.
The haze of anger that had consumed her moments ago shattered, leaving behind a chilling clarity.
She had lost control again.
Since stopping her medication and deciding to rebuild herself—to become stable, to prepare for motherhood—this was the first time she had spiraled like this.
A wave of fear crept in. She had sworn to become calm, steady—someone who could be a good mother. So why... couldn’t she control herself?
Had all those months of effort meant nothing?
Her body began to tremble. She was afraid. Afraid that even now, carrying a child, she still couldn’t rein in her emotions. Afraid she might hurt her own baby.
Dylan felt the trembling in his arms.
Over the past five years, every time Elise lost control, her body would react like this. He knew exactly what it meant.
She needed silence. Space. Stability.
His gaze turned toward Ella and Alicia, cold enough to freeze the air.
"It seems you’ve both been living a little too comfortably lately."
The single sentence drained the color from their faces.
Without another word, Dylan lifted Elise into his arms. Then he looked at Ella, his voice like ice.
"Go back and tell Steven that I’ll have someone audit his overseas businesses."
"No—Dylan, you can’t do this!" Ella shouted, panic rising in her voice. "Steven is your brother! You already forced him overseas, and now you want to destroy his only livelihood? You’re going to drive him to his death!"
She tried to rush forward, but two bodyguards in black stepped out from the shadows and blocked her path.
Alicia’s eyes burned red with fury.
"My brother’s business overseas is completely legal! What right do you have to interfere?!"
Dylan’s lips curved faintly. "You bully my wife. I bully Steven." His voice was calm, almost conversational. "An eye for an eye. Seems fair to me."
"You—!" Ella glared at him, trembling with rage. "If you do this, your father will hate you even more!"
"A man who relies on me every month to fund his mistress and illegitimate children?" Dylan’s voice turned dismissive. "Do you really think I care what he feels?"
Ella froze.
Dylan didn’t spare them another glance.
"Guards," he ordered coolly, "escort them out. From now on, no one enters to disturb my grandmother without my permission."
"Yes, sir."
With that, he turned and walked away, still holding Elise.
***
The elevator took them straight down to the underground parking level.
Dylan carried Elise out.
Oliver stepped out of the Maybach, quickly moving to open the rear door.
Dylan paused. "You stay out here."
Oliver blinked, then nodded. "Understood."
The car door closed.
Oliver turned away, giving them privacy.
Inside the enclosed car, the world fell silent.
Dylan gently stroked Elise’s back, his voice low and steady. "It’s alright now."
The silence around her slowly settled.
Only then did the ringing in Elise’s ears begin to fade. Her trembling body gradually loosened, the tension draining from her limbs little by little.
It took nearly ten minutes before she fully steadied herself.
When she finally lifted her head, she met a pair of dark, unreadable eyes.
For a brief second, she looked lost, but then, as if waking from a dream, the confusion vanished, replaced instantly by cold disgust. freewebnøvel.coɱ
"I’m fine now," she said flatly. "Let go of me."
Dylan didn’t move, one hand still rested firmly at her waist, steady but unyielding.
He had grown used to her physical reactions over the years and knew how to handle them without panic.
But the look in her eyes now...
He exhaled quietly, lifting his hand to smooth the strands of hair that Ella had pulled loose.
Elise recoiled, swatting his hand away, her body instinctively retreating from him.
This time, Dylan didn’t force her.
She shifted away from his arms and reached for the car door handle, but it wouldn’t budge.
Her brows tightened. "Let me out."
Dylan frowned. "In your condition? Are you sure you can walk on your own?"
Elise let out a soft, mocking laugh.
"Why pretend to care?" she said coldly. "Haven’t you been fed up with my emotions for years? Now that I’ve finally learned not to rely on you, you should be relieved."
He fell silent for a moment, her words catching him off guard. The crease between his brows deepened.
Elise couldn’t stand being in the same confined space with him any longer.
Too much had happened today. She was exhausted—physically, emotionally. All she wanted now was to go home and sleep.
"Dylan," she said, her voice hoarse, "I’m serious about the divorce. If you still think I’m just throwing a tantrum, then all it means is that you’ve never truly understood me."
A pause. "...And maybe you never really loved me at all."
Dylan stared at her, calm. There was no anger in her eyes now. No grief. No emotion at all.
Just stillness. A dead calm, like water without a ripple. And for some reason, that frightened him.
Elise didn’t bother arguing further. She pulled out her phone and dialed Oliver’s number.
Outside the car, the man glanced at the caller ID, confused, but answered anyway.
"Madam?"
"Unlock the door," Elise said evenly. "If you don’t, I can’t guarantee what I’ll do once you start driving."
Dylan’s expression darkened. "You’re threatening me with your life?"
Elise ended the call and looked straight at him.
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "I don’t want to stay with you anymore. If you keep pushing me... I don’t mind dragging you down with me."
His jaw tightened. "You hate me that much?"
"Yes." Her voice was clear, each word deliberate. "I hate you for letting my children die. I hate you for destroying my love. I hate you for betraying everything we promised each other."
She faltered for a moment before finishing, "And most of all... I hate that you have another child."
Dylan did not say a word, quietly clicking the lock button to let his wife out. Elise nearly ran toward Zoey’s car as if scared that he might change his mind and drag her back inside.
Inside the black Maybach, Dylan watched as the white car disappeared into the distance, his gaze dark and unreadable.
From the driver’s seat, Oliver spoke cautiously, "Sir... where to?"
"Back to the company," Dylan said coldly. After a pause, he added, "Assign people to watch her—discreetly."
"Yes, sir."
***
Franchesca’s surgery was scheduled for one month later. Elise knew that within that month, Dylan would not agree to a divorce easily.
Madeline had already sent Alexander Hayes’ contact information, and Elise had spoken to him over the phone.
His advice was clear: aim for a peaceful settlement if possible, but prepare for litigation.
It aligned perfectly with her own plan.
So before Dylan and Quinn became fully guarded, she needed to gather solid evidence.
First... She needed a paternity test confirming that the child was Dylan’s.
So on Monday morning, a white Porsche Panamera pulled up outside the private school for children of the city’s elite.
Inside the car, Elise unfastened her seatbelt.
"Wait here," she said calmly. "I’ll be back soon."
Zoey frowned slightly, concern flickering in her eyes. "Are you sure you can handle it?" she asked. "Do you want me to go instead?"
