Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter 15
Just as Elise parted her lips to speak, Robin seized the moment and popped the candy into her mouth.
A burst of citrus sweetness—bright, tangy, faintly fragrant with dried orange peel—spread across her tongue.
She frowned slightly, and yet... something inside her softened, just a little.
She had always liked this kind of candy.
After a few moments, the sugar finally steadied her, and her dizziness eased.
Lowering her gaze, she suddenly noticed that his small hand was still holding hers. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Her expression tightened. She pulled her hand away at once and stood up, brows drawn.
Robin rose with her, tilting his chin up, his wide, innocent eyes fixed on her.
"Miss, your face is still so pale. Do you want me to call someone to take you to the hospital?"
"No." Elise’s voice was cold. The candy was still in her mouth, but whatever warmth had stirred in her heart moments ago had already faded.
This child... was the result of Dylan’s betrayal. How could she allow herself to feel anything for him?
She looked at Robin again, her tone sharpening. "I’ll ask you one more time. Before today... have you ever seen me?"
Robin blinked, confused by the edge in her voice. He didn’t understand why she seemed... a little fierce. But he didn’t feel she was a bad person either.
And he remembered what his father had once told him, so he nodded and replied honestly.
"I saw your picture on Daddy’s phone."
Elise stilled.
"In the picture, Miss, you looked... fuller," he continued, gesturing clumsily with his hands. "Your tummy was round, and there were cute little drawings on it—like faces! And your hair was really, really long..."
He stretched his hand down to his waist to show the length.
"And it was curly—like a princess in a fairy tale. You were really beautiful!"
Elise froze.
If she remembered correctly, that had been one of her maternity photos. Did Dylan still have those photos on his phone? What was that supposed to mean?
Living happily with another woman and their child... And yet keeping relics of the children he had lost with her?
"—Miss?" Robin’s soft voice pulled her back again. "Your eyes are so red. Are you still feeling unwell?"
Elise looked at him, her chest tight with tangled emotions. "Has your father ever mentioned me?"
"No!" Robin shook his head quickly. "I only saw that picture once. Daddy had been drinking that night and fell asleep with me. I was playing on his phone and pressed something by accident... then it popped up."
He paused, thinking carefully. "The next day, I asked him who the pretty auntie in the photo was. But Daddy wouldn’t tell me."
Elise’s gaze darkened.
"He didn’t refuse," she said quietly. "He just... didn’t dare to tell you."
Robin frowned. "Why wouldn’t he dare?"
"You can ask him yourself when you go home," Elise replied coolly. "Or ask your mother."
As she spoke, she reached out and gently touched his hair, her eyes distant, cold.
"Do you know something? I once had two children too. If they were still here... they’d be about your age now."
"Huh?" Robin’s little face scrunched in confusion. "Then... where did your children go?"
Elise’s hand moved slowly through his hair.
"They went somewhere very far away," she said softly. "A place without pain... without betrayal."
He didn’t understand. He was about to ask more when he suddenly felt a faint tug at his scalp—a small, sharp sting.
Before he could react, Elise had already withdrawn her hand.
"Go back to your classroom," she said. "Find your teacher. I’m leaving."
She turned and walked away without another glance.
Robin just stood there, watching her retreating figure. After a moment, he raised a hand and rubbed the spot on his head that had stung slightly.
"She doesn’t seem like a bad person..." he murmured softly. "But... she doesn’t seem to like me at all." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
***
After Elise got into the car, she handed a few strands of hair—roots still attached—that she had taken from Robin to Zoey.
"Find a reliable lab. Go there personally."
"Relax, this is exactly my kind of thing." Zoey pulled out a sealed evidence bag and carefully stored the strands inside.
"Now, let’s head to Orchard Residence."
Zoey looked at her, surprised, and clicking her tongue. "Seriously, have you looked at yourself? You’re pale as a ghost—no, worse than a ghost. Maybe we should go another day?"
Elise shook her head. "Dylan will find out very quickly that I went to the kindergarten today. He’ll figure out why I went. So before he catches on, we need to secure proof that he’s been living there with her."
Zoey let out a low whistle. "You two really do know each other inside out."
"Exactly," Elise said with a cold, bitter smile. "And that’s why his betrayal is even more unforgivable."
***
A place like Orchard Residence wasn’t somewhere just anyone could walk into. But that wasn’t a problem for someone like Zoey Paige.
Half an hour later, disguised as a company employee with a "DEL Jewelry" badge clipped to her chest, she walked straight in without issue.
About ten minutes later, she came back out.
The housekeeper personally escorted her to the door, watching until she got into the car and drove away before heading back inside.
As soon as the door shut, the housekeeper pulled out her phone and dialed Quinn.
"Ma’am, just like you expected, someone really did come. I arranged the master bedroom as you instructed... Yes, everything you told me—I said it all..."
***
Inside the white Panamera, Zoey removed the badge from her chest and handed it to Elise in the passenger seat.
"Got everything. The master bedroom, the kid’s room—and my conversation with the housekeeper. It all proves they’re living together as a family of three."
Elise took the badge.
It wasn’t just a badge—it was a specially designed micro camera.
"Audio and video like this can be tricky in court," Zoey warned. "Unless we absolutely have to use it, better not. Otherwise, Dylan might turn it around and accuse us of violating privacy."
"I know." Elise tightened her grip on it, her gaze drifting out the window.
The car fell into silence.
Zoey drove on, sneaking a glance at her.
"You’ve looked awful since we left the kindergarten... that kid—" she hesitated, then sighed. "Did he say something to you?"
"He looks exactly like Dylan," Elise said quietly, still staring ahead.
The scenery outside blurred past, but in her mind, all she could see was Robin’s small, innocent face.
"Zoey... do you know what the principal told me?" she continued softly. "Dylan told them that child was adopted by both of us—as husband and wife."
"What?!" Zoey’s voice shot up. "That’s complete nonsense!"
"He didn’t just betray me," Elise said, her tone cold and hollow. "He planned everything. To the outside world, Robin Bennett isn’t an illegitimate child—he’s our adopted son. He can openly call Dylan ’Dad.’ He can appear anywhere as the young heir of the Bennett family."
"Jesus..." Zoey slammed the brakes lightly and pulled over to the side of the road. "I swear, I need a second before I start cursing out loud."
The white car came to a stop.
Hazard lights blinking, she turned to Elise, eyes blazing.
"What is Dylan even thinking? He doesn’t want a divorce, but he’s setting things up so his bastard son becomes the legitimate heir to the Bennett empire?"
