Chapter 434
Chapter 434
“I’m telling you, it was Hiram who hurt himself. Neil ran into me when he was off to get some medication for him at the hospital. So, he asked me to look after Hiram for a while. Aren’t you aware that Neil had an important meeting to attend today?” I threw the question back at Karina. “Even I know that. Surely, Dr. Karina, you know that too, right?”
If Karina admitted that she didn’t know, it would imply that her relationship with Neil wasn’t as snug as she claimed it to be.
She would never admit this in front of Ryan and Faith, even if she wasn’t aware of that, she’d insist that she was.
As expected, Karina responded swiftly, “Of course, I knew. But I find it hard to believe that Neil would entrust his son to you.”
“What’s so implausible about that?” Faith defended me. “We had an urgency and there was nobody at home. We needed someone trustworthy to look after the kid. Irene seemed like a perfect fit. We know her well, so we felt assured leaving Hiram in her care.”
Karina’s face turned pale, then red, then pale again. She hadn’t anticipated that Faith would defend me so firmly, even when it concerned Hiram’s safety.
However, Karina was determined not to let me off the hook.
“Regardless, Hiram is my son. I gave birth to him and raised him all by myself. He is my life. I can’t take his safety lightly. I have to get to the bottom of this,” Karina turned to me and asked, “Ms. Finch, if you’re innocent, why are you afraid of me calling the police?”
I was baffled by her twisted logic. Essentially, she just wanted to create trouble by getting the cops involved.
“Hiram, tell me what happened. Where’s your father?” Faith asked sternly.
Hiram looked at the stern expression on Faith’s face and lowered his gaze, whispering, “Dad’s at work…”
“How did you get this injury on your face? Good boys don’t lie. Tell the truth,” Faith prodded.
Hiram pursed his lips, looking a little scared. His eyes darted nervously towards Karina.
Seeing that Hiram was about to speak, Karina stepped in. “Faith, Hiram is just a kid. He might blurt out something he doesn’t mean to say when he’s anxious and afraid. Let’s leave this to the police.”
“Isn’t this something that Neil could clarify with a few words when he gets home? Are you determined to make a scene?” I was genuinely curious. How would escalating this situation benefit her?
“I’m not trying to make a scene. I just want to know the truth,” Karina retorted.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Neil returning my call.
For a moment, I was unsure whether to answer it. Karina had called Neil earlier too, but he chose to return my call first.
Either Karina or Ryan and Faith finding out about this wouldn’t bode well for me.
I declined the call and texted Neil. [Karina and your parents are here. Please call them and explain.]
My text had barely been sent for half a minute when Ryan’s phone rang.
Neil chose not to contact Karina. Why?
I was puzzled. Could it be that Neil’s feelings for Karina were merely out of obligation, as he had claimed?
This thought crossed my mind but was interrupted by Ryan’s voice, “Alright, I got it. You explain it to her!”
With that, Ryan handed the phone to Karina, visibly disgruntled, “You hear it from him.”
Hesitant at first, Karina eventually took the phone. I couldn’t tell what Neil was saying, but Karina’s expression grew increasingly grim.
Finally, she ended the call and returned the phone to Ryan.
Ryan scoffed, “Are you happy now? Do you believe that Irene is innocent? What do you hope to achieve by making a scene in someone else’s house?”
Upon hearing Ryan scolding Karina, Hiram rushed to hold Ryan’s hand and begged, “Grandpa, don’t be mad. Don’t blame my mommy… She didn’t mean it…”
I must say, Hiram did an excellent job of defending his mother.
How could Ryan say anything to his precious grandson? After all, Karina was Hiram’s biological mother, a fact that couldn’t be changed.
“I’m sorry. I was just too anxious,” Karina apologized.
What set her apart from Bonnie was her ability to swallow her pride. Even under such circumstances, she didn’t storm off in anger or embarrassment. Instead, she apologized.
Hearing Karina’s apology, Ryan and Faith seemed somewhat mollified. They probably didn’t want to cause any further inconvenience to me. After
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all, the incident had been embarrassing for everyone involved. So, they decided to leave, taking Hiram with them. “Irene, we’ll be on our way now. Don’t take this incident to heart. It was just a misunderstanding.”
Being Hiram’s mother shielded Karina from any potential repercussions from Ryan and Faith.
I heaved a sigh of relief and replied, “Alright.”
Chapter 434
Karina didn’t pursue the issue further. She quietly followed Ryan and Faith and left my house. I thought that was the end of it, but I didn’t expect that they would create even more trouble for me.
Once the living room regained its tranquility, Norah came out of the room, holding Yara in her arms. “Ms. Finch, I’m glad they finally left. The babies were on the verge of crying.”
“Where are Serena and Brandon?” I asked, taking Yara into my arms.
“They were about to cry too. I managed to console them and they fell asleep,” Norah was indeed adept at handling children.
I nodded appreciatively. “Alright, Norah, you should take a break too.”
Norah massaged her nape and shoulders, and smiled, “I’ll take a short nap. Call me when Serena and Brandon wake up.”
After Norah left for her break, I played with Yara in the living room. After I sent some videos to Stella, Yara started crying.
“Hold on, sweetie. I will fix you some milk!” I quickly placed Yara down and went to prepare her milk.
Just as I finished preparing the milk, the doorbell rang again. I had a bad feeling every time I heard the doorbell. It felt like a bad omen.
I had no clue when my mom and dad would be back. Handling things alone with Norah felt like we were two kids trying to pilot a jumbo jet.
I went to the front porch with a baby bottle in my hand. It was Neil. What was he doing here? Didn’t Karina and the others just leave?
“Open up, I know you’re behind that door.” Neil’s hearing was pretty sharp, probably picked up on my shuffling feet.
I’m not exactly in high spirits at the moment. The drama today was all thanks to Neil, and I’ve yet to vent my frustration.
“How on earth did you get here so fast?” I grumbled as I opened the door. “You’ve got your phone off. If you were any slower, I’d be in a squad car on my way to jail thanks to Karina’s 911 call. Why didn’t you wait until I was behind bars to come visit?”
