I laughed coldly, wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes. I was about to speak, thinking of how he had eagerly listened to my belly after I became pregnant.
Suddenly his phone rang. When he answered, it was Chloé’s anxious crying:
“Gabriel! I’ve been kidnapped! They’re going to hurt me and the baby!”
“Please come save me!”
“Ah! Don’t touch me! I’m pregnant!”
Gabriel froze, a flash of hesitation crossing his face.
I watched as he made his final choice after much internal struggle, and let out a self–mocking laugh.
“Natalie, Chloe is being hurt right now. I’ll go save her and then come back for you.”
“I swear, just this one time. I’ll give her some money to leave and stay out of our lives!”
“The situation is urgent. I just don’t want to see your tragedy happen again before my eyes. I don’t want any more regrets.”
Watching his retreating back, I clenched my fists tightly. The pain in my heart spread throughout my body.
Frederick silently took my hand, gently prying open my fingers one by one and lightly stroking the wounds on my palm.
His eyes held an indecipherable tenderness as he said sympathetically;
“Natalie, don’t be sad.”
“Let’s bury the baby today and leave this place.”
Pain crawled into my eyes as I nodded.
Gabriel saw Chloe being manhandled by several men. He immediately went over and ordered them to let her go.
One man came forward, showing his badge and saying:
“Mr. Kensington, we’re the police.”
“We received a report that Miss Yates was involved in a hit–and–run. Please cooperate with our investigation.”
Gabriel pulled Chloe behind him protectively, his low voice filled with displeasure:
“The victim is my wife. She already signed a settlement. You can’t take Chloe away!”
Hearing this, the officers‘ eyes filled with contempt. A young rookie gaped in disbelief:
Your wife got hit and you’re protecting the mistress!”
Gabriel glared at him sharply, saying angrily:
“What business is it of yours!”
The older officer said righteously:
4:02 PM
く
“Mr. Kensington, the settlement doesn’t matter. We suspect Miss Yates of attempted murder, a criminal offense. Please cooperate with the investigation!”
Gabriel hesitated, muttering:
“It was just not recognizing Natalie, how could it be so serious?”
As all the surveillance footage played, Gabriel’s face grew darker and darker.
By the end, regret spread through his heart. Natalie’s desperate cries for help from the video echoed in his ears, suffocating him.
Gabriel clutched his chest. The cruelty of the exposed truth was unbearable.
The room fell silent. No one had expected a pregnant woman to endure so much brutality in just one day, while her husband not only failed to save her but made things worse.
Gabriel turned to glare viciously at Chloe. He grabbed her throat, his eyes bloodshot and gaze sinister:
“Didn’t you say you hit someone on Greenhill Road?! How was it right outside my house!”
445
“If you hadn’t lied and misled me, how could Natalie have suffered so much! You recognized her from the start, didn’t you? You knew she was my wife, didn’t you?!”
Gabriel’s grip tightened. Chloe’s face turned red in pain. The officers quickly moved to stop him.
Chloe laughed miserably and shouted:
“Yes! I knew it was Natalie Shaw as soon as I hit her!”
“But it was you who ordered no anesthesia for her. It was you who broke her fingers. It was you who forced her to give me blood!”
“Why are you pretending to be devoted? If you really loved Natalie Shaw, how could you not recognize her! You’re the one who hurt her!”
“I didn’t do anything wrong! I took her to the hospital after hitting her. She didn’t die!”
“Hah, why arrest me?”
Hearing this, Gabriel was livid. His teeth ground together as he clenched his fist, wanting immediately strangle this woman.
Someone suddenly said:
“Who said we can’t arrest you?”
Chloe was stunned.
“According to hospital surveillance and evidence provided by Ms. Shaw, you instructed someone to smother the newborn baby and blocked the door to prevent medical treatment. You’re charged with intentional homicide.”
Gabriel whipped his head around to look at the officer, his legs going weak as he asked shakily:
“My daughter… is dead?”
No one in the room gave Gabriel a sympathetic look. After all, if not for him, no one would have died.
Chloe was grabbed by the arms. She shouted excitedly at Gabriel:
“Gabriel, I was wrong! I was wrong!”
“Save me, I didn’t mean to. It was Natalie Shaw who didn’t take care of that child properly. She was born not breathing!”
“Gabriel, I’m still carrying your child!”
“You vicious woman! You don’t deserve to carry my child!”
“Pay for my daughter’s life!”
Just out of the cemetery, I saw Gabriel hurriedly get out of his car and run towards me.
