During a business trip to New York, I decided to stop by and see the baby. By sheer coincidence, I arrived just as a formidable–looking older woman with a shock of white hair was confronting Cora
She was not being kind.
Chapter 2
06:33
That autumn, Cora’s baby was born. I heard that Gabriel was by her side, helping take care of her and the newborn, but that they hadn’t gotten
married.
During a business trip to New York, I decided to stop by and see the baby. By sheer coincidence, I arrived just as a formidable–looking older woman with a shock of white hair was confronting Cora.
She was not being kind.
“I’m taking the child,” the woman said, her voice like steel. “We’ll know if he’s a Lockwood after the paternity test. You’ve been hiding from us for months, shacking up with that Gabriel fellow. For all we know, the child is his.”
“Mrs. Lockwood, I swear to you, he’s your grandson!” Cora pleaded. “Do the test, I don’t care, but he’s too young to be taken from his mother!”
But Mrs. Lockwood was unmoved. “Mr. Kent is just a friend,” Cora cried, her voice cracking. “He was just visiting today. We’re not together!”
She grabbed desperately at Mrs.
- st. “Cora, the child is one thing,
Koowood’s arm, terrified she wouldn’t claim the baby. The older woman shook her off with a look of pure disgu-
ly? You know perfectly well bouanother. Did you really think that by secretly giving birth, you could force your way into the Lockwood fami-
sy was conceived.”
Sony
Mrs. Lockwood gestured sharply. A men in suits moved to block Cor
s path.
impeccably dressed woman stepped forward and swiftly took the baby from the bassinet. Two large
“If the child is a Lockwood,” she said, tossing the words over her shoulder, “you will be compensated.”
And with that, she and her entourage were
sone.
W 201
wwwww
Cora completely fell apart. She sank to the floor, wailing “My baby, my baby,” but no one paid her any attention.
“Cora, get up. Don’t sit on the cold floor.” Gabriel rushed to her side, trying to help her up.
She turned on him, her face contorted with rage, and began hitting his chest with her fists. “This is all your fault! If you hadn’t told everyone the baby was yours, I would already be married into the Lockwood family!”
*Cora, I was just trying to protect you from the gossip,” he said, his voice strained. “I never meant to stop you from being with them.”
“Don’t tell me what you meant! If you didn’t mean it, why were you always hovering around me like some pathetic stray dog? Now everything is ruined! They took my baby, and they’re never going to give him back!”
Gabriel froze, a muscle twitching in his jaw. He clenched his fists at his sides, his shoulders trembling with a silent, suppressed fury.
Cora had planned her every move with meticulous care, but in the end, she was no match for the cunning of a seasoned matriarch like Mrs. Lock-
wood.
