Chapter 259
In the past, Lainey might have felt agreeable about Alice being kicked out. But now, Alice knew too many secrets about her and Anthony. If she refused to help Alice this time, Alice would inevitably fall out with Anthony and Lainey.
“Theo, don’t you think you’re a bit impulsive?” Lainey racked her brain to plead for Alice. “Mindy just said it’s only been a week. Ellie shouldn’t be infertile for her entire life, right?”
When Lainey looked her way, Mindy nodded honestly.
“See?” Lainey immediately said to Theodore. “Since the problem was found early, can’t we be a bit lenient with her?”
Theodore asked coldly, “Did she confess this herself?”
Lainey was left tongue–tied.
“It was Mindy. Her conscience got the better of her and drove her to confess,” Theodore said, then turning back to Alice. “She is merely a vicious woman. She doesn’t deserve to be a Russell.”
Lainey stammered, “But she’s Anthony’s fiancée. She’s carrying Russell blood..”
“I never said she couldn’t have the baby,” Theodore said, each word sharp. “At most, we’ll take it back later as a bastard, just like his father.”
His words were like a sharp dagger stabbed into Anthony’s heart. Anthony’d been called an unhonorable bastard since childhood. Now, Theodore wanted Anthony’s child to suffer the same kind of humiliation as he.
Even though Anthony had no attachment to Alice or her child, he still felt a surge of hatred. “Theodore, my child will never be a bastard.”
Theodore smiled at him. “If you don’t want that, just leave him to his mother. There are plenty of good women out there. Marry again, have more legitimate kids. Simple.”
“No,” Lainey chimed in, anxious now. She couldn’t accept the fact that she would never meet the grandson she had expected for so long, even though he was a bastard.
Lainey didn’t agree with Anthony. After all, she’d overcome many problems and insults to marry into the Russell family.
But Theodore didn’t care what they thought. “I’ll give you one night. If she’s still in Russell Manor tomorrow morning, don’t blame me for being rough.” Then, he left.
Seeing this, Mindy thought for a moment, then chased after him. “Mr. Russell.”
Theodore stopped and glanced at her coldly.,
Mindy knew she was in the wrong. “Mr. Russell, I know I shouldn’t have helped her. Can you give me a chance to atone?”
“Speak,” Theodore said indifferently.
Mindy said, “I made the recipe. I know exactly how the food harms the body. I want to help Mrs. Russell recover. Please?”
“Not an option.” To Theodore, an unloyat person was never trustworthy. Besides, he had Samuel, a proficient doctor, so there no need to keep Mindy.
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Chapter 259
After a pause, he said, “Should I have someone ‘escort‘ you to the police station, or will you turn yourself in?
Mindy lowered her head. “I–I’ll go myself.” Turning herself in might mean less time in jail.
Theodore grunted, then coldly looked away and headed for the stairs. There, on the steps, he saw a small figure–Jayden
Theodore narrowed his eyes. “How long have you been hiding here, listening?”
“Shh, I followed Mom down,” Jayden said.
When Alice was dragged downstairs, Lainey had been in Jayden’s room, watching him do homework.
So when Lainey moved, he’d followed. But he was smarter now, knew this wasn’t a kid’s business, so he’d hidden on the stairs, listening.
Theodore, hearing he’d followed Lainey, nodded in understanding. “So you heard everything?”
Jayden sat on the step, hands cupping his face, light eyebrows furrowed. “Why would Alice do that?”
For once, Theodore said calmly to him, “To secure her position.”
Jayden huffed. “But doesn’t she know she’s being too mean? Trying to make Eliana never have kids.”
Theodore raised an eyebrow. “You think she’s too mean? Didn’t you like her best?”
Jayden suddenly dropped his hands, serious. “I stopped liking her much after that time you almost punished me with family rules.”
“Oh? Because she didn’t stand up for you then?” asked Theodore.
“Not just that,” Jayden shook his head, telling the brother that he hated his true thoughts for the first time.
Jayden said with a sigh, “She told me I’m a kid, so I have the right to be willful. That’s why I got worse and started collecting protection money from classmates. If I’d listened to Eliana, Eileen never would’ve made a home visit.”
Theodore sneered and thought, ‘So Alice had egged him on to bully his classmates. Kicking her just once had been too kind.’
Jayden was the Russell family’s future, after all. Even though he’d gone astray, there were still many ways to fix it. But Alice, far from doing her duty as an elder, had led him down the wrong path.
Theodore asked, “Does Anthony know about this?”
“No. I promised Alice to keep it secret. She said she was scared of being thrown out of the Russell family.” But now Alice was leaving, so Jayden could tell the truth.
Theodore patted his thin shoulder. “All right, just do your homework.”
Jayden nodded and stood up, then looked up, remembering something. “Oh, my math score came out. Eighty–eight. Cool, right?“.
Compared to his last thirty–seven, it was a huge leap. Theodore met his bright eyes, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “You sure you didn’t cheat?”
Jayden’s face changed, angry. “Come on, I earned it fair and square. Ask Eileen if you don’t believe me.” With that, he st¬ped upstairs, huffing.
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Chapter 259
After teasing the kid, Theodore went back to his room.
Samuel, seeing him return, turned off the Walkman and took the headphones from Eliana’s ears.
Eliana was half–asleep, completely relaxed. Theodore gestured to Samuel, and they stepped outside. “Samuel, starting tonight, I want you to stay here and take care of Ellie’s health.”
Samuel nodded. “Of course. You trust me, and I won’t let you down.”
Theodore added, “Don’t tell Ellie what happened tonight. I don’t want her stressed.”
“Alright,” Samuel said, lowering his voice. “After all, having a cute, healthy baby is most women’s dream.”
“Yeah.” Theodore glanced into the room and said in a soft voice, “I’m the one who brought the trouble to her.”
