“You can’t just simply follow strangers. I don’t know you. You should ask your mother to take you to the place you want to go to.” Stella rubbed the kid’s head and said softly.
“I can’t let my mother know that place, otherwise, I will be taken away, but I have to get a very important thing from that place. Auntie, I believe in you, so please help me, okay? Otherwise, I will die.” The kid pleaded.
“Where do you need to go? What important thing are you talking about?” Stella asked vigilantly.
“I hid a map at that place a while ago, but I’ll only know where its exact location is after I arrive at that place. I’ve made a mark there previously,” he said.
Stella frowned and looked at the little child. “What map?”
“Its about the base. I’m going to retrieve it and give it to my father,” said the child.
The corner of Stella’s lips curled upwards. She found a loophole in the child’s words.
“Then you should go to your father and tell him about the map, not me.” Stella refused.
The little boy was angry. “Are you taking me there or not?”
“Why can’t your mother know about the map of the base? Why would you be taken away if your mother knows about this? Why would you die if I don’t help you?” she pressed.
The little boy couldn’t come up with any good answer. All of a sudden, he grabbed the ashtray on the table and slammed it against his head. Blood immediately spurted out of the wound.
Stella stood right where she was and watched him.
He threw the ashtray at Stella’s feet and sprinted out of the room. He shouted, “Mom! She hit me! Come quick!”
Stella stood at the door of the room and watched the little boy run out.
She knew that it was a trap. Why would she run after him and fall into the trap when she clearly knew that it was a trap?
She would not stay here and wait for Bettany to come back to question her.
Jasper was about to marry someone else, and that woman was neither her or Bettany. It was meaningless for Bettany to pick a fight with her.
Moreover, she did not have the energy to stir up new problems.
Stella left through the back door and walked back to the hotel.
Half an hour later, just as she returned to her hotel room, her cell phone rang.
It was Bettany. Stella answered the call and heard her voice. “Stella, are you not in the room? I came back to look for you, but no one is here.”
“Your son asked me to take him to a place. Do you know where this place is?” Stella asked.
“What? A place? Where?” Bettany sounded confused.
“He said that he couldn’t let you know about that place. He said that he would be taken away and die if you found out about it. I have already told Jasper about this,” Stella said coldly.
“What does that mean? Did Ralph really say so? Where is he now?” Bettany asked.
“He rushed out of the room after he smashed his head with an ashtray. I don’t know where he went to.” As soon as Stella finished her words, Bettany hung up the phone.
Bettany frowned and looked at Ralph. He was standing next to her. “You’ve really created a lot of trouble for me this time. Why did you tell her that you couldn’t let me know about the place, and that you’ll be taken away and even die. If your father finds out about this, he will think that I’m a bad person.”
Ralph looked at Bettany with fear. “But she didn’t want to go with me… ”
“You have to run away now. If your father finds you, you must deny everything and say that you haven’t said these words. You must tell him that Stella was the one who hit you. You have to be firm. If necessary, you should continue hurting yourself to gain sympathy. This is all for our happiness in the future, do you understand?” Bettany explained to him.
“I know, Mom, I won’t let that bad woman take Dad away,” Ralph said and continued to run towards the back alley.
Bettany called Jasper worriedly. “Jasper, something happened to Ralph. I can’t find him.”
“How could that happen?” Jasper Milton asked.
“I met Stella today, and I wanted to give your property ownership certificate back to you. I left Stella and Ralph alone in the room for a moment.
But when I returned to the room, I found that both Stella and Ralph were gone. I just called Stella, and she said that she saw Ralph running out from the room. She didn’t know where he’d gone to.”
“Ralph is an obedient child. Why would he suddenly leave like that?” Bettany was planning to blame everything on Stella.
“I see. Let’s look for Ralph first.” Jasper simply hung up the phone.
Stella rested for half an hour and went out for a meal in the pasta shop near the hotel.
Her phone rang when she was enjoying her pasta.
She looked at a unfamiliar number and answered, “If you want the child to live, come to Verdant Park.”
“Did you call the wrong number?” Stella said calmly. She lowered her head and continued eating her pasta.
“Are you Stella Grace? Ralph is in our hands. If you don’t come within the next two hours, you will only get to see his body.” The stranger warned.
“Well, you should be looking for the child’s parents, not me. You could also look for the child’s grandparents. I have nothing to do with this child. I am sorry. Also, if you call me again to harass me, I will call the police.” After Stella finished her sentence, she ended the call abruptly.
The stranger remained silent.
Stella paid for her meal after she was done eating. She was quite curious about what the stranger was up to.
She drove to Verdant Park.
Stella could see Jasper from a distance.
“Dad, that woman hit me. She wanted to hit me again, so I ran away.” Ralph complained.
“Did you just say that Stella was the one who hit you? How could that be possible? Ralph, don’t spout nonsense. Why would she hit you?” Bettany said in disbelief.
“That woman really hit me. She even forced me to say that my mother is crazy. She hit me because I refused to say those words.” Ralph pursed his lips with grievance.
Bettany observed Jasper’s expression and said softly, “There must be a misunderstanding. I believe in Stella.”
Jasper looked at Ralph with a cold face as he squatted down. “You don’t want Stella to be your mother, do you?”
Bettany immediately read between the lines and said hurriedly, “How could it be? Stella is so well-educated and reasonable. She is someone I trust.”
Jasper looked at Bettany and said calmly, “You are familiar with Stella’s character, so you will naturally think so. Ralph is still young, and he can only judge according to his understanding of the situation. Ralph’s thoughts are very important to me.”
Bettany didn’t know what to say.
Ralph seemed to have reached an understanding as he said, “I don’t want her to be my mother. I already have a mother. Why would I want someone else to be my mother?”
“So, did you use this method to frame her then?” Jasper’s eyes fell on Ralph’s forehead. “It’s a shame that you didn’t know that I’m going to marry another person, so all your actions were in vain. Don’t do anything to hurt yourself in the future,” he scolded.
Bettany was shocked. “You’re not marrying Stella? Why? Stella is such a good person!”
Jasper stood up and glanced at Bettany. His voice was slightly cold. “If you can’t raise Ralph properly, I will deprive you of your right to raise him.”