Chapter 58 Seeds of Doubt
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Alistair dropped Eloise off at the kindergarten entrance. Instead of waving goodbye as usual, she tilted her little face up and stared at
him with a serious expression.
Alistair touched his face in confusion.
What was wrong? Did I have something written on it?
Eloise''s small face showed signs of worry. "Daddy, are you feeling
sick?"
"Not at all. Daddy''s perfectly healthy and feeling great," Alistair replied.
To prove his point, he flexed his muscles in front of Eloise. "See? Daddy''s super strong, I might not be able to fly or burrow underground, but I''m not far behind Superman."
Eloise responded withplete seriousness, "Can Superman make delicious creamy garlic shrimp pasta? Can Superman braid my hair? In my eyes, Daddy, you''re a hundred times better than Superman!"
Her sweet words, flowing like honey, made Alistair''s heart bloom with joy.
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After Eloise walked into kindergarten with her teacher, the gentle smile on Alistair''s face instantly gave way to worried uncertainty.
While brushing his teeth that morning, memories of his miserable six years had triggered recollections of Liam sobbing uncontrobly in front of him.
Liam had cried like a child then-terrified and helpless,pletely stripped of his usual authority.
It hadpletely broken Alistair''s heart.
Who wouldn''t copse under the weight of a ten-year prison sentence?
Yet six yearster, when Alistair recalled the incident that had also dragged him down, an inexplicable heaviness settled in his chest, perhaps due to his changed perspective.
Liam had been driving drunk and injured someone. The victim''s family had demanded a lump sum payment of two million dors from Liam, threatening him with ten years in prison if he refused.
But Alistair vaguely remembered learning from somewhere that the maximum sentence for a traffic ident was only three years -so where did the ten yearse from?
The seed of doubt, once rooted in his mind, grew rapidly,
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eventually bearing fruit that left Alistair restless and tormented.
To make sure he wasn''t mistaken, he hastily rinsed the toothpaste from his mouth and deliberately searched on his phone.
What he found made his blood run cold.
He hadn''t been wrong-the maximum sentence for vehicr manughter really was only three years!
So how had it be ten years in Liam''s case?
Thew wasn''t something the victim''s family could rewrite to suit their desires, deciding arbitrarily how many years someone should
serve.
That left only one possibility.
Alistair closed his eyes briefly. Though he dreaded the thought,
the answer surfaced with undeniable force-had he been deceived?
But Liam''s ident happened first, and Reba only approached him afterward.
Liam couldn''t have predicted the future, unless...
Alistair took a deep breath, still unable to calm his racing heart, which pounded wildly at his earth-shattering realization.
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Unless Liam and Reba had nned this together all along!
Liam rarely showed any interest in Alistair''s life, never attending a single parent– teacher conference. If Alistair hadn''t mentioned it, Liam wouldn''t even know which school his son attended. Logically, he shouldn''t have known Reba from the international program-someone Alistair himself barely knew.
But Reba was wealthy and well-connected. If she wanted to find Liam''s contact information, it probably wouldn''t have been difficult for her...
It wasn''t untilter, when Reba was drunk, that Alistair finally discovered why, out of so many people, she had specifically chosen him as a tool to stimte her first love.
That night, Reba had seen Richard''s Instagram post featuring other girls. Shepletely lost it, drinking heavilyte into the night and smashing everything breakable in her apartment. Then, with arrogant disdain, she ordered Alistair to restore the room to its pristine condition.
Alistair cleaned in silence while Reba curled up on the sofa, alternating between crying andughing, consumed by bitter resentment over her unrequited love for Richard.
After what seemed like ages, she fixed Alistair with a
Chapter 58 Seeds of Doubt
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contemptuous, yful gaze as he worked. Out of nowhere, she asked, "Do you know why I chose you?"
The question came without context, but Alistair understood immediately.
Indeed, he had wondered about this himself. He and Reba had no connection whatsoever, so why had this singr "privilege" fallen upon him? Finally, on that day, he learned the truth.
It turned out he''d had an unpleasant encounter off campus with Richard, who was known for his narrow-mindedness, and Richard had been holding a grudge ever since.
Reba had said, "Doesn''t he hate you the most? That''s
precisely why I want to keep the person he despises by my side, to have his flesh and blood call you ''Daddy''! I just want to make his skin crawl!"
After learning the truth, Alistair remained silent for a long time. He never could have imagined the reality would be so absurd!
Rebaughed maniacally as she grabbed a ss and hurled it at Alistair. "Who do you think you are? How dare you upset Rick!"
Her various mistreatments of Alistair weren''t just because of her
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nasty temperament-to arge extent, they were also her way of getting revenge for Richard.
Currently, Alistair didn''t want to dwell on how much suffering he''d endured at Reba''s hands over those six years. He only wanted to rify one thing- whether Liam and Reba had secretly conspired against him!
This suspicion, at first nce, seemed insane..
Even a beast didn''t harm its young! Perhaps Liam was indeed that stereotypical stepfather who appears after remarriage. But no matter what, Alistair was still his child-how could he betray his conscience and harm his son for personal gain? Before, Alistair would never have dared to imagine something so outrageous. But after Liam learned about his divorce from Reba and demanded he apologize without even hearing the full story, Alistair finally understood how delusional he''d been. He realized just how many unrealistic fantasies he had projected onto his so-called father!
Two million dors might be pocket change to the wealthy-eighteen-year-old Reba had effortlessly pulled that sum from her trust fund back then. But for ordinary people, it represented a fortune they might never earn in a lifetime. People frequently referred to money as a non-lethal weapon. How
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many families have suffered due to the pursuit of "profit"? Brothers have turned against each other, marriages have been destroyed, and blood has been spilled everywhere!
In this season of blooming flowers and warming days, Alistair felt ice in his limbs and frost beneath his feet.
If this truly was a conspiracy, then he was the only victim in this perfectly orchestrated scheme!
Liam sessfully pocketed two million dors and now enjoyed afortable life with his wife and children.
Reba spent her two million wisely-she got six years of treating Alistair like a workhorse while simultaneously currying favor with her first love.
Alistair let out a sneer.
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