Chapter 371 Being Too Clever Can Backfire
Jerry had never felt so helpless before. If Hope found out about this, he'd get an earful because of Francis.
"Weren't you watching her take the birth control pills?" Jerry asked.
Francis was even more annoyed. "She pulled out a box and said she took them. I couldn't force her to take more; it's not good to take too many of those."
Jerry sneered, "Well, you deserve it. Who told you to have pity on her?"
Francis pressed his aching forehead. "Did you ever think that since she was scheming, and if I forced her to take the pills, she would claim she couldn't get pregnant and make me responsible?"
Jerry retorted, "That's still better than her being pregnant. At least there's a way to solve it. As long as the baby isn't born yet, who knows what could happen? What if she loses the baby and blames you?"
Francis had thought of this possibility earlier. Indeed, he should have forced Jessa to take the pills back then.
"Now it's too late to say all this," Jerry shrugged.
Francis leaned tiredly against the window, watching the scenery move backward. "Where are we going?"
Jerry crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, really not wanting to help him anymore. "To the hospital."
Francis was puzzled. "Are you or Hope sick?"
"It's you..."
"Me?"
"Your girlfriend."
As soon as the car entered the hospital parking lot and hadn't even come to a complete stop, Francis opened the door and rushed to the inpatient area. Finding the room, he didn't have time to catch his breath and quickly pushed the door open.
"Elissa!" He saw Efren holding Elissa. Francis strode over and pulled Efren away with a stern face.
He asked angrily, "What are you doing here?"
Elissa's fall was purely accidental, with no chance to cushion herself, so she was hurt badly. Hearing loud noises made her uncomfortable.
Elissa tugged at Francis. "Don't shout."
Francis quickly checked on Elissa. "Why do you look so pale? What's with the big bump on your head? Did he do this?"
"Don't talk," Elissa said.
Hope came back with water and ran into Jerry. They walked to the room together, hearing Francis's shouting.
Hope gave Jerry a look, one that was hard to interpret.
Jerry quickly distanced himself. "His family trapped him. If I didn't show up, he wouldn't have been able to leave the Peterson Mansion. I'm not helping him bully Elissa."
Hope nodded.
Jerry cleared his throat. "You can't blame me for this."
Hope nodded. "I understand."
Jerry believed that. Hope wasn't the type to make a fuss; she handled things calmly. But Elissa's situation was different.
Elissa usually handled things calmly, navigating between various partners with ease. Even when she was angry with Francis, she didn't go too far out of respect for Hope and Jerry.
But when it came to Hope, Elissa lost her rationality. Even if Hope was wrong, Elissa would think she was right. The same went for Hope.
Thinking of this, Jerry looked at Francis with even colder eyes. Francis, focused entirely on Elissa, didn't notice.
Francis even called Simon to hold Efren down.
Elissa was too exhausted to stop him, so Hope spoke up. "Efren brought Elissa to the hospital."
Francis quickly retorted, "He made the mistake; isn't it right for him to bring her to the hospital?"
Francis's eyes were blazing with anger. "If he hadn't brought her, and something happened to Elissa, I would have killed him."
The Francis Hope knew was always cool and collected, straight to the point, and efficient at solving problems. It was always hard for Hope and Elissa to believe Francis could be friends with Jared.
Now, Hope thought Francis wasn't much different from Jared.
Hope said, "Mr. Peterson, shouldn't you understand what happened before getting angry?"
Seeing Elissa's weak state, with a large bump on her forehead and her hand wrapped in thick bandages, Francis had no mind to understand.
Efren couldn't be a good person for scheming against him and Elissa with Jessa.
Hope could guess some of Francis's thoughts from his gloomy face.
Hope slowly said, "Elissa tripped over a table, hit her head, and hurt her hand. The head injury was the worst; she had blurred vision. She called you, but you didn't answer. If Efren hadn't called her and brought her to the hospital in time, you wouldn't even have the chance to be angry here."
Francis didn't quite hear it. "What? She called me?"
He searched his pockets for his phone but couldn't find it.
"My phone..." Francis frowned, unable to remember when he lost his phone. The situation was too chaotic.
If Jerry hadn't gone to his house, he even couldn't leave without a fight. If Jessa had caused a scene and lost the baby, Francis would have been in even more trouble.
Francis regretted having pity on Jessa countless times.
"Why did you suddenly call Elissa?" Francis's sharp gaze fell on Efren.
Efren felt uneasy under the gaze but tried to stay calm. "None of your business."
Efren had intended to confess to Elissa. Although Garry hadn't said anything, Efren knew he was waiting for him to confess.
When Elissa asked Efren, she didn't lose her temper. She was closer to Garry, and if she had said something, Efren would lose his job.
But Elissa didn't, and Efren felt guilty about it. He didn't want to make Elissa unhappy or hurt her.
Efren agreed to cooperate with Jessa only because Francis hadn't handled his relationship with Jessa well. Efren saw Jessa clearly; if Francis wavered, Elissa would get hurt.
But when Efren called, he heard Elissa's desperate cry for help. Luckily, the security guard recognized him from before and let him in, allowing him to save Elissa in time.
"Mr. Peterson, shouldn't you explain the video?" Efren said.
When it came to Elissa, Francis was too anxious to think, but facing Efren, his mind returned.
Efren's sudden mention of a video, knowing Francis could ruin him in Maple Valley and prevent his grandmother from getting the best care, showed no fear or panic. Instead, he stood tall, with a mix of disdain and pride.
There could only be one video.
Francis looked at Elissa, his voice softening. "Did you fall for seeing that video?"
"What video?" Hope asked.
Jerry didn't know about any video either, but he had a feeling it wasn't a good one.
Otherwise, Francis wouldn't have lost his phone without realizing it. He was held up by the Peterson family for so long that he missed Elissa's call for help. This was indeed a serious matter.
Hope glanced at Jerry and took a step closer to Efren. "What video?"
Efren handed Elissa's phone to Hope. Hope hadn't seen Elissa's phone and thought it was left at home in the rush, but it was in Efren's hand.
Hope didn't watch it immediately but said to Francis, "Let Elissa rest first; she has a concussion." Francis quickly helped Elissa lie down and covered her with a blanket.
Hope sat by the bed, warming the IV tube. Only then did she open the video. She quickly closed it after just seeing the beginning.
But the room had just fallen silent, and even though she closed it quickly, some sounds still leaked out.
Jerry cursed under his breath, not daring to meet Hope's eyes.
Hope asked Francis, "Can you explain this to Elissa?"
Francis hadn't planned to hide it from Elissa. The video showed no signs of being doctored, but if Jessa had drugged him, it wasn't his fault. But most importantly, Elissa couldn't misunderstand and be upset.
Francis explained truthfully. After listening, Hope's face showed a hint of displeasure.
"No signs of being doctored, and no way to prove the baby isn't yours. Isn't this an unsolvable problem?" Hope questioned.
"It won't be," Francis said confidently. "I can handle it."
Hope replied, "Handle it? So you mean waiting until the baby is far enough along to do a DNA test? But with Jessa's scheming, she won't let you test it easily. So you'll have to cooperate with her, keep an eye on her until the baby can be tested, right?"
Hope and Jerry were becoming more alike. Francis looked at Jerry, but Jerry avoided his gaze.
Francis nodded. "Right."
Hope understood and directly pointed out, "So Elissa will have to be wronged for a while. You two should separate for now."
Francis immediately objected, "No."
Hope looked at Jerry.
Jerry thought he shouldn't have been watching the drama, as it ended up causing him trouble.
"Elissa needs to recover, and you won't be able to take care of her while you're at the Peterson Mansion. She and Hope's company are launching a winter series, so it won't be a big deal not seeing each other for a while. It's not like you're breaking up," Jerry said.
Hope didn't mean that, but she didn't contradict Jerry. She couldn't decide for Elissa whether to break up or not.
"Let's wait until Elissa gets better and then ask her before making a final decision." Hope added.
But before Elissa could recover, Francis was forced back to the Peterson Mansion.
Jessa was feeling unwell and bleeding. Wesley was personally waiting at the ward for Francis.
Without a phone, Francis couldn't take calls, and Jerry, who could take calls, would definitely speak on Francis's behalf.
Francis had to go personally. Wesley, just recovered from his illness, was waiting at the door.
Francis couldn't refuse to go, especially since the baby in Jessa's womb couldn't be harmed.
"Protecting the baby in her womb just to prove it's not yours, Mr. Peterson, isn't that ironic?" Efren whispered to Francis as he followed him out.
Francis had no intention of arguing with Efren. He simply said, "Once the evidence is out, and Elissa knows you and Jessa teamed up against her, she won't bother with you anymore. And I won't let you off either."
Efren said nothing and turned back into the room. He knew he was wrong and would admit it in the future.
But compared to Francis's mistakes, his were minor. Elissa wasn't unreasonable.
Moreover, Efren's main goal wasn't to gain Elissa's forgiveness or anything else; he just wanted to protect her, as much as he could, from being hurt by Jessa or looked down upon by the Peterson family because of her relationship with Francis.
Jerry followed Francis out, not because he wanted to, but because Hope asked him to check on the situation.
Jerry had made Hope angry many times because of Francis, so he deliberately said, "Given the current situation, Efren is better than you."
Francis didn't want to argue with Jerry. "Contact Mr. Quill and ask if there's a way to do a DNA test now."
Jerry replied, "Being anxious won't help. Even if you want to test now, Jessa won't let you. It's one thing for her to falsely accuse you, but if she plans to do the same to Elissa, your future with Elissa will become even more difficult."
Jerry could intervene, but the Peterson family had been good to him. He didn't want to make things worse.
Moreover, Wesley and Elysia were at an age where they could be seriously affected by stress. If Francis firmly chose Elissa, Elissa wouldn't want Francis's family to suffer because of their relationship.
So, they couldn't be too forceful; they had to take it slow. Right now, Jessa was the biggest problem.
Francis had known Jerry for years and could infer other meanings from his words.
Francis nodded. "I'll keep an eye on her."
Jerry acknowledged and bent down to look into the car. "Wesley, it's too cold to be out. If you need anything, just let me know, and I'll handle it."
Wesley didn't believe him but smiled. "If I trouble you, don't find me annoying."
Jerry laughed. "How could I? My only good quality is being filial."
Jerry's only good quality was fearing his wife, but Wesley didn't say that out loud, just kept a mysterious smile.
Francis opened the car door and got in. A row of black cars slowly drove away.
Jerry turned back to the hospital and went to Grant's office.
Grant said, "If it's only been a little over a month, it's not possible. We need to wait until at least two and a half months, but the best time for testing is between three and five months."
Jerry paused and asked, "What if we don't need to ensure the mother's safety?"
Grant was taken aback.
Since Jerry got married and had a kid, his methods had become much gentler. He rarely used force and hardly ever drew blood like before.
So, Grant didn't react immediately. "It doesn't harm the mother, but the data is more accurate if the baby is older."
"As long as we know if the baby is Francis's, nothing else matters," Jerry said.
"Then come back in two and a half months, and I'll do it personally," Grant said.
A month's gap was too risky. It was more important to recover surveillance footage now.
Hope was about to call a nurse to remove the IV when she bumped into Jerry at the door.
"The phone," Jerry said.
"What?" Hope was stunned by the collision and didn't react immediately when he spoke.
Jerry added, "Elissa's phone."
Hope went to get it for him, then called the nurse to remove the IV and pulled Jerry aside.
"What's wrong?" Hope asked.
Jerry opened the video and suddenly showed a meaningful smile. "Being too smart can backfire."
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