Chapter 540 Is the Child She's Carrying Yours?
Harper didn't even get a sec to feel the pain. Next thing she knew, her fancy phone was getting all messed up, like it was melting or something after being dunked in that liquid.
Turned out, that water was some nasty chemical that could eat through stuff. If Harper had dunked her hand in, it would've been her fingers getting all corroded.
Thinking about it made her heart race, and her fingers started shaking a bit. And that phone, now just a skeleton of steel, looked super creepy.
Harper stood there, dumbfounded, before snapping out of it and yelling, "What the hell gives you the right to trash my phone!"
"Even if your phone was fine, you think you could just waltz out of the police station without a scratch?" Francis said all cool and collected. "You think the Hernandez family and the Getty family are gonna let you off the hook?"
The Hernandez family definitely wouldn't let her slide, and Ryan from the Getty family was itching to stir up more drama for Francis, since Harper was Francis's ex. And the last thing Francis wanted was to get tangled up with Harper again.
Harper's face went from pissed to stone-cold in a heartbeat. She got the message loud and clear; it was a threat. Francis was saying that with Audrey's kid gone, she had to take the fall, and both the Hernandez and Getty families wouldn't let her off easy.
Harper looked at Francis, the guy she once loved so much, and it felt like her heart was being ripped apart. She wasn't so sure anymore that Audrey's baby wasn't Francis's because he wouldn't go to such lengths for someone else's kid.
Harper swallowed the pain, looked him in the eye, and asked, "Is she carrying your kid?"
As soon as she said it, everything went dead quiet. Francis's lips moved a bit, but he stopped when he saw Harper's teary eyes.
Sometimes, silence said it all. But Harper wasn't ready to give up. She lifted her head, blinked back the tears, and asked, "Francis, for the sake of what we had, can you just tell me the truth?"
The longer the silence dragged on, the more suffocated Harper felt. Finally, Francis gave a tiny nod, no emotion on his face.
That was it, an admission!
Harper felt like her heart was being shredded, she could barely breathe. She couldn't believe it. How could this be? Wasn't that kid supposed to be Audrey and Jonathan's? How did it suddenly become Francis's kid?
Francis seemed to get what Harper was thinking and explained, all cold and detached, "It was a mistake. One night after drinking, I ended up with her. When I woke up, Audrey said it was a misunderstanding, so I didn't think much of it. Didn't expect she'd get pregnant from that. Now, the Getty family needs this kid."
So even the news about Audrey being sent to the hospital this time was kept on the down-low. Only with this kid born safely could they get the most attention.
Publicly, Francis had his assistant announce that both Audrey and her son were safe. This was a big deal, as it was the first time they admitted Audrey was having a boy. For a big family like the Gettys, the first-born boy's status was a huge deal. Not only was he highly anticipated, but he also mattered for the future of the Getty family.
After a moment, Harper finally snapped out of it. Timing-wise, Audrey's pregnancy lined up with when she and Francis were lovey-dovey.
Harper felt like she'd been stomped on and humiliated. Unable to take it, Harper grabbed the water cup on the table and splashed it right in Francis's face.
Francis blocked his face with his hand, but his arm and hair got soaked. His face twisted with anger as he grabbed Harper's wrist and snapped, "Are you out of your mind?"
"Yeah, I must be nuts to have ever been with you and fallen for you again. Francis, you're not worth it at all!" Harper's lips were pale, tears streaming down her face, and her voice was dripping with self-mockery.
Francis's anger vanished when he saw the despair in her eyes, leaving him speechless.
Harper's heart hurt so much she could barely breathe. She stared at Francis, who now seemed like a total stranger. How did Francis become so unrecognizable, so unlike himself?
Turned out, in this relationship, she was the only one who took it seriously. To Francis, she was just a convenient bed partner. When he needed her, he'd sweet-talk her, but when his interests were on the line, he'd ditch her without a second thought, just like now.
Harper cried, then suddenly started laughing. Luckily, Francis didn't know she was pregnant with his kid. If he knew, he'd probably take her babies away himself.
Harper wouldn't let her babyies' life be threatened; that were her children, and no one else's. After this heartbreak, she might never try to love again. For the rest of her life, Harper just wanted to spend it with her children. She decided to have the babies because she didn't want Agnes to be lonely. When they grew older, they'd take care of each other because of their blood ties.
Harper didn't want to see Francis for another second. But as she turned to leave, he grabbed her. His grip wasn't tight; it was almost gentle as he held her wrist and said softly, "I haven't let you go yet."
Harper said coldly, "What else do you want?"
Francis said, "You only have one choice now: leave the country and never come back."
Harper was stunned. He was forcing her to leave. She stubbornly said, "I didn't push Audrey. Her miscarriage has nothing to do with me. I won't pay for something I didn't do..."
Before she could finish, Francis cut her off. His tone was ice-cold, "Harper, I'm not negotiating with you. You should know that with the power of the Hernandez family and the Getty family, once you go to prison, you won't have a chance to come out."
Harper was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "If I don't agree, are you gonna make sure I die in prison?"
Francis looked at her red eyes and silently admitted it.
Harper smiled, but her body felt ice-cold, "Fine, I agree."
She wasn't scared, just really tired. The truth, casually revealed, always managed to stab her unexpectedly. She was just an ordinary person, and she couldn't take so much pain.
Sure, Harper could rely on the Murphy family's power to fight against the Hernandez and Getty families. But the ending was already written. In Northfield, the Murphy family had almost zero chance of beating those two powerful families. Harper didn't want to drag the Murphy family into her mess, nor did she want to risk the babies growing inside her! Besides, she was planning to leave anyway; it was just happening sooner than she thought.
In less than a week, Francis was getting married; she guessed that was why he was so hell-bent on getting rid of her.
As she reached the door, Harper suddenly stopped. Without turning back, she spoke, almost like she was talking to herself, "Francis, you really know how to make me give up. But in your relentless efforts to hurt me, doesn't it just prove your guilt? Maybe I overthought everything, maybe you never had any unspoken sufferings to let go of us, and all of this was just my unwillingness creating delusions. But no matter what, I have been thoroughly hurt by you. No matter what your purpose was, congrats, you did it very successfully."
Harper closed her eyes and said slowly but firmly, "Don't worry, I will leave and never be an eyesore to you again."
Harper walked away quickly, not seeing Francis's deep eyes turn a deep red and two lines of tears unconsciously streaming down after the door closed. Then, he clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground.
In the high-end hospital room, Victor had just returned to Northfield after completing a mission.
Recently, Victor had been flying everywhere like a jet-setter and hadn't been in Northfield for a long time. So, all the assistants around Francis were unfamiliar faces.
After returning, Victor learned about Audrey's situation and saw Francis, who was already weak but still holding on. He felt an indescribable pain in his heart. Some things, as a subordinate, Victor was not suitable to say.
After thinking for a long time, he finally spoke, "Mr. Getty, do you really have to go this far? Mrs. Getty..."
Victor corrected himself, "I know you are concerned about Ms. Murphy's safety, but she has the Murphy family protecting her, and Mr. Murphy has arranged many bodyguards. I believe we can definitely get through this difficult time. Why do you have to push Ms. Murphy so far away, leaving no way out for yourself?"
Francis's handsome face was indifferent and pale, "I don't need a way out."
Victor didn't know that when Francis was arranging these things, he had already had no future, no later. What he could do and wanted to do was merely to arrange everything for Harper.
Francis didn't need Harper to think about him. Rather than painful longing, strong hatred would make it easier for her to live better after he was gone.
Victor couldn't reach Francis's level and naturally couldn't understand what he was thinking. He just told Francis some of the reactions from today's news.
Francis tapped his fingers on the table, the corners of his lips slightly curved in mockery, "Look, they all believe I love Audrey."
On the news screen, there was footage of Francis carrying Audrey into the car, disregarding the bloodstains. The headline was about praising Francis's deep affection and commenting on how touching they were.
The more Francis watched, the more ridiculous it seemed, "As long as they believe it's love, that's enough."
Victor had never seen Francis laugh like this before. It was a kind of laugh that came after putting life and death aside, filled with desolation and sorrow.
Victor had never been able to understand what Francis was thinking, but at this moment, he seemed to understand something. True love wasn't about putting on a show for everyone. It was about going to any lengths to protect the one you loved, even if it meant doing it in your own way.
In the hospital room, when Audrey woke up and looked at her flat stomach, there wasn't much sadness in her eyes; instead, she felt a sense of relief. She never wanted this child, and after the last prenatal checkup, she wanted it even less.
Now, using Harper's hand to get rid of it, although it didn't achieve the intended purpose, it wasn't without gain. With this incident, she could send Harper to prison and then secretly deal with the child in her womb.
Audrey's plan was well thought out. But then her assistant timidly said, "Ms. Hernandez, Harper was released by Mr. Getty."
"What did you say?" Audrey asked in disbelief.
The assistant repeated softly, not daring to provoke Audrey, "Harper was released by Mr. Getty."
Audrey grabbed a water jug and threw it at the assistant's face, cursing, "You useless thing! Didn't I tell you to send her to the police station? There's no surveillance at the back door. As long as you say you saw her push me, you could definitely get her in!"
Audrey had planned this strategy, pretending to slip and asking Harper to pull her. If Harper pulled her, the child in Harper's womb would definitely not survive, and even Harper herself could be in grave danger.
And Audrey could use the excuse that Harper tried to push her to easily get away and lose the unwanted child. Harper would not only suffer physically but also face charges.
Unexpectedly, Harper was smart enough not to fall for it, but Audrey's child couldn't be sacrificed in vain. The same reason could still send Harper to prison.
To her surprise, such a simple task was messed up by the assistant.
The assistant, drenched in hot water, didn't dare to dodge and said with her head down, "Mr. Getty's assistant stopped me and warned me not to act rashly, or I would be the first to be sent to prison for perjury."
Audrey hurled a phone at the assistant, followed by anything else she could get her hands on, "He scared you, and you believed it? What evidence does he have? Just go report it now and get that bitch arrested!"
"I..." The assistant was hesitant, as Francis' man had first produced a video recorded by an employee, clearly showing Audrey trying to frame Harper and getting herself hurt instead.
"What are you hesitating for? Go now!" Audrey threw a pillow at the assistant, but it was caught steadily by Francis, who had just entered. Then, Francis ordered Audrey's assistant, "Get out."
The assistant, as if granted amnesty, didn't even look at Audrey and slunk out. She was so intimidated by Francis's presence that she completely forgot that Audrey was her boss.
"Francis, what do you mean?" Audrey was very angry and didn't bother pretending with Francis. After all, her child was gone, and she didn't get a shred of sympathy from Francis.
As expected, since it wasn't his child, he didn't feel the slightest bit of pity.
Francis didn't answer her question and said indifferently, "You just had surgery, get some rest."
Audrey was furious, "My child is gone, and I'm heartbroken. You must give me an explanation!"
Francis suddenly gave a noncommittal smile, "Heartbroken? If you're so heartbroken, why not see your child right now?"
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