Chapter 598 Have You Never Thought about Whose Child I am?
Sean was dead sure now that Arthur had it out for Harper.
Back in the day, if someone was all decked out and driving a fancy car, and Sean started yelling about a kidnapping, folks would just laugh it off. They'd think he was nuts and probably get him in trouble instead.
In that small town, everyone believed rich folks wouldn't stoop so low.
That wass why Arthur had the guts to follow them so openly.
When Sean saw Arthur striding towards him all calm and collected, he scooped up Harper and bolted like a madman.
Harper was clueless about what was going on. Her cake hit the ground, and she started bawling her eyes out.
To a kid, losing a cake was like the end of the world.
With tears streaming down her face, Harper kept her eyes on the smashed cake, squirming to get free.
Sean, gasping for breath as he ran, tried to soothe her, "Hang in there, sweetie. I'll get you another one later."
Harper was heartbroken. She clung to Sean's shoulder, staring at the empty road behind them.
She didn't get why Sean was running like this, but seeing him so freaked out, she held onto his neck, trying to choke back her own tears.
Being so young, Harper couldn't sense danger like Sean could. Now, lying in a cold, muddy pit, she watched Arthur coming closer.
Her eyes went wide, her screams of terror and sadness stuck in her throat.
Luckily, Arthur stopped about 20 feet from the pit.
Harper saw him squat down, pick up a bloody, mangled limb, and chuck it at Sean's face.
He let out a cold laugh and said something he thought was funny, "You ran so fast, you lost a leg."
Then he looked up at the sky. The clouds were rolling in again, and it looked like it was gonna pour even harder.
With the freezing temps and the heavy rain, Harper probably wouldn't make it even if she hadn't fallen to her death.
Arthur turned and hopped into his red sports car, speeding off.
Harper lay in the pit, her legs numb and useless. She looked at Sean's lifeless eyes, tears streaming down her face. An overwhelming, indescribable feeling filled her tiny body.
Using all her strength, Harper crawled out of the dark pit and finally lay down next to Sean, "Daddy, wake up."
Poor Harper didn't know Sean was gone for good. The man who had found her in the junkyard and treated her like a treasure was never waking up again.
Luckily, Harper crawled out of that pit and didn't freeze to death.
But the sheer terror gave her a high fever, and she was out cold for a week in the hospital. When she finally woke up, the events of that night were so horrifying she buried them deep in her memory.
Until today, seeing Arthur in the high chair in front of her and the cake in front of him, Harper, numbed by the cold, suddenly remembered everything.
The shock was so intense, Harper couldn't make a sound.
Her body shook, and her teeth chattered like they were gonna break, but it wasn't fear—it was pure hatred!
This bastard killed Sean!
Arthur was sharp. One look at Harper's face, and he knew she remembered. He smirked and said, "Not bad, you remember because of a cake."
"You..." Harper gritted her teeth, but the intense hatred only let her get out one word before she clammed up.
"Don't rush, take your time," Arthur said, still smiling like he was trying to calm her down.
Harper wished she had a knife right now to end Arthur, but she knew it was a pipe dream.
Even if she had a knife, she couldn't take him down.
Arthur had the muscle to snatch her from the heavily guarded Perry estate, so he was definitely not someone to mess with.
Harper told herself that hatred and excitement were useless. Facing Arthur, she had to stay cool to find an opening.
She dug her nails into her palms, forcing herself to calm down by drawing blood.
"Why do you want to kill me?" Harper asked.
She knew it was a dumb question because it was obvious Arthur wanted her dead because she was Elodie's kid.
But from what she'd seen, smart people died quicker around Arthur. It was better to play a little dumb or scared to lower his guard.
Harper really wanted to know how Arthur had found her when she was a kid.
Arthur's seemingly gentle face showed a gentle smile, "Because I don't like my lover being tainted. You are a living testament to her former impurity."
Harper thought Arthur was indeed a madman.
She bit her lip and asked in a trembling voice, "How did you find me when I was a child?"
"That was an accidental encounter," Arthur said with a smile. "I didn't expect your foster father to be so protective of you. You were quite lucky."
Arthur paused, his smile gradually turning cold and twisted, "You didn't freeze to death on that cold night, nor did you suffocate in the trash bag."
Harper's eyes widened in shock.
It was easy to guess. She blurted out, "It was you who put me in the trash bag and threw me away!"
"You're not too stupid." Arthur's face showed a pleased smile, "So you were lucky. When I put you in the bag and threw you away, I slammed the bag on the ground several times. I didn't expect you to survive."
Harper felt a chill down her spine. How could Arthur do such a cruel thing to a child of a few years old?
Her survival was due to her soft bones. According to Sean, he had found her in a muddy junkyard.
After taking her home, he found bruises on her body, and she was barely alive.
Sean had taken her in with the mindset of seeing if she could survive, and to his surprise, Harper became lively in a few days. A hospital checkup showed no issues.
Harper knew that the mud had absorbed much of the impact, and her soft bones had helped.
Harper realized she had escaped death twice. Gradually, she became calmer and tried to talk to Arthur.
"Is my mom with you?" she asked.
Arthur suddenly tore off his gentle mask, rushed over, and grabbed Harper's jaw, his eyes sharp as blades, "Don't call Elodie mom. You're not worthy, and I won't let you continue to exist!"
Harper clearly saw the murderous intent in Arthur's eyes.
She knew Arthur wouldn't spare her. This crazy man, who had tried to kill her twice, wouldn't miss this chance to finish her off.
The pain of her fractured jaw surged through her, and Harper's breathing became rapid, but she stubbornly cried out, "Let me see my mom one last time, then do whatever you want."
"Dream on!" Arthur suddenly let go, throwing Harper to the ground, his eyes cold as if filled with knives. "People like you shouldn't exist in this world!"
To Arthur, Elodie was a treasure, but she had a child with another man. Such a stain had to be erased!
Harper's jaw hurt terribly, but she still cried and begged Arthur, "Let me see my mom one last time, please. I want to see her before I die."
Arthur found it amusing that Harper, fully aware of her impending death, wasn't worried but just wanted to see Elodie.
He said, "You want to see her, but she may not want to see you!"
Harper shook her head, "You're lying. How could my mom not want to see me? She loves me very much. If you hadn't kidnapped her and abandoned me, we would have lived happily together!"
"It seems you don't believe me." Arthur's eyes were sharp. "In that case, I'll let you see her before you die."
He clapped his hands, and a large door opened in response.
With the bright light, Harper realized she was in a place similar to a cold storage room.
Arthur didn't feel cold because his inner clothes were specially made to resist the cold even in a freezer.
A man in black pushed a wheelchair inside. Due to the reflection, Harper couldn't see the person in the wheelchair clearly.
Arthur stood up and walked over, taking the wheelchair and pushing it closer. Elodie in the wheelchair became clearly visible.
Harper was speechless with shock. A cascade of childhood memories washed over her, vivid scenes of Elodie rocking her to sleep with gentle songs and leading her by the hand to get ice cream.
Time had flown by, but Elodie's beautiful face seemed hardly touched by the years, still as beautiful as ever.
Harper's lips moved several times before she could make a sound, "Mom..."
The voice carried a mournful tone, as if they were meeting again after centuries.
Elodie had no reaction to Harper calling her mom.
Harper wanted to go and hug Elodie, but her legs were already frozen stiff, and she fell to her knees as soon as she moved.
Harper wanted to get closer, crawling on the ground towards Elodie, her eyes already wet with tears, murmuring, "Mom."
But Elodie remained unmoved, not recognizing Harper at all.
Just as Harper was about to reach Elodie, Arthur stepped on Harper's fingers, his face cold, "See? Elodie doesn't care about you at all!"
Harper also noticed that Elodie didn't even move her eyes. She looked strange, as if she had suffered a great shock to become like this.
Arthur pushed Elodie back to the man in black, not wanting to reveal too much.
Elodie had become like this after witnessing Elara's death. She didn't speak, move, or smile, but she could eat, like a robot; the doctors couldn't find a cause and concluded it was due to severe shock.
But this time, it was certain that Elodie wasn't faking it.
Arthur had run countless tests, and Elodie had no reaction, including just now when she saw Harper, which was also a test.
Elodie was wired to a machine to monitor her heart rate.
No one could remain completely unaffected upon seeing their long-lost child, especially someone like Elodie who loved her child very much.
But Elodie was the same as usual, with no fluctuations at all.
Arthur felt irritated because he knew Elodie's illness wasn't faked.
Harper had lost her last bit of value. Arthur lifted his foot, no longer stepping on her.
He curled his lips and said, "Set the temperature to minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit."
Harper was shocked! He was going to freeze her to death, finishing what he hadn't completed last time.
Seeing Arthur walking farther away, Harper knew she had only one chance. Once he stepped out of that door, she would die! How could she fight for a chance to survive?
Harper didn't want to die. She wanted to live to rescue Elodie and wait for Jasper to find them.
She thought of Elodie's face and suddenly shouted hoarsely, "Arthur!"
Arthur stopped and turned to look at her.
Harper bit her tongue, the taste of blood spreading, making her more calm.
Her voice was dry and hoarse, "Have you ever thought about whose child I am?"
Arthur looked at Harper, his expression showing rare shock.
Although it was fleeting, Harper caught it. She knew she was already halfway there. The rest was the key to whether she could survive.
Harper didn't give Arthur a chance to think, directly asserting, "Arthur, you're so smart, you should have guessed that Jasper and I are not biological siblings. Haven't you ever wondered why my dad adopted a boy instead of having one himself?"
Arthur looked at Harper and suddenly laughed, "You want to say you're my child?"
"You are pretty smart, but unfortunately, I'm too old to be easily fooled." After saying this, Arthur left without looking back, seemingly not believing a word.
Harper slowly lay on the ground, motionless, trying to conserve heat to prolong her life.
She had just come up with that absurd idea in a moment of desperation.
Arthur was smart, but that didn't mean he had no weaknesses. His weakness was Elodie!
Arthur wanted to kill Harper because he saw her existence as proof of Elodie's betrayal. But what if Harper was his child? How would he treat Harper then?
Although Arthur had left, it didn't mean Harper had lost. Once doubt started, it would magnify infinitely in his mind.
Harper was betting that Arthur would fall into her trap! She had to stay alive until being rescued! She had to survive!
Arthur walked out of the room, looking at Elodie, who couldn't say a word or show any expression, his face cold and fierce.
In the surveillance camera, Harper lay on the ground in the freezer, looking heartbroken.
Arthur stood still, staring at her for a long time.
For some reason, seeing Harper lying on the ground, to his surprise, his heart that had only ever beat for Elodie now ached with a strange and sour twist.
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