Chapter 588 Jealousy
"How can you even compare the two?" Michael said urgently. "Blood ties are unbreakable!" His eyes suddenly darkened. "Are you sure George will treat my child right?"
Emma looked up sharply, disbelief etched on her face. "Are you threatening me?"
"No, I'm not," Michael stammered, shaking his head. "I just..."
"Enough!" Emma wiped her tears and stood tall. "Michael, I appreciate everything you've done for Seraphine these past few years, but..." She took a deep breath. "I want to try again, to start over with George."
Michael's expression froze. He slowly stood up, the light in his eyes dimming. "Even if it means I'll lose Seraphine? Emma, you know Seraphine, and you mean more to me than my own life! Can you really bear to let me lose Seraphine after losing you?"
"You won't," Emma said softly but firmly. "I know you truly care for her." She paused. "If you want, you can still be her godfather, but..."
"But never her dad, right?" Michael let out a bitter laugh and turned to walk deeper into the stable. "Just go."
Emma opened her mouth but said nothing. As she turned to leave, she heard the sharp crack of a whip against the railing and a suppressed, animalistic sob.
Back at the apartment above the stables, Emma collapsed onto the couch, exhausted. The setting sun cast a blood-red hue through the floor-to-ceiling windows. She mechanically walked to the bathroom and let the hot water wash over her body.
It wasn't until her skin turned red from the heat that she turned off the faucet. As she dried her hair, she noticed her phone had turned off at some point.
"That's odd," she muttered, plugging it in. As soon as the screen lit up, countless missed call notifications and messages flooded in.
"Twenty-three missed calls?" Emma's heart tightened. The latest message was from Sophia, sent ten minutes ago: "Emma, call me back immediately! Something happened to Seraphine!"
Her hands started to shake uncontrollably, nearly dropping the phone. Just as she was about to call back, another call came in. It was George.
"What happened to Seraphine?" she answered, her voice trembling.
On the other end, George's breath was ragged, and she could hear the chaotic background noise of people and sirens.
"Emma..." George's voice was rough, like it had been scraped with sandpaper. "Seraphine is missing. It happened at the amusement park. I turned around for just a second."
Emma's phone slipped from her hand, and she slid down the wall, her legs giving out. Michael rushed into the room at the sound, picking up the phone.
"George!" Michael's voice was icy. "Say that again? What happened to Seraphine?"
"We were at the amusement park. I went to get ice cream... and when I came back..." George's voice broke. "I've already called the police... the surveillance footage shows..."
"Where are you?"
"At the Stuart Villa."
Michael abruptly hung up and pulled the limp Emma to her feet. "Let's go! To the Stuart Villa!"
Emma, like a puppet, was dragged along, her mind filled with images of Seraphine sweetly calling her "Mommy." She mechanically fastened her seatbelt, her nails digging into her palms without feeling the pain. The scenery outside the window blurred as they sped by.
The car screeched to a halt in front of Sophia's villa. Emma stumbled into the living room, where George was talking to the police. His suit was wrinkled, his hair damp with sweat, and his eyes bloodshot.
"Where's Seraphine?" Emma grabbed his arm, her voice hoarse and unrecognizable.
George opened his mouth to speak, but Michael had already punched him in the face. "Bastard! Where did you take Seraphine?"
George staggered back, hitting the coffee table, blood trickling from his mouth. He didn't fight back, just closed his eyes in pain. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Michael grabbed his collar and punched him again. "Did you do this on purpose? Just because I took Emma from you, you took it out on Seraphine?"
Sophia hurried over to pull them apart. "This is not the time for fighting! The police are investigating!"
Emma collapsed on the couch, clutching Seraphine's favorite bunny toy. The toy still smelled like Seraphine, and her tears wouldn't stop falling.
"What exactly happened?" She looked at George, her eyes colder than ever.
George's Adam's apple bobbed. "By the carousel. I went to get ice cream, and it was less than three minutes..."
"The surveillance footage?" Michael interrupted harshly.
A police officer spoke up. "The footage shows Seraphine leaving on her own, but the corner is a blind spot."
Michael let out a cold laugh. "How convenient. It just had to happen when you were with her?"
Emma shuddered. Memories she had tried to forget came flooding back—George almost losing their son Lucas over another woman.
"No, it can't be," she shook her head, but saw the guilt in George's eyes.
"George," Emma's voice was as soft as a feather. "Look at me."
George lifted his head, meeting her red-rimmed eyes.
"Swear to me you didn't do this on purpose."
George's pupils contracted. "Emma! How could you think that? I love Seraphine so much, I..."
"Enough!" Emma suddenly grabbed a photo frame from the coffee table and smashed it on the floor, glass shards flying. "I'm such an idiot! Trusting you again and again!"
She clutched her hair, bending over in pain. "How could I forget? How could I trust you with Seraphine?"
George tried to step forward, but Michael pushed him away. "Get lost! The most important thing now is finding Seraphine. We don't have time for your excuses!"
In the garden, George slumped on a bench, his hands in his hair. Michael followed him out and punched him again.
"That punch was for Emma!" Michael grabbed his collar. "Do you know how much she trusted you? She told me today she wanted to start over with you!"
George's eyes widened. "What?"
"Don't play dumb!" Michael punched him again. "You're just jealous! Jealous that Seraphine calls me Dad!"
George finally snapped, pinning Michael against the wall. "I didn't! I want Seraphine to be safe more than anyone! I was careless, but I would never hurt her. Michael, you and I both know whose child Seraphine really is. How could I ever intentionally lose her?"
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