Chapter 249 The Ambush
Ethan clenched his fists and looked towards the door, but eventually, he let go and composed himself before slowly walking out to find Lauren and Matthew.
By this time, Lauren had already caught up with Matthew and was lecturing him.
"Matthew, how can you treat Ethan like that? He means well, and you're really hurting his feelings," Lauren said earnestly.
However, Matthew wasn't receptive to Lauren's advice. He asked, "Mommy, are you really going to make Uncle Ethan be my Daddy? I don't want him to be my dad!"
Faced with Matthew's persistent pleas, Lauren didn't know what to do. She could only continue to comfort him.
"Matthew, have you forgotten how much you used to like Ethan? Ethan genuinely likes you, too. Can you give him a chance? I believe you can accept him," Lauren asked.
"No! I don't want to! My Daddy can only be Quentin. I won't accept anyone else," Matthew shouted.
Lauren had a terrible headache. How could she get Matthew to accept Ethan?
Ethan, standing back, overheard their conversation, and a fierce look flashed in his eyes. He strode over, forcing a gentlemanly smile onto his face.
Ethan chimed in, "Matthew, if you don't like it, I won't buy it. Tell me what gift you want, and I'll get it for you."
Matthew stood there in a daze, not responding. Lauren continued, "Ethan, don't spoil him like this. You'll spoil him rotten."
Ethan laughed heartily and said, "It's okay, as long as Matthew is happy. Besides, I believe our Matthew won't turn bad."
Matthew tugged on Lauren's hand, interrupting their conversation, "Mommy, I've bought everything. Let's go home."
Since there was no need to continue shopping, Lauren and Ethan decided to head back.
There were many people in line at the elevator in the commercial building, so they decided to take the escalator. It was crowded there, too. Ethan considerately took the items from Lauren's hands and walked ahead to clear the way, with Lauren and Matthew following behind.
On the escalator, Ethan was a few steps ahead while Lauren and Matthew followed closely.
Lauren was happily chatting with Matthew, completely unaware that danger was slowly approaching her.
Lauren was always cautious, especially in potentially dangerous places like elevators. She held Matthew's hand tightly as usual, but as she steadied herself, someone suddenly shoved her from behind.
Lauren was horrified because she felt her body losing control, tumbling forward. Even more terrifying, it seemed Matthew was also pushed, and his small body was falling forward too.
Lauren screamed, "Matthew!"
She had no time to react and could only watch helplessly as Matthew was about to fall.
At that moment, Ethan heard the scream and turned around. He saw Lauren and Matthew falling towards him. Without thinking, he immediately reached out and grabbed Lauren's hand.
Matthew tumbled down a couple of steps and was caught by a passenger below.
Lauren's tears flowed in fear. She quickly pulled her hand away from Ethan's and ran down to check on Matthew.
"Matthew! Matthew! I'm sorry." Lauren hugged Matthew, nearly scared to death.
Matthew didn't cry. He was initially very scared, but seeing Lauren so panicked, he suddenly calmed down.
Matthew comforted, "Mommy, I'm okay."
Lauren laughed and cried at the same time. She said, "Thank God you're okay. Thank you so much for saving my child, sir!"
Lauren bowed deeply to the kind person, expressing her gratitude. The kind person smiled and left.
Fortunately, Matthew was rescued in time. He had a big bump on his head but no other injuries.
Ethan didn't go down the stairs. He could have reached out and grabbed both Lauren and Matthew. However, for some reason, just he reached out, an evil thought crossed his mind, and he pulled back his hand.
Ethan felt ashamed, questioning himself for doing such a disgraceful thing. 'How could I be angry with a child?'
"Lauren, Matthew, are you okay?" Ethan felt extremely guilty. If he hadn't hesitated, Matthew might not have been hurt.
Matthew shook his head and answered, "I'm fine."
Lauren looked up at Ethan and replied, "We're fine."
Her tone was flat, and the hidden distance in her eyes pierced Ethan's heart.
Lauren knew she shouldn't blame Ethan for this, but seeing Matthew hurt made her feel terrible. She wondered, 'If Quentin had been there, who would he have chosen to save? He would have risked his life to save Matthew.'
She didn't know why she was thinking this way or what the point of this assumption was. However, she couldn't help but feel cold towards Ethan. She now somewhat understood why Quentin was concerned about her being with Ethan. A stepfather could never truly replace a biological father. That selfless love was innate and couldn't be cultivated later.
So, Lauren really shouldn't blame Ethan, especially since he did try to save them, though he saved her instead of Matthew.
Ethan also sensed Lauren's change in attitude and felt sad, but this time, he indeed made a mistake.
He sighed deeply and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken you on this escalator. Otherwise, you wouldn't have fallen."
Lauren shook her head and said, "No, Ethan. This wasn't an accident. I felt someone push us from behind!"
Ethan was shocked and asked, "What? Did someone push you? How could that be? In public, who would dare to harm you so openly? Could you have felt wrong?"
"No, Mommy is right. I also felt someone push me. Otherwise, why would I fall down the stairs?" Matthew said with certainty.
With both Lauren and Matthew saying this, Ethan started to believe it could be true.
Ethan advised, "Let's go to the security office and have them pull up the surveillance footage. We need to find this person, or it will be a constant threat."
Lauren nodded, having the same thought. However, she couldn't figure out who would want to harm her this time. She thought, 'Was it an accident? Did someone accidentally bump into both me and Matthew?'
She thought, 'No, the chances of such an accident are one in a million. The likelihood of an accident is so low that I believed someone deliberately tried to harm me.'
Thinking of this sent chills down Lauren's spine. Who could be so heartless as not even to spare a child? This time, she and Matthew were okay, but what about next time? They might not be as lucky as they were today.
