Chapter 149 Martin Stands up for Patricia, Condemns Samuel
Martin looked towards Patricia, his bottomless eyes churning with dark currents, like an enraged lion.
"Is what Charles said true? Did my father really look for you? Is that why all your behavior was so odd today?"
He felt it was strange.
Patricia loved Charles dearly, so why would she all of a sudden give him up so easily?
She was clearly suffering.
With her hands nervously clutching her pants in her lap, Patricia reflected on how Charles now knew everything; there was no hiding it anymore. She nodded faintly and whispered hoarsely, "Charles was telling the truth. Samuel somehow found out about Charles' existence, and a long time ago, he came to me and asked me to return Charles to the Langley family..."
Martin's eyes narrowed dangerously. He was aware of Samuel knowing about Charles, so it didn't surprise him, but what infuriated him was Patricia's attitude. "So, you just agreed? What do you think Charles is? A possession to be handed back and forth? Don't you care about his feelings at all?"
His words gave Charles no small shock.
He looked at Martin with surprise, his impression of him slightly altered.
Patricia hung her head in shame. "At first, I flatly refused, but..."
The more she spoke, the lower her head drooped, her voice growing quieter as she recounted the whole story—cause and consequence, every detail.
Martin's brows knitted tightly, and a tempestuous gloom spread in the depths of his eyes as the air around him grew colder. "Why didn't you come to me with something like this?"
Patricia bit her lip and kept quiet.
How could she explain? She had no confidence that Martin would help her.
Five years ago, for Debbie's sake, he disregarded her and her child's lives and forcibly put her on the operating table.
Would he stand up to Samuel for her now, after five years?
What if he and his father were in on it together? What was she to do then?
Her silence wrung Martin's heart with an uncontrollable pain.
It was a clear sign of mistrust.
From start to finish, Patricia never believed in him.
This realization constricted his chest with suffocation.
He stood up slowly, his face expressionless. "Take good care of Charles. I'll handle this, and he won't come looking for you anymore!"
With those words, he left without looking back.
Jade tapped her own head forcefully with a hand and said in disbelief, "What were you thinking? Such a big thing happened, and you didn't tell me. Even if I couldn't help, I could at least give you some advice, couldn't I?"
Patricia responded helplessly, "I didn’t want you to worry."
Jade rolled her eyes at her. "So, you didn’t want me to worry, and that's why you did something so foolish? Lucky for you, Charles is clever. Otherwise, what would you have done? Took on a futile fight? With your tiny self against Samuel?"
Patricia lowered her head, feeling utterly ashamed of her stupidity.
Fannie took her hand, soothing her with gentle words, "Mommy, don't be sad anymore! I understand you! You don't have faith in Daddy, that's why you didn't dare tell him about it. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't tell him either."
What a jerk dad can be, who knows if he'd even help Mommy!
Patricia's eyes brimmed with grateful tears as someone finally took her side, "My dear little angel, you really do understand me!"
Fannie, behaving like an adult, patted her back gently.
Charles announced, "Alright, it's late. Time for bed! We have to get to kindergarten tomorrow!"
Everyone was exhausted.
Having already bathed, Fannie hit the bed and fell fast asleep.
The other three took their turns bathing and went off to their rooms to sleep.
Charles lay in Patricia's arms, his little arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Being back here gave him a surreal feeling, as if he was dreaming.
"Mommy, remember what you said, you can't ever push me away to someone else again, okay? If something like today happens again, I'll really leave and never see you again."
Patricia chuckled, "I got it! You've said it a thousand times; my ears could grow calluses."
Charles pouted, clearly upset, "That's because you're too unreliable. I'm afraid that you might lose your mind again someday and send me away."
Patricia knew that today's event had left a deep psychological scar. She tightened her arms around him, "Rest assured, it won't happen again. Once was nearly the death of me; I can't survive going through that a second time."
At that, Charles finally relaxed, found the most comfortable position in her embrace, closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.
...
On the other hand.
After leaving Riverside Apartments, Martin headed straight to the Langley Mansion, making too much noise and waking up Samuel and Martha, who were sound asleep.
"What's made you come back so late? Has something happened?"
Seeing Martin at the old mansion's door after such a long time, Samuel intuitively sensed that something serious had occurred. Otherwise, considering the bad blood between him and Martin, he wouldn't have shown up uninvited in the middle of the night.
Martin was straight to the point.
"Do you have any idea that Charles has run away from home?"
Samuel's heart leapt to his throat upon hearing of Charles' disappearance, "What? Charles ran away? How is Patricia taking care of him? She can't even keep an eye on a child."
His reaction was unwittingly in sync with what Patricia had said.
Martin replied with a cold undertone, "He didn't run away from Patricia's place! It happened at Ellenstein Villa District."
Samuel froze for a second. "What... what? What do you mean?"
A hint of mockery appeared in Martin's eyes. "This morning, Patricia suddenly sent him to Ellenstein Villa District, telling me to take him back and take good care of him."
With those words, further explanation was unnecessary, as Samuel already understood Martin's purpose.
He sat upright on the couch, hands habitually resting on his knees, exuding a commanding presence that didn't need to show anger.
"Charles is your eldest son and the eldest grandson of the Langley family. Naturally, he should return to the Langley family and inherit the family estate. Even though Randy is also my grandson, it's undeniable that, whether in courage or intelligence, Charles is more suited to be the heir. What I'm doing is for the sake of the Langley family, for your sake."
Martin's face was cold and expressionless, and his dark eyes were as icy as the Arctic, chilling to the bone.
"There's no need for you to worry about this matter! You should be enjoying your twilight years, not meddling in things that aren't your concern!" Saying this, he patted his backside and stood up: "Threatening a helpless woman is not the way of the Langley family."
With that, he turned to leave.
Samuel was so angry he felt like his lungs would explode.
"He has Langley blood in his veins, he is a Langley, and he should return to the Langley family! What right does Patricia have to keep him to herself?"
Martin halted, turned around slowly, and spoke strongly: "She has every right as Charles's biological mother. As long as Charles is capable, even if he's not with the Langley family, he can still inherit the Langley fortune."
Samuel immediately understood the implication of his words and roared: "No, the progeny of the Langley family cannot simply follow their mother."
A sneer tinged with mockery appeared on Martin's well-defined face: "If I agree, why not?"
"You…" Samuel glared at Martin furiously.
Martin's eyes narrowed, his thin lips pursed slightly, exuding an intense pressure that was almost palpable.
Neither man was willing to back down.
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