Chapter 3

The child was frightened and shrank toward the old widower.

Clara rushed over then. When she saw the child's face, she froze in place.

Then she reacted, eyes red as she pointed at the man and shouted, "What do you mean, steal your child? This child obviously isn't yours!"

Her voice trembled as she held him. "If you don't tell the truth, I'm calling the police right now!"

The old widower was instantly terrified at the mention of the police. He stiffened his neck and said, "I... I found him in the mountains!

"It was snowing hard. When I found him, he had no clothes on. Without me, he would've frozen to death!

"I brought him back and raised him because I thought maybe someone would take care of me when I got old."

My tears fell instantly.

This child was Margaret's biological grandson.

How could she bear to throw him into the snow like that?

Clara held the child in her arms with aching tenderness. After warning the man a few more times, she hurriedly took us to the hospital.

The paternity results came back quickly.

They confirmed that this was our child.

Clara stared in shock and asked through tears, "Honey, how did you know?"

I told her the truth about hearing Noah's thoughts.

Even Clara, who had always been gentle, lost her temper. "This is outrageous! You're her son too. How could she do this to you?"

After settling the child in the hospital for treatment, I went home.

As soon as I entered, Margaret threw a document at me.

"Look carefully! Noah is your biological son!"

I didn't even look at it. I threw it straight into the trash.

That so-called paternity test had used samples from Margaret and Noah, hadn't it?

Paige also looked at me accusingly. "These past few days, Noah thought you didn't want him anymore. He cried so hard.

"You need to comfort him properly.

"And you need to apologize to my boyfriend too."

She said it as though she had every right. "To help you comfort your son, he took several days off work to take Noah out to play. This whole thing was your fault to begin with..."

"I wasn't wrong," I interrupted her. "Noah isn't my son. I have no reason to raise him.

"And I came back to pack my things."

The living room suddenly fell silent.

Margaret sprang to her feet. "Well, well, Dylan Griffin!

"I came to care for your wife right after she gave birth!

"And now this is what I get. Just because of some scam blood-test report, you want to abandon me and my precious grandson?

"You ungrateful wretch. I raised you all these years for nothing!"

Margaret shouted louder and louder, quickly drawing the neighbors over.

After listening, the neighbors began scolding me too.

"I say, you're too unfilial. Heaven will strike people like you."

"Exactly. Your mother has helped you raise your child all these years. She's worked hard enough. Now you want to abandon them? How cruel."

I ignored them and kept packing.

When Trevor and Noah returned, I was pulling my suitcase toward the door.

Noah saw me and immediately rushed over, clutching my leg tightly. "Daddy! Daddy, don't leave Noah behind!

"Did Noah do something wrong? Did Noah make Daddy angry?"

But in his heart, he was saying:

[Wasn't he supposed to get divorced? Why isn't he divorcing, but cutting ties with my mom instead? This is wrong!]

[My mom's retirement money is so little. How will it be enough for me to live on?]

[Is this man really leaving? Then who'll buy me a house and a car in the future?]

I kicked him away. "I'm not your father. Don't touch me!"

When the neighbors saw Noah's tiny body fall to the floor, they were immediately filled with righteous anger and began shoving me.

"Are you serious? You don't even acknowledge your own son? Is something wrong with you?"

"You had a child and don't want to raise him. You just dumped him on your mother? You're poisonous."

"If you dare hit him again, we'll call the police and say you abused him."

I sneered. "Go ahead and call."

When she saw I was still determined to leave, Margaret suddenly sat down on the floor.

"Fine. Noah is my grandson too. I won't abandon him.

"But you must give me a million dollars. Only then can I raise him until adulthood for you."

Looking at her like that, I couldn't help stopping and turning back to her. "Mom, you may not care about shame, but I still do.

"Are you sure you want everyone to know about Noah?"

Margaret froze.

She instinctively glanced at Trevor.

Trevor hurriedly said, "What shame? You're abandoning your biological son and still talking about shame?

"You clearly just don't want to raise a child anymore. That's why you forged the blood report and found an excuse to abandon him!

"You had a child and refused to raise him. Are you even human?"

As he spoke, he took Paige's hand with a furious expression. "Although Paige and I aren't married yet, I've always liked Noah.

"I think Margaret is right. As long as you're willing to pay, we can raise him for you."

Suddenly, Margaret clutched her chest and collapsed onto the floor.

"What a sin... I raised my son all these years for nothing...

"I've been good to him. I even cared for his child for free... and this is how he treats me..."

The neighbors couldn't stand watching anymore. They surrounded me and took out their phones to call the police.

When Margaret saw that, she hurriedly got up and stopped them.

"No police! This is a family business. I don't want to make it public!

"And Noah is only three. If he watches his father get taken away, it'll traumatize him!"

The moment she finished, Clara walked in from behind the crowd with two uniformed officers.

"Why not call the police?

"I called them for you."