Chapter 433
“Mommy, I…”
Hiram stammered under my inquisition. He had just thrown a tantrum at me, but in front of Karina, he was a different boy, his eyes filled with anxiety. Karina looked down at Hiram. “Tell me, how did you get that bruise on your face? And how did you end up here?”
Hiram’s little face turned red under the questioning, making his bruise more conspicuous. It had been treated once before, so Neil didn’t give me any other medicine to apply to it.
His anxiety made him sweat, which irritated his wound and caused him to whine. “Mommy, my bruise hurts so much, wah wah…”
Upon hearing Hiram’s cries, Karina’s emotions became even more unstable. She glared at me, “Ms. Finch, you should be aware of Hiram’s status. How dare you kidnap him and let him get injured? Do you have any idea of the consequences?”
I was speechless and out of patience. Just as I was about to retort, Ryan and Faith rushed into the yard.
I was surprised. Weren’t they supposed to be in Springvale for some urgent matter?
“Oh dear, Hiram!” Faith exclaimed and rushed to hug the boy tightly.
“Grandma, Grandpa!” Upon seeing Ryan and Faith, Hiram’s mood brightened.
Ryan picked up Hiram and both of them fussed over the boy’s bruise, expressing their concern and regret. “How did you get hurt so badly? Does it hurt? Did you put any ointment on it?”
Hiram clung to Ryan’s neck, looking pitiful.
Karina then spoke up, “Let’s take Hiram home. I have no idea how he ended up here, let alone got hurt. We should take him to the hospital for a check-up.”
“No need to play the blame game, Hiram fell off his skateboard and injured himself. I ran into him and Neil at the hospital. Neil informed me that you had a job interview today and he had an important meeting to attend, so he asked me to look after Hiram for a while.” I was annoyed and immediately dialed Neil’s number on my phone, “Let Neil explain it to you.”
But Neil wouldn’t pick up the phone.
In front of Ryan and Faith, Karina was supposed to be a composed and dignified figure. However, she seemed to have figured out the importance Hiram held in Ryan and Faith’s hearts and decided to use it to her advantage. “Ms. Finch, if Neil did entrust Hiram to you, then why didn’t he inform me? And weren’t his grandparents home? Why would he need your help? Your reasoning is simply not convincing!”
“That’s Neil’s problem, not mine,” I retorted, finding the whole situation laughable.
“So you’re implying that I’m slandering you?” Karina asked coldly.
“Isn’t that the case? You can check the hospital’s surveillance footage, or wait for Neil to explain. I’m really busy and don’t have time for this,” I pointed to the living room door, “Since you’re all here, please take the child and leave. This is my home and I don’t appreciate the commotion.”
Ryan and Faith were slightly uncomfortable. This issue concerned the safety of their grandchild, so I assumed they would side with Karina.
However, they did not interrogate me, but opted to leave instead. But Karina was relentless. She whipped out her phone and dialed the police, “Hello, I want to report a crime; a person is suspected of child trafficking!”
I was dumbstruck.
What was wrong with her? Or had she finally found a reason against me, a reason even Ryan and Faith couldn’t dispute, and so she intended to fully exploit it?
Upon hearing this, Faith immediately stepped forward and snatched Karina’s phone away.
“There’s no need, I trust Irene isn’t like that. There must be some misunderstanding. Let’s wait till Neil is done with his work and clear this up.”
Karina continued to argue, “Hiram is my only son and the only grandchild of the Whitmore family. It’s only natural for me to worry about his safety. If we don’t clear this up, what if it happens again? If something irreversible happens to Hiram in the future, can you accept that?”
Ryan and Faith should have been worried about Hiram and doubted me, but they chose to trust me and repeatedly asked Karina to cancel the police call.
With the argument escalating, the police had already arrived at my door.
I was incredibly flustered, especially since my children were still in the room. If a commotion were to start, it would only complicate things.
“Who called the police?” One of the officers asked as he stepped forward.
“I did.” Karina stepped forward, pointed at me and said, “This woman nearly abducted my child and caused him to get injured. I think it’s only right that you investigate this thoroughly.”
The officer looked at me for a few seconds, probably thinking that I didn’t look like a kidnapper, but still had to ask, “What’s your name and where are you from?”
“My name is Irene, and this house is my home. These people are trespassing and disturbing my peace. I would appreciate it if you could ask them to leave.”
The officer looked perplexed for a moment. I was supposed to be the suspect, but suddenly I was the homeowner accusing Karina and her group of trespassing.
Karina was adamant in her accusations, insisting that Hiram’s unexplained presence in my house was proof of attempted abduction, and she wouldn’t back down from this point.
“Enough!” Ryan finally lost patience. He addressed the officer, “Officer, I apologize for the confusion. Irene is our former daughter-in-law. She’s not a kidnapper. You can leave; I’ll handle the situation.”
The officer frowned, “What’s going on here? Why are you wasting police resources with false reports?”
Ryan provided an explanation, and after being corroborated by another, the police dispelled their suspicions and left.
Karina, however, was far from pleased, and found it hard to accept Ryan and Faith’s stance. “Ryan, Faith,” she began, “I know you guys have always been fond of Ms. Finch, viewing her as your ideal daughter-in-law, but now her actions verge on the illegal. You’re not going to cover for her, are
you?”
“Karina, don’t push it!” Faith retorted, clearly irritated. “The reason for Hiram’s injury, and the reason why he came to Irene’s, I believe has nothing to do with her. I said let’s wait for Neil to clear things up before jumping to conclusions. Why are you so eager to blame her? Besides, Hiram knows Irene too. He was just visiting. Was it really necessary to call the police?”
Faith defended me with such conviction that it left me somewhat stunned, challenging my previous impressions of her.
Ryan also stood his ground, “Exactly, I also believe Irene isn’t capable of such actions. She has two kids of her own. What reason would she have to kidnap Hiram?”
“But the fact remains that Hiram showed up at her house, and he was injured!” Karina interjected, clearly unsatisfied with their reasoning.
