"What's wrong?"
Ballard wanted to take a look, but Tim dodged back.
"You have not given my mother any care for so many years. No matter what will happen, it's none of
your business."
"What are you talking about? Your mother and I haven't got divorced yet."
Ballard had vaguely sensed that something was wrong. Tim's words and the recording he had just
listened to immediately made Ballard's face pale.
"What's in the recording is really the truth? Your mother ..."
"Yes, slow poison was detected in her blood sample. Are you satisfied? The mistress with your favor
has meant to kill my mother and even me now! If Maia hadn't fallen in love with me, you might be
looking at my dead body now. Mr. Louis, Ballard Louis, are you satisfied with the result now?"
Tim directly threw the test report in Ballard's face.
Ballard was stunned.
How could this be?
Bella was so gentle and so virtuous. How did she become the mastermind behind this murder?
But the recording couldn't be faked, and neither could the blood test report.
For a moment, Ballard could not accept the fact.
Jacob was also very embarrassed.
He had thought that he was a love child who had stolen the favor Tim should have got, but now he felt
that he was even more sinful than that!
What Bella had done was unbearable to him, and he felt he could not face Tim and Ballard at all.
"I'm going back to ask her about the truth."
Jacob's voice was hoarse and his eyes were slightly red. If he weren't a grown man with a strong mind,
he would have collapsed long ago.
Nicole and Samuel also sympathized with him.
Born to a mother like that and to a greedy, insatiable father like Cornell, any ordinary man couldn't take
it.
When Ballard turned to look at Jacob again, he had mixed feelings. He had really thought that Jacob
was his son, but now everything had changed.
To look at Jacob carefully now, Ballard could see that Jacob did not look like him so much. He looked
more like Bella. Ballard had always thought that it was natural that his son looked like his mother, but
now, the more he looked at him, the more upset he was feeling.
What had he done for all these years?
For a child that was born by others, and for his mistress, he had thrown his first wife into a sanatorium,
left her alone and ignored her. He did nothing when his son hated him for so many years and made the
father-and-son relationship so tense now.
Ballard realized that he had sabotaged his own family, and he even had to depend on Tim in business.
How could he face Tim and ask him to respect him?
Ballard suddenly regretted everything he had done.
"I'm going back with you. I'm going to ask Bella what exactly she wants to do."
"What exactly she wants to do? Don't you know? Or did she make you stupid as well?"
Tim didn't care about Ballard's face at all. His words were harsh and cruel.
Having nothing to say to defend himself, Ballard could only leave awkwardly with Jacob.
Nicole was a little worried about Jacob and said to Samuel, "You'd better go with them. I'm worried that
Jacob ..."
"He's fine. He can handle it. You and Tim can go back with them. I'll stay here to wait for Trevin to wake
up. I think your mother wants to see you guys there now. She has already gone back to the Louis'
when I came here."
"What? My mother has gone back to the Louis'? She's no match for Bella!"
Tim immediately became nervous.
Nicole was also a little worried.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? What if she ..."
"Nothing is going to happen. I've asked my people to keep an eye on her. Don't worry."
Of course Samuel knew Nicole's worries clearly. How could he let Martha face Bella alone?
Hearing that, Nicole heaved a sigh of relief.
"Then I'm going back with Tim now. I'll leave it to you here."
"Sure. Be careful. Call me if you need anything."
Samuel looked at Nicole with a faint smile on his face.
"Alright."
Nicole immediately nodded.
She was grateful for the love and understanding Samuel had given her, and also his sympathy for her.
She knew Samuel was doing all this only because he loved her. He didn't want her to be sad or to
panic. Although she might be able handle it well without Samuel's help, she had to admit that she might
not be able to do it in time.
Nicole looked at Samuel affectionately, then turned around quickly and ran out with Tim.
When they got back to the Louis' almost at the same time, they were surprised to see that Martha was
sitting on the couch at the center of the living room while Bella was standing at the side and glaring at
Martha.
"What's going on? Are you alright?"
When Ballard got inside the room, he immediately asked how Martha was doing. That surprised Martha
a little, but she smiled mockingly after thinking for a while.
"Shouldn't you ask your mistress how she's doing first? And ask her if I have bullied her?"
Martha's voice was still very gentle, but what she had said was unbearable to Ballard.
"Martha, you and me! We are husband and wife!"
"That's new. You still remember that we are husband and wife? I haven't come back to the Louis’
residence for nearly 20 years, right? In these years, you let a woman who isn't your wife live here so
naturally, and let people call her Mrs. Louis. Do you really remember I am your wife?"
Martha looked at Ballard, but no hatred could be seen in her eyes. She was just as calm as a dry well.
Looking at her expressionless face, Ballard immediately felt as if his heart was torn apart.
"Martha, I admit I have made a mistake in the past few years."
"Why are you apologizing? Ballard, what are you doing? I'm your woman! You've promised me that ..."
Seeing Ballard apologizing to Martha, Bella couldn't help but panic.
"Shut up!"
Ballard suddenly turned around and directly slapped her in the face.
"Ballard, you're crazy! You slapped me!"
Bella did not anticipate the slap at all and directly fell to the floor. But then she saw Jacob entering the
room.
"Jacob, Jacob! Your father is crazy! He slapped me! What kind of life your mother is living in this
family? If you came back early and inherited everything from the Louis family, would I still have to
endure all of this?"
"Shut up. Maybe you don't feel embarrassed, but I'm so ashamed of you."
Looking at the woman who was wailing on the floor, Jacob couldn't help but feel disgusted.
How could this woman be his mother?
After doing so many disgusting things, she was still talking about letting him inherit the Louis family's
property now. He didn't come back to the Louis family because he didn't want to be at odds with Tim.
But if he had really come back then, the situation now would be even more embarrassing for him.
Fortunately, he did not come back to the Louis family then!
Jacob couldn't help but feel glad about his choice.
Bella was stunned after hearing her son's words.
"Jacob, I know that I might not have given you enough care. That's a mistake I have made, but I'm your
mother no matter what! Now your father and this woman are bullying me together. Why did you talk to
me like that? Don't you worry that you might break mom's heart? Do you know how hard I wished that
you've come back all these years?"
"Come back for what? For deceiving Mr. Tim together with you and taking away the property that
belongs to the Louis family? Or you wanted me back because you could be together with Cornell by
then? Did you ever consider how I would be affected? Did you ever think about the day when you get
caught? And how should I accept myself when that happens?"
Jacob shouted at her all of a sudden.
Bella froze, and then she suddenly felt scared.
"What the hell are you talking about? Jacob, what's wrong with you? Why are you talking nonsense?"
"Nonsense? Did you forget so quickly about what you said to Cornell a few days ago? I forgot to tell
you that the police have arrested Cornell for he tried to kill Maia on your order. They are currently
interrogating him in the detention house. It won't be long before he splits on you. Mother, the truth will
come out. Don't you know?"
Looking at the woman in front of him who had given him his life, Jacob suddenly didn't know what to
do.
Bella was suddenly as pale as death.
She then seemed to realize something and quickly crawled to Ballard. She held the hem of Ballard's
trousers and cried, "Ballard, I was wronged. Really. It was Cornell who forced me to do this. It was him!
He raped me and threatened me. If I refused to listen to him, he would post the video online. I was
scared. Ballard, it's been so many years. Don't you know what kind of person I am?"
Looking at the woman with tears in her eyes, Ballard began to recall the time when she first met Bella
twenty years ago.
Her eyes were also full of tears at that time when she told him that both of her parents had died and her
aunt forced her to be a prostitute at a club. She had no choice but to ask him to buy her out.
Ballard could no longer remember why he had bought her out then. Perhaps it was because Martha
was too old-fashioned, or perhaps it was because of his instinct as a man. Anyway, at that moment, he
fell in love with Bella and gave up everything for this woman for so many years.
To think about it now, Ballard did not even know what he had got from Bella over the years.
Perhaps it was because Bella was younger than him which gave him a sense of superiority, or perhaps
it was because Bella was gentle, considerate, and able to say something he wanted to hear every time.
But to think about it carefully now, he remembered that every time when Bella said something nice, it
was also basically the time when he had a fight with his son, Tim.
Bella always said something sweet, and told him that Tim was not sensible enough, so he should not
take his words so seriously. She also told him that Tim was rebellious because he was young, and it
would be fine when he grew older.
For so many years, the father-and-son relationship between him and Tim became more and more
distant and worsened day by day. He had always thought that it was because Tim was not sensible and
was trying to stir up trouble because of Martha. But now Ballard finally understood that this was Bella's
trick!
It was Bella who had twisted the relationship between him and Tim!
It was also her who had made the Louis family broken.
Ballard suddenly remembered something that happened when the Louis family almost went bankrupt.
During those few days, Bella kept asking about the Louis family's financial situation. She even packed
her luggage one night. When he witnessed that, Bella told him that she was just putting away some
clothes that weren't necessary.
At that time, Ballard did not think further. To think about it now, it was very likely that Bella was trying to
leave here when she knew that she could no longer get money from him. She delayed it for some time
only because Ballard had seen her packing. However, she did not expect that Tim had the ability to
make the Louis family prosper again.
Ballard kept recollecting the past years in his mind. He suddenly realized that he had been living in a
pipe dream for so many years.
In a dream that Bella had made for him alone.
Now that he had woken up, Bella was still trying to use her tears to get his sympathy. Ballard was
enraged at once.
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