Billionaire's Regret: Losing Me And Our Son - Chapter 220: Chapter 220

My heart skipped a beat. The "Julia" Quinn mentioned was Julia Terell, who'd been imprisoned for theft years ago.
I'd already investigated this matter thoroughly.
Julia had been working as a housekeeper for the Madden family when she stole their valuable jewelry. The jewelry was never found. In a fit of rage, Alex reported her to the police, leading to Julia's imprisonment.
But Quinn's version diverged significantly from what I'd found in my own investigation.
"Because of you?" I looked at Quinn in astonishment, struggling to comprehend the connection.
Quinn nodded and continued, "Back then, Julia wasn't stealing from the Madden family. She was trying to help me retrieve my mother's dowry."
"Julia grew up alongside my mother. Though officially in a master-servant relationship, they were closer than sisters. After my mom married into the Madden family and soon became pregnant, Julia naturally came to care for her. When my parents died in a tragic accident, Julia couldn't bring herself to abandon me as a child, so she chose to stay with the Maddens and raise me."
"Growing up, most of what I knew about my mother came from Julia's stories," Quinn recounted, opening up about his past to me. "That's how I was able to piece together her image in my mind—a gentle, gracious woman who loved me deeply and kept me in her thoughts, even in her final moments."
I listened quietly as he reminisced about his mother. The mix of hope and sorrow in his eyes tugged at my heartstrings.
Quinn lost both his parents at a young age. His grandfather, Alex, raised him with strict discipline but failed to provide the warmth and affection a child needs.
He'd endured so much hardship that, over time, he gradually became that cold, distant figure in everyone's eyes.
"Ever since I can remember, I knew the Madden family was wealthy—but that was all we had," Quinn said with a bitter smile as he recalled. "From the time I started school, my classmates would mock and taunt me after learning my parents had died. At first, I didn't care, but one day in third grade, my deskmate suddenly leaned over during class and asked me, 'Why don't you have parents? Are you some kind of bastard?'
"At that moment, I completely lost it—I felt he'd insulted my parents. So right there in class, in front of the teacher, I beat him up. In the end, Grandfather confined me to my room for three days as punishment." As he finished, Quinn gave me a wry smile.
Seeing his smile, I felt a pang of sadness.
Softly, I asked Quinn, "Didn't you explain to Grandfather? This wasn't your fault."
He shook his head and said calmly, "There's no point explaining. Even if I told Grandfather the truth, he'd just counter with why I couldn't endure it and wait until I had a foolproof plan before striking back."
I paused, realizing that Alex had been a formidable force in the business world for decades—no wonder he possessed such unconventional methods.
Perhaps it was Alex's harsh upbringing that forged the formidable Mr. Madden we know in Enschester today.
I pressed my lips together, my heart aching. I murmured, "Three days of confinement... and you were barely ten. Grandfather was far too cruel..."
Three days without food—only water—was nothing short of torture for a growing child.
"Luckily, there was Julia," Quinn said. "She would secretly bring me food, sit with me, and tell me stories about my mother."
Now I finally understood what Julia meant to Quinn.
For young Quinn, Julia was the sole beacon of hope in his world.
Julia wasn't his mother, but she loved him like one.
"Julia is truly kind-hearted," I murmured, looking up to meet Quinn's gaze.
He gazed at me deeply, his eyes flickering with emotion, then continued, "Yes, Julia is just too kind for her own good. That's why, when she learned Grandfather was going to put 'Pearlcloud'—my mother's jade bracelet—up for charity auction, she actually considered stealing it."
"Pearlcloud?" I blurted out, my eyes widening in surprise.
"Pearlcloud was my mother's dowry back then—a priceless jade bracelet," Quinn explained.
I was really confused and asked, "If it was your mother's dowry, why on earth would Alex want to auction it off for charity? And why did Julia have to go to such extremes?"
"Grandfather always believed my mother caused that fatal car crash years ago—he held her responsible for my father's death," Quinn said gravely. "Afterwards, they retrieved the car's black box recording. A restored audio clip revealed my parents were arguing moments before the collision."
My eyes widened in shock—I was stunned speechless.
Quinn paused, then said hoarsely, "Although that audio recording proved nothing, Alex came to despise my mother because of it. Five years ago, after I returned from studying abroad and took over the Madden Group, I tried to ask Grandfather for Pearlcloud back—the only heirloom my mother left me. But he told me he'd already made a public promise to auction the jade bracelet for charity. If he went back on his word, it would damage the Madden Group's reputation."
Quinn said, "I didn't want to confront him directly. I planned to wait until the charity auction started and then find a way to win Pearlcloud myself. But I never expected Julia to be so impulsive—she went and stole Pearlcloud without even consulting me first."
I pretty much knew what happened next—Julia succeeded in stealing it, but she was found out.
When Quinn learned of this, he pleaded with his grandfather, Alex, to show mercy. But the old man demanded that Julia hand over Pearlcloud. When she refused, he flew into a rage and called the police.
I asked, "Is Pearlcloud in your possession now?"
I figured since Julia stole Pearlcloud, she must have handed it over to Quinn.
Quinn shook his head with a heavy sigh. "If she'd given Pearlcloud to me, I could've bargained with Grandfather for her freedom. Even now, I can't understand why Julia would rather go to jail than tell me where Pearlcloud is."
I was completely taken aback. I'd never met Julia, so I couldn't even begin to guess her motives for doing this.
One thing's certain from Quinn's account—Julia was never after money.
Five years are almost up. Julia will be out in a few months. I tried to comfort Quinn, saying, "Maybe once Julia is out, we'll finally learn the truth."
"I hope so." His expression remained grave as he nodded, then suddenly lifted his gaze to stare directly at me without saying a word.
Startled, I blurted out, "Quinn, why are you staring at me like that?"
"Natalia, why haven't you asked me about it yet?" Quinn said abruptly, his tone laced with confusion.
"What?" I was completely thrown by him.
"About Clarissa and me," Quinn said with a serious frown. "Haven't you been dying to know?"
I froze for a second, then instinctively shot back, "When did I ever say I wanted to know?"
I couldn't help but snark inwardly, 'Why doesn't he call her Clary now like he used to?'
"Don't you want to know?" Quinn, already standing right beside me, suddenly leaned in and planted a feather-light kiss on my lips. He arched an eyebrow and teased, "Your lips are so soft, yet your words are so sharp?"