From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 340: Chapter 340

Dominick gazed eagerly at Serena, cherishing this rare opportunity where she took the initiative to speak to him. He softened his voice as much as possible, trying his best to shake off the impression of being a "scary man."
Serena tilted her head, blinking her big eyes. The two pink bunny ears hanging from the back of her hood swayed gently with her movements. "Where's Mommy? Why didn't she come back with you? When will she pick me up?"
Dominick had assumed that Serena had come to him to make some kind of request, giving him a chance to win back her affection. He hadn't expected her first words to be a barrage of three questions, all about Paisley.
A sense of defeat washed over Dominick. Forcing himself to stay composed, Dominick kept his expression unchanged and his tone as gentle as ever. "Your mommy hasn't finished taking care of things yet. Once she's done, she'll come pick you up."
"Oh, okay then." Serena accepted the answer, and then turned to Grayson and asked in her soft, childish voice, "Did you hear that?"
Grayson hadn't expected Serena to ask him so directly—it felt like a public interrogation, especially when he met Dominick's gaze.
"I... I heard that," he said stiffly, forcing an awkward smile.
Serena blinked and earnestly asked, "Then can you teach me how to play that game now?"
"Grayson." Dominick's voice was low and filled with warning.
He thought, 'So this is it. This explains why this little girl suddenly approaches me. Turns out, it's that brat Grayson, using the promise of a game to tempt her. After all this, I, her biological father, still can't compete with a video game.'
Dominick stood up, took strides forward, and snatched Grayson's laptop, snapping it shut with a loud clap. "You're not allowed to teach your sister how to play games."
Grayson shrank back, pouting, not daring to make a sound. He thought, 'I'm their biological son, aren't I? This man is my real dad, isn't he? Then why does he treat Rena so differently from me?'
"But—" Serena grew anxious. She really wanted to play that game. If she didn't play now, once Paisley came to get her, she wouldn't have another chance. But looking at how fierce Dominick seemed, she didn't dare say anything.
After hesitating for a long time, Serena finally mustered her courage. "But I want to play. Just for a little while. Can't I?"
Dominick looked down at Serena, but he just couldn't bring himself to say no.
"Dad, I'll only play with her for a little bit. I promised her, and I can't break my word," Grayson said, gathering his courage to negotiate seriously with Dominick.
Suddenly, two pairs of large, round, glistening eyes gazed up at him—like two mischievous, adorable puppies pleading for a new toy. Dominick let out a deep sigh. After a fierce internal battle, he reluctantly handed the laptop back to Grayson. "Just for a little while."
"Okay!" The two kids' eyes immediately lit up, and they answered happily.
As Dominick watched Serena and Grayson run off with the laptop, he quickly added, "Don't tell your mom."
"Okay!" They responded in unison before dashing off excitedly.
Behind him, Linna suddenly let out a cold snort. Only then did Dominick remember—Paisley's informant was still with him.
What he just said must have been heard by Linna. He slumped onto the couch in frustration. It seemed Paisley had been quite farsighted.
Before being forcibly sent back, Paisley had given him strict and clear instructions. He had to watch over the kids, especially Rena. No matter what tricks she pulled, he couldn't let her play on electronic devices for too long—especially games.
At the time, Dominick had agreed readily, thinking, 'How hard could it be to discipline kids?'
As a strict father, if he said no to computers, then no meant no. Worst case, he could just confiscate them. Those two wouldn't dare challenge his authority.
Yet, when the moment actually came, things had spiraled completely out of control.
Dominick figured there wasn't a single person in the world who could say no to Serena in her bunny outfit. Even Grayson's puppy-dog eyes just now had been hard to resist.
Dominick thought, 'That brat—when he isn't being a drama queen or acting out, he's actually quite cute.'
He could already picture the disdainful look Paisley would give him once she found out he had let them play video games.
At the hospital, outside the ICU, the doctor spoke a few words to Jolin, who had been keeping watch.
After the doctor left, Jolin glanced at the door to the ward but just couldn't find the courage to push it open. In the end, she could only sigh and sit down helplessly in a chair in the hallway.
The person lying in the ward was her grandmother, Anna of the Godard family—the old woman she had nearly sent to the police station herself.
At this moment, Anna was lying in the hospital bed, breathing through a ventilator. Even now, Jolin did not regret her past decisions or actions. After all, Anna had truly made mistakes, and if she had done wrong, she had to take responsibility.
But Anna was Jolin's grandmother—her own flesh and blood. During the years when Jolin's parents were absent, it was Anna who had taken care of Jolin and Joshua.
So, when everything finally settled, Jolin fell into an unprecedented state of depression.
Elijah noticed her emotions and approved her leave, letting her come to the hospital first.
Just then, the elevator at the end of the corridor dinged, followed by the sound of leather shoes hitting the floor. Judging by the footsteps alone, there were at least five people.
Jolin looked up and saw a group of six or seven people walking toward her. Leading them was her long-absent father, Logan, the third son of the Godard family.
"Dad." Jolin instinctively straightened up, not daring to show the slightest laxity. Deep down, she had always respected and feared Logan. But beneath that respect and fear, there was also resentment.
Jolin resented how he had spent years stationed in the military, leaving her and Joshua unattended. He had served his country well, but he had failed his family. Most of all, he had failed her late mother.
Logan walked ahead, followed by his guards and subordinates. He stopped in front of Jolin, lightly patted her shoulder, and said, "I know everything. You did well. You were not wrong."
Jolin had not cried while staying up all night investigating cases and making arrests, even when she had brushed past death. She had not shed a tear when she coldly and relentlessly arrested members of the Godard family despite their resentment and lack of understanding.
But now, hearing Logan's words of comfort, she instantly broke down in tears.
Logan sighed softly and wrapped an arm around Jolin, who was taller than him. "Come on, you're a grown woman. Crying like this will make people laugh at you. They'll think Logan's daughter is fragile."
Jolin wiped her tears away and glanced at the uniformed men behind Logan. "Dad, are you here to see Grandma?"
"Yes," Logan nodded. "With something this big happening, I had to come back. Also, among the people you arrested, a few were targets we've been monitoring for a long time. Of course, I'll discuss this with your bureau chief, so you don't need to ask too much."
Jolin understood. These matters were classified, and someone at her level, even as a criminal investigation captain, was not qualified to know.
"I'll go in first. You wait here." Just as Logan was about to push the door open, two men from the group stepped forward. "We'll go in with you."
Logan hesitated for a moment, his expression darkening slightly, but he said nothing in the end.
After Logan and the two uniformed men entered the ward, Jolin looked at the remaining people who had accompanied him. She realized that aside from the two guards she recognized, she had never seen the others before.
Thinking about how those two men had insisted on following Logan into the ward, Jolin quickly understood what was going on.