Revenge: Once His Wife, Now His Regret - Chapter 56: Chapter 56

Jaxon frowned slightly. "Who said anything about him?"
Sally was taken aback, looking at Jaxon in confusion.
A faint smile touched Jaxon's lips, his tone casual. "You adopted Lillian, making her your foster daughter. I'm her godfather. Doesn't that make us a family, in a way?"
His words caught Sally by surprise.
She looked down, a gentle smile playing on her lips. Just as she was about to reply, a knock came from outside the door, followed by a shout- "What have you done to my son? Open this door right now!"
Sally and Jaxon instinctively looked towards the door.
It was Casey's mother knocking.
Just as Sally was about to open it, Abigail Nell and Carlos York returned from the back of the clinic.
Carlos walked to the main entrance and opened it. The old woman rushed in, frantically searching the clinic for her son.
"Where's my son? Where are you hiding him?"
The old woman stared hard at Sally and Jaxon, her expression grim. "Mr. Zale, you should get going. I can handle this."
Sally didn't answer the old woman, instead turning to look at Jaxon.
The man nodded slightly, then walked towards the door and strode out of the clinic.
Sally glanced towards the entrance; the crowd of onlookers outside had long since dispersed. Even Amy Nell was gone.
"Your son has been taken to the hospital," Sally said, her voice low and her expression impassive.
"Did you lay a hand on my son? I heard him yelling from outside! What exactly did you do to him?" The old woman shouted.
"We didn't touch him," Abigail cut in before Sally could speak. "It was that Mr. Zale who just left – he had his men deal with him. You'd better not cause any more trouble, or we'll call the police on you too! Your son has already confessed to deliberately trying to frame Doctor Smith and Doctor York."
Abigail pointed towards the door. "Ma'am, please leave now. Don't linger here."
The old woman snapped, "Which hospital is my son in?"
Carlos replied coolly, "Westmere General. If you go now, you'll probably be just in time to take him home."
The old woman left reluctantly, still muttering curses under her breath.
"I'm starting to wonder if that old lady was hired too," Abigail said, frowning at Sally, her eyes full of doubt. "She didn't really look like his mother."
Sally shrugged. "Whether she's real or fake, the point is we know the truth now. That makes things easier to handle."
"So, what's your next move?" Abigail walked over, curious. "How are you planning to get back at them? Want me to lend a hand? With my contacts, digging up some dirt on Lena Yasmin would be a piece of cake."
Carlos blinked. "You're a paparazzo?"
"Paparazzo? You're the paparazzo!" Abigail shot her a glare. "I, my friend, am a legitimate journalist!"
"Oh? So you're a journalist?" Carlos looked her up and down. "What kind? The kind that snaps gossip photos?"
"You're the gossip columnist, your whole family are gossip columnists," Abigail retorted.
"Hey, why are you making it personal?" Carlos protested. "I'm just trying to have a normal conversation here!"
Listening to their bickering, a slight smile touched Sally's lips.
She turned and went into the treatment room to start cleaning up.
Caleb had clearly gone easy on them; otherwise, it would have been a much bigger mess.
Only the third day open, and they'd already run into this kind of trouble. What rotten luck.
'Just as I thought,' Sally mused.
Open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against.
She should have been on guard from the moment they showed up yesterday.
Today's fiasco had severely impacted the clinic's business; revenue was less than a third of yesterday's. Although Sally had Carlos post a notice at the entrance, foot traffic was still pitifully sparse.
With no business, Sally closed up early and went to Franklin Memorial School to pick up Lillian Simone.
She had just reached the school gate when she saw a familiar figure.
It was Brad.
School wasn't out yet, so they were both waiting at the gate.
Back when they were married, Sally had almost always been the one to pick up their child from school; Brad rarely did.
'It seemed that during her years in prison, the man had learned how to be a 'father',' Sally thought wryly. 'Too bad he never learned how to be a 'husband'.'
"Heard there was trouble at the clinic?" Brad suddenly moved closer to her, his voice low.
Sally glanced at him, her tone cool. "News travels fast for Mr. Zale, doesn't it? Who told you? Lena?"
"What does this have to do with Lena?" Brad's eyes darkened, a chill in his gaze as he looked at her.
"She didn't tell you? The culprit already confessed. He was put up to it by Elise, that's why he targeted my shop." Sally smirked. "Elise Tatum. Mr. Zale should know her well, right? She's Lena's best friend, after all."
"Elise did this?" Brad asked, his brow furrowed.
"On the surface, it looks like Elise's doing. But whether certain other people are involved, well, that's hard to say." Sally's lips curved into a faint smile. "But don't worry, I'll investigate it thoroughly."
"What are you trying to say?" Brad demanded, his voice rising. "Are you suspecting Lena is involved? Lena is such a simple, kind-hearted woman. How could she possibly do something like this?"
He suddenly reached out and grabbed Sally's wrist, the coldness in his eyes deepening.
"I never said it was Miss Yasmin. Why are you so worked up, Mr. Zale?" Sally tried to shake off his hand, her voice icy.
But Brad only tightened his grip on her wrist. "The 'certain someone' you mentioned – weren't you talking about her?"
"I thought Mr. Zale couldn't tell right from wrong. Turns out, not only is your head clear, but your judgment is pretty good too." Sally's lips curved as she looked at him calmly. "If that's the case, why did you insist on siding with her back then? Was it intentional?"
"What nonsense are you spouting now?" Brad forcefully let go of Sally's wrist, his voice suddenly louder. "Sally, don't bring up what happened back then. I'm in no mood to discuss the past with you."
"You're just scared to face it, aren't you!" Sally shot back.
"What do you mean?" Brad asked.
He had intended to leave, but he stopped and looked down at the woman before him.
A small smile touched Sally's lips, growing wider. "The reason you don't dare to face it, why you're afraid of me bringing up the past – is it because you're scared I was actually wronged, and you wouldn't know how to face your 'perfect angel' Lena? Or are you worried her pristine image will shatter?"
"Let's deal with one thing at a time," Brad said, the chill in his usually bright eyes deepening. "I'm talking about the clinic, not what happened back then!"
"That's because this incident is inseparable from Lena," Sally's voice rose considerably, "which is why I'm bringing it up along with the past!"
Brad frowned. "What proof do you have that Lena is definitely involved in this? Even if Elise is her best friend, the culprit clearly named Elise, not Lena!"