Chapter 521

Michael and Isabel spun around at the noise . The two children’s eyes flashed with wariness and a hint of fear .
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Jennifer set the fruit basket down on the table and scanned the room . She gave a gentle smile and asked Michael , “ Where’s your mom and grandma ? ”
Michael shook his head . “ I don’t know , ” he said . “ Mom and Grandma went downstairs together . ”
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“ Oh , I see . ” Jennifer couldn’t help but gently stroke Michael’s cheek . “ I haven’t seen you in ages , Mike . You’ve grown so tall . How wonderful . You’re really starting to look more and more like your mom . ”
Michael shrank back half a step , fear flickering in his eyes . Jennifer’s hand hovered awkwardly in the air ; she clenched her fingers before pulling it back .
Jennifer gently asked , “ Are you scared of me , Mike ? Why is that ? I really care about you and your mom .”
Seeing that Michael remained silent , Jennifer then glanced at Isabel . She smirked coldly at Isabel , who was plain and unrefined . “ You must have inherited every bit from that good – for – nothing father of yours . ”
Isabel didn’t understand Jennifer’s words , so Jennifer didn’t bother to explain any further . She bent down and said gently , “ Mike , I’m going to find your mom and grandma now . ”
The moment Jennifer left , Michael quickly shut the door . Turning to Isabel , he reassured her , “ Don’t be scared , Aunt Isabel . I’ll protect you . Mom said she’ll be back really soon , okay ? ”
The two children went back to playing . There were two sharp knocks at the door . Thinking it was Jennifer again , neither of them dared to open the door .
The knocking resumed , louder and more insistent this time . Peering through the gap in the glass door , Isabel recognized a familiar figure and hurried to open it .
“ Sanford . ” Isabel’s face lit up . She recognized Sanford , who’d looked after her before . Sanford’s attention was entirely focused on Michael . At that moment , he was the only adult in the room .
Locking eyes with Michael , Sanford somehow just knew this child was Jonathan’s . It was a gut feeling only a man could have .
Sanford set Isabel down and asked Michael directly , “ Little guy , your mom is Teresa , right ? ”
Michael grew even warier of Sanford , shaking his head before ducking behind the wall to peer at him cautiously . Sanford turned to Isabel and asked her .
Isabel nodded and said , “ Yeah , he is . ”
Sanford smiled and asked , “ Then who’s his father ? ”
Isabel shook her head . “ I don’t know . I’ve never met Mike’s dad , though . ”
“ Don’t rat me out , Aunt Isabel , ” Michael frowned , but Sanford had already closed in on him .
Sanford loomed over Michael . Michael stared up defiantly , a flicker of fear in his clear eyes . But they refused to yield , even as tears began to well up .
Sanford’s hand shot out toward Michael’s head .
Michael finally crouched down in terror , wrapping both small hands protectively over his head . “ Please don’t hurt me . I’ll be good , just don’t kill me . ”
Sanford chuckled . “ Why on earth would I want to hurt you ? ”
After yanking a few strands of Michael’s hair , Sanford quickly smoothed his hair back and said , “ There , there . It doesn’t hurt . Don’t cry . ”
Sanford carefully placed Michael’s hair into a small clear plastic bag . ‘ A DNA test would reveal everything , he thought .
Teresa ran into Jennifer downstairs at the hospital . Evelyn had just gotten her turn and was waiting outside . Jennifer said , “ I went to your room to look
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for you , but Mike said you’d gone downstairs . How did Evelyn’s checkup go ? ”
“ Yesterday’s CT scan came back clear . She just had the MRI done , and we’ll get the results this afternoon . ”
Teresa glanced at Jennifer . “ So , what are you doing here ? ” she asked sharply . “ Actually concerned about mom , or just here to visit ? ”
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