Chapter 871

 871:
Without a word, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Collin, who was seated just a few feet away. “I’ll eat my hat if this kid isn’t yours!”
Collin read the message. His eyes flicked toward Dustin, but he remained motionless, ignoring the text.
Beneath his calm exterior, however, Collin harbored his own suspicions about Zander’s true parentage, suspicions that now burned within him. One crucial question lingered in his mind—was he truly the boy’s father?
After a tense moment, Collin tapped out a response. “Set it up. We’re doing a paternity test.”
Meanwhile, across town, Linsey’s interrogation of Zenia was underway.
“Where has Zander gone?” she demanded, her voice tight with worry. Normally, her children were well-behaved, but since their return to Grester, chaos seemed to be their new norm. First, Zander’s unauthorized outing with Zenia had ended with her being escorted to the police station.
Now, Zander himself had vanished, leaving Zenia to cover for him. Worse still, he had disabled his smartwatch, severing their digital lifeline.
What could be so important that he couldn’t answer her calls? Did he have any idea of the panic he had caused?
Each unanswered question stoked Linsey’s anger, transforming her gentle nature into an icy resolve.
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Caylee, a silent observer, felt a chill ripple through her at Linsey’s expression.
Had Zander sought out Collin once again? The thought drained the color from her face.
The room fell into an uneasy hush.
Careful not to scare Zenia, Linsey took a calming breath. “Sweetheart,” she began gently, “I need you to be honest. Where is your brother, and why isn’t he picking up? I’m not angry, just terribly worried. He even switched off his watch.”
Tears welled in Zenia’s eyes, guilt etched across her small face. “He went to see the bad man,” she confessed, her voice barely more than a whisper.
At those words, Caylee’s heart lurched.
Zander had gone to Collin!
It had to be because of Gorman’s manipulations.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she dreaded Linsey’s reaction.
Linsey’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Bad man? Who is this person?”
She recalled Zander’s earlier story about a “bad man” who had taken Zenia, though the police had assured her it was merely a helpful stranger. With Zenia unharmed, she had let it drop.
But now, this “bad man” resurfaced, piquing her curiosity.
The children had been confined to the hotel since arriving in Grester. How could they have encountered anyone?
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