Chapter 587: Women’s Federation_1
The president of the Women’s Rights Protection Federation needs to understand the basic situation of Mrs. Douglas.
“The current issue is that Norman Douglas and his family claim that Riley Montgomery suffers from depression, and has cut off contact with others of her own accord, rather than him restricting her personal freedom,”
Camilla Farrell, who has helped many women and is experienced in these matters, pointed out the crux of the problem.
“We must verify that Riley Montgomery was forced, in order to justifiably intervene in this matter,”
“If it can be proven that Riley Montgomery does not suffer from depression, perhaps the situation will be easier to handle,” the female president said.
“Actually, there’s no need to prove it.” Purple Summers shook her head, “Even if many people say Riley Montgomery has depression, it’s useless. They are not doctors. Their diagnostics on Riley Montgomery have no legal standing. Riley Montgomery indeed suffered from depression two years ago but had already stopped treatment, which shows that she had recovered. As for now, if they insist Riley Montgomery has depression, then let them present evidence of the illness!”
The ball was kicked back, ignored.
Camilla Farrell looked at Purple Summers with admiration.
Purple Summers said to the two, “If there weren’t any alternatives, Riley Montgomery wouldn’t have confined herself and her child. She is doing this purely for self-preservation. Consider, losing two children one after the other, which woman could withstand such a blow? Even if people thought she was crazy, she would still protect this third child of hers.
Now, she and the child have been living in that place for four months. The servants treat her like a madwoman, her parents say she doesn’t appreciate the blessings of her life, and her husband has no understanding at all, even considering her desire for a divorce as making a fuss over nothing. She is too pitiful! She won’t last much longer!”
Camilla Farrell also has children, and becoming a mother heightened her intolerance for such situations. She said, “An infant of a few months might be fine kept indoors, but the child needs to grow, eventually requiring contact with people and society. We must help her get out of that dreadful place as soon as possible.”
“How did her children die?” the president asked in confusion, “If necessary, we can apply for judicial assistance to gather evidence for investigation.”
Purple Summers sighed, “I’m afraid it’s going to be difficult, too much time has passed, there’s no tangible evidence, and the servants’ testimonies are very unfavorable to Riley Montgomery.
The first child died of asphyxiation. During Riley’s puerperium, she woke up to find the baby lying beside her, breathless. She remembered placing the child in the crib after feeding, but the maid claimed that it was Riley Montgomery who fell asleep while breastfeeding, suffocating the child in her arms.”
Camilla Farrell and the president of the federation looked at each other, both seeing surprise in the other’s eyes.
“The maid spoke with certainty, making Riley Montgomery herself start to doubt whether her memory was in disarray… Since the child was under a month old and it was an accidental death, the Douglas Family didn’t alert the police and buried the baby hastily. After she conceived her second child, learning from the previous lesson, Riley Montgomery spent the puerperium in the hospital with specialized postnatal mother and infant care services. Yet, after returning home, another incident occurred,”
Purple Summers paused at this point, specifically stopped to ask a servant for paper and pen, and roughly sketched the steps of the tulip garden.
“…This is the Douglas Family’s garden. At that time, Riley Montgomery was pushing the baby carriage through here when suddenly a baseball flew over. While dodging, she accidentally fell down the steps, but in that moment, to protect the child, she let go of the baby carriage to keep the child from falling with her.”
Purple Summers drew a circle on the paper in one spot, “She fell here, head bleeding and right leg broken. Worried about the child, she forced herself to look up and saw the baby carriage unscathed atop the stairs before finally fainting. However… when she awoke in the hospital, she was told the child had fallen with her and died.”