"Smack!"
A bankruptcy notice, along with a lawyer’s letter, was thrown onto the table.
"Ronan Rhodes, your company, and your life are completely over now," Ian Sinclair said, gripping the cane in his hand with a stern face. "But that’s not nearly enough. I want to send you to prison so you’ll never be able to hold your head up high again. Not just you, but your wife and child too—they will have to live in pain forever. Only then will my grandson’s soul in heaven find peace. I want him to see how miserable the person who caused his death is living now!"
"No! You can’t do this!" Ronan Rhodes’s face was haggard, his eyes bloodshot, and he pleaded, "I’m the one who caused the death of your grandson. It has nothing to do with my wife and child. Take it out on me, but please don’t harm my wife and child. I’m begging you! Please, leave my wife and child alone."
"Let your wife and child go? Then who will let my grandson go?" Ian Sinclair showed not a bit of mercy, only deep hatred and resentment, "How can the life of my Sinclair Family’s eldest grandson be compared to your worthless life? Rest assured, once you’re serving a life sentence, I’ll instruct people to take good care of your wife and daughter."
Ronan was stunned, and went mad as he lunged at Ian Sinclair, only to be stopped by bodyguards mid-way.
"Ian Sinclair, you devil, what are you going to do to my wife and child?!"
"Devil? You should have thought of this outcome when you forced my grandson to his death!" Thinking of his deceased grandson made Ian Sinclair want to tear the man opposite him to pieces.
"It’s not entirely my fault! In business, there are ups and downs. Who knew he had depression and couldn’t handle it, leading to his suicide!" Ronan said, seemingly grasping at a glimmer of hope, "Yes! It’s not my fault. Even if it weren’t me, his depression would have led him to suicide. Ian Sinclair, you can’t put all the blame on me!"
"Ronan Rhodes, at this time, you still want to defend yourself?" Ian Sinclair gave him a cold glance and stood up, "Prepare to spend the rest of your life in prison. Rest assured, I will send you news at regular intervals so you will know just how miserable your wife and daughter are because of you."
With that, Ian Sinclair didn’t spare Ronan another glance and left the Rhodes Family, surrounded by lawyers and bodyguards.
Ronan slumped defeated on the sofa, looking at the bankruptcy notice and lawyer’s letter, anxiously grabbing his hair hard with both hands.
Laura Locke came down from upstairs, holding her six-month-old daughter, worriedly asking, "Honey, the Sinclair Family still won’t relent? If it comes down to it, perhaps we should file for bankruptcy. As long as our family can live happily together, no matter how much hardship we endure, my daughter and I will stay with you."
Hearing this, Ronan looked up at his gentle and beautiful wife, and suddenly made a decision. He stood up, walked over to his wife, and embraced her, "Laura, I’ve let you suffer with me."
"No. Being married to you is the greatest blessing of my life," Laura Locke shook her head, her eyes reddening.
Ronan smiled and reached out to take their daughter from her arms.
The child was only a few months old and was adorably chubby. She seemed very familiar with her father, smiling broadly once near him, stretching her chubby little hands to grab his fingers, babbling happily.
Looking at his adorable daughter, Ronan felt an unbearable heartache. No, he couldn’t let his wife and daughter live such a hellish life.
Ronan made up his mind completely. While entertaining his daughter, he gently spoke to his wife, "Laura, I have a headache. Could you go upstairs and get me some painkillers?"
"Alright." Laura Locke didn’t think twice and gazed worriedly at her husband before going upstairs to get the medicine.
Watching his wife’s figure disappear around the staircase corner, Ronan turned his gaze back to his daughter in his arms, tears flowing, "Baby, I’m sorry. I won’t be able to watch you grow up. When you grow up, remember to take good care of your mom for me, okay?"
"Ya ya ya." The child didn’t understand but seemed to sense the sadness, pulling her mouth as if about to cry.
Ronan gritted his teeth, turning his head away in pain, putting his daughter on the sofa, and hurriedly walking toward the hallway outside the living room.
On the nineteenth floor, jumping from here meant no chance of survival.
"Honey!" Laura Locke returned with the medicine and saw Ronan climbing onto the railing, turning pale with fright. "Honey, what are you doing?! Don’t!"
"Laura, I’m sorry. Please take good care of our daughter." Ronan gave a not-so-handsome smile, let go, and jumped.
"No! Honey!" Laura Locke rushed forward madly, trying to grasp something, but it was all in vain.
Falling, Ronan crashed onto the stone pavement of the community, with blood splattering all around, staining a large area with mixed red and white.
"Wah... wah..." The child on the sofa cried heart-wrenchingly.
Laura Locke sat dazed on the balcony for a long time before she numbly stood up and cradled the now hoarse-voiced crying child.
She felt as though the sky had fallen, her life turned dark and bleak, failing even to muster the strength to cry.
She calmly handled the aftermath and, on a rainy night, left her sleeping child at the welfare institution’s gate.
Laura Locke placed the note she had written beside the child’s clothes, lowered her head to kiss the child’s chubby cheek, caressing her reluctantly, saying, "Baby, I’m sorry, I can’t live without your dad, I’m sorry."
As Laura Locke spoke, tears welled up and flowed freely. She held them back, stood up, and knocked on the welfare institution’s door.
"Who’s there?" Lights came on behind the door, and someone responded as they came to open the door.
Laura Locke took one last look at the child and turned into a nearby alley.
The welfare worker opened the door, followed by the director coming out together.
"Director, there’s a child at the door," observed the caregiver, not seeing the person who knocked, only spotting a stroller.
In the stroller, a chubby child opened a pair of innocent, clear eyes, looking utterly adorable.
The director stepped forward to pick up the child and found a bank card inside the stroller, with a password written on the back, along with a note. The neat handwriting read, "Baby, mommy and daddy will always love you."
Looking at the dim old street with no sign of anyone, the director sighed, "Poor child, though abandoned, your parents still love you and probably had no other choice. From now on, you’ll be called Bella Acker, and let your parents’ love protect you as you grow up healthy and happy."