Chapter 8

As it turned out, even when things had come to this, the only thing James cared about was that utterly meaningless question. Wendy finally understood. James probably didn't care much about his own son either. Well, of course. In his heart, the only one who ever mattered was Jenna. Wendy stared at James' face and hurled the lab report at him with all her strength. She said, "What I mean is, I want to revise the divorce agreements. I want full custody of Ethan. And as for what Jenna did, I will call the police and have them look into it!" With that, she turned and left, her departure as firm and resolute as her words. But no matter how furious Wendy was, in James' eyes, it was nothing more than another tantrum aimed at Jenna to get his attention. What did Wendy truly want? It was definitely not a divorce or a complete falling out. Watching her walk away, James lowered his gaze. He was sure that what she wanted was probably for him to apologize and make amends. Alas, that was absolutely out of the question. Suddenly, he felt someone tug on the hem of his shirt from behind. Jenna choked out, "It's my fault Ethan ended up like this. He kept asking for his mommy last night, and I became too tired from comforting him and fell asleep. But James, I'm scared. Will Wendy really press charges against me?" He turned around and looked down at the teary-eyed Jenna, frowning slightly. "If Wendy hadn't left last night, you wouldn't have had to deal with this. You've never taken care of a child before. It's not your fault." Jenna leaned into James' chest, sobbing. "For Wendy to get so angry… it must be all my fault." He straightened her up and glanced over at Ethan's bed. "Go back and get some rest. As for Wendy, she wouldn't really dare to call the cops." Relief flickered across Jenna's gaze, and she nodded through her tears. After she left, James walked over to Ethan's bed. His gaze swept across the candy wrappers in the trash bin, then settled on Ethan's pale face. Something shifted in his eyes as he made a call. ... Half an hour later, James stepped out of the room and saw two police officers standing at the nurses' station. "We'll make a record of this. We also need to check on the child's condition," an officer said. He approached and saw Wendy signing a report. He grabbed her wrist and snapped, "Do you really have to go this far?" "Who are you?" One of the officers frowned at his interference. "I'm Ethan's father. Wendy's husband. She called the police out of personal spite. This is wasting police resources. I apologize on her behalf," James said. Wendy yanked her arm away. "Stop spouting nonsense." She quickly finished signing the report and handed it over to the officers. "I'll take you to the child." The officers nodded. They glanced at the name on the report, they seemed to realize who James was and frowned. One of the officers said, "The report wasn't made by the child's mother. It was made by the hospital. They suspect intentional child endangerment. And you, as the father, are trying to stop the investigation? That's odd." James stiffened slightly. Then, he overheard nurses whispering nearby. "He must've known that it was that woman who intentionally gave Dr. Sanders' son junk food for him to act this way." "I bet it's an affair. He even brought his mistress to the hospital. How shameless, both of them." "Exactly. Poor Dr. Sanders; she put family first all these years, gave up so many overseas opportunities and promotions, and for what? This?" James clenched his fists. The idea that Wendy had orchestrated this scene just to oust Jenna and him made his blood boil. She really had the gall to spread such lies in the hospital just to get rid of Jenna. Inside the hospital room, the officers looked around before pausing at the empty trash bin. "Was the bag replaced?" Wendy shook her head, looking drained as she looked at Ethan. "I'm not sure." "Alright." The officer snapped a few photos. "We've got the general idea. The hospital will need to assist our investigation moving forward." She nodded faintly. After she escorted them out, she turned and saw James standing at the door in his hospital gown. The mere sight of him now made her feel sick, so she shut the door in his face. James didn't go in. He merely looked through the glass at Wendy by the sickbed before silently returning to his own room. With Ethan in this state, Wendy had no mind for work and took the morning off to stay and care for him. Before long, the door was violently flung open. Wendy was glancing at the thermometer, and before she could turn around, a force yanked her into the wall, sending her sprawling to the floor. "How could you be so vicious! You failed as a mother, nearly killed Ethan, and now you're dragging your own sister into this with the police?" Mary stood above her, pointing and yelling furiously. Wendy pushed herself up, casting a cold glance at her parents. "Don't make a scene. Ethan is still recovering." "Now you care about Ethan? How did I end up with such a heartless daughter?" Mary's shrill voice gave Wendy a headache. Frowning, she pulled out her phone to call security, but Chris slapped it away. He fumed, "What, you want to call the cops on your own parents, too? You ungrateful wretch. No wonder your own son doesn't like you!" Wendy's chest tightened at that. Coldness surged through her. Before she could respond, James entered and stepped between her and her parents. "James, you're just in time!" Mary immediately switched tones, her voice suddenly filled with grief. "I hate to trouble you since you're still sick, but Jenna's been taken by the police! We don't know what else we can do…" With reddened eyes and a look of sorrow and desperation, she made it hard not to feel for her. James turned and glanced at the silent Wendy. "This situation's serious. It depends on how the hospital wants to handle it." Chris turned to Wendy, too. "You're Jenna's sister. Are you really going to let her go to jail?" "I'll say this one last time: Ethan hasn't recovered. Stop causing a scene," Wendy said through clenched teeth, pointing at the door. "Get out. If anything else happens to my son, none of you will walk away from this unscathed." "You've lost your mind!" Chris and Mary roared. "You jinx! If only we hadn't kept you when I was pregnant… Having just Jenna would've made our lives so much better!" James restrained the two as they lunged again, then turned to Wendy and said coldly, "You're Ethan's mother. Your word carries weight with the hospital and the police. Ethan relies on Jenna. This whole thing could traumatize him." In other words, he wanted Wendy to lie for Jenna, for Ethan's sake. She glanced up at the three of them, each wearing different expressions. She let out an angry, almost mocking laugh. They kept saying it was for Ethan. Yet here they were, yelling and fighting in front of the sick little boy. None of them truly cared about Ethan. The only person on these dishonest people's minds was Jenna. "What are you laughing at?" James snapped in displeasure.