Chapter 4The Five-Year Ghost: My Husband Demands I Take the Fall Again

Carter's body stiffened for a fraction of a second.

But almost immediately, he let out a cynical laugh.

"So all the money I've been sending Sarah for the past five years... she used it all to bribe the police department?!"

"No wonder Leo hasn't grown an inch in five years. She's really pulled out all the stops, hasn't she?!"

Carter slammed his hand angrily on the interrogation desk.

Right at that moment, the hospital called again.

"Mr. Hayes, the child's condition is extremely critical. If you do not authorize payment immediately, I'm afraid he won't last another ten minutes!"

Carter gritted his teeth, his voice dripping with absolute impatience:

"Then let him die! When he's dead, don't bother calling me. Just send him straight to the crematorium from the hospital. Are we clear?!"

He violently ended the call.

Floating in the air, I wept tears of blood. I hated myself for not running as far away from Carter as possible all those years ago.

Because of my mistake, my precious Leo was about to be murdered by his own biological father.

Fuming with anger, his expensive leather shoes clicking sharply on the pavement, Carter marched directly to the nursing home where my mother used to stay.

Only to find that my mother's file had been purged years ago. She had also passed away five years prior.

"I heard the poor woman couldn't handle the shock of finding out her daughter had been murdered. She passed away that exact same night," the receptionist mentioned.

My heart constricted so tightly I couldn't breathe.

The brutal karma that Chloe should have suffered had entirely fallen upon me and my mother.

Facing setback after setback, Carter's brow furrowed tightly.

He finally began to suspect that what he had been told might actually be the truth.

He pulled out his phone and texted his executive assistant.

[Run a full background check on Sarah Evans and her mother.]

The very next second, Chloe called him.

"Carter, I don't know if I should tell you this, but I just saw Sarah at the airport. She was holding hands with a man, and they had Leo with them."

"At the end of the day, it was my fault for not being careful enough during that surgery. Just let Sarah go. I'll take the prison sentence."

As soon as she finished speaking, she sent him two blurry, grainy photos.

It showed the silhouettes of a woman and a child who looked like me and Leo. And standing next to "me" was a man, pulling me into a passionate kiss.

The muscles in Carter's forehead twitched violently with rage.

Sarah had played him for an absolute fool. He had actually almost believed she was dead!

The fury of being played, the humiliation of being betrayed—it completely shattered Carter's remaining sanity.

He violently smashed his phone onto the ground and sprinted toward the nearest family court division.

"I want to file for emergency full custody of my son! I'm taking him away from his mother!"

As long as he had custody of Leo, Sarah would never be able to run away!

Carter's eyes burned with a manic, obsessive frenzy.

Right at that moment, a hospital administrator suddenly appeared at the precinct doors.

He scrutinized Carter for a moment before suddenly speaking up:

"You're Mr. Carter Hayes, correct? Your son, Leo, stopped breathing half an hour ago. We were just about to file the paperwork to void his birth registry and issue a death certificate. Since you're here, you can handle it yourself."

The words hung in the air. Carter hadn't even processed them yet.

The police officer standing behind him added:

"Mr. Hayes, you cannot file for custody against Ms. Evans. Ms. Evans passed away five years ago. And your son was issued a death certificate exactly thirty minutes ago."