The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Julia tugged on Gary's sleeve and asked, "What should we do?"

"What if this information is fake?" Gary responded.

Gary felt his heart sink as he thought of what he had done to Jessica and Casper. But he reassured himself—Ruby would never have the nerve to pull such a scheme.

Gary continued, "Let's try to meet Ruby and get some hair samples of her baby for a DNA test."

Feeling the weight in her chest, Julia murmured, "That's our only choice, I guess."

Julia called Ruby, forcing a smile to sound normal. Julia asked, "Hey Ruby, where are you? I miss Lucas..."

Ruby cheerfully replied, "We're not too far from where you are. Should we visit?"

"Sure!"

After hanging up, Julia put her phone aside and turned to Gary. She asked, "If Lucas is not related to us, what should we do?"

Gary said icily, "Pay them back for their lies, of course! If she dared to trick me, she should bear the consequences as well!"

Ruby came from an average family, but that also meant Gary could easily attack them. Julia understood that, too, but she was more concerned about something else.

"How do we get Jessica's forgiveness?"

"It's simple. Jessica loves money, doesn't she? All we have to do is announce that we didn't actually go bankrupt, and then we can make it up to Jessica by giving her some money. Even when we used to bully her, she never gave up on Casper. That shows how much she loves him," Gary said.

Gary still believed that everything was under his control, but Julia thought otherwise.

"But she's been divorced from Casper for years. She even brought Cody into her marriage with another man," she noted.

Gary calmly replied, "It doesn't matter if she doesn't want to come back to us. We can always file a lawsuit for Cody's custody. Even if she makes a lot of money, how much can that be? If we can prove to the judges that we are wealthier and that we can provide a better environment for the kid..."

Gary broke into an arrogant smile and continued, "Who do you think will win Cody's custody?"noveldrama

But Julia still hung her head low. She said, "I investigated her current husband. His background is similar to ours, and he's rich, too."

Gary stiffened up at that.

Julia continued, "Also, Jessica's making a lot of money on her own."

Upon hearing that, Gary took a deep breath and said, "We've not met

Jessica yet, so there are many ex

uncertainties. Let's not overthink; when we're more certain, we can plan our next steps after that."

Julia had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Julia opened the door to find Ruby and her son, Lucas.

Ruby said in a bubbly tone, "Hurry, say hi to Grandpa and Grandma!"

Lucas said shyly, "Good afternoon, Grandpa and Grandma."

Julia had doted on Lucas for years as if he were her biological grandson. As she gazed at him, she felt an unexplainable discomfort inside, but she didn't let her feelings show.

"Lucas, come let me look at you," Julia said.

In response, Lucas jumped into Julia's embrace. She brought Lucas to Gary, who willingly played with the young boy as well. Seeing how well the two elderly were treating Lucas, Ruby let her guard down and played games on her phone by herself.

Julia glanced at Ruby before saying, "Lucas, shall we play hide-and-seek?"

"Okay!"

Lucas, still a young child, was excited to have somebody to play with. He hurriedly jumped off the seat and shouted, "Hurry, Grandpa! Grandma!"

They started the game with Julia as the seeker. She turned to face the door.