CHAPTER 174: CHAPTER 174: PERSUASIVENESS

Jean Ellison returned to the country with Jesse.

Diana Sawyer also came back with them.

He had already rented a high-end apartment for Jean Ellison.

The apartment was fully furnished, and stocked with all necessary living supplies.

The fridge was filled with fresh food, and cleaning staff came regularly as scheduled.

After setting down her luggage, Jean Ellison said to Diana Sawyer, "I need to go to the hospital to see my mom."

Diana Sawyer nodded, "Okay, go ahead. I’m flying back to the United States early tomorrow, so today I can help watch Jesse."

Jesse heard their conversation, ran over and hugged Jean Ellison’s leg, looking up.

"Mom, I want to play in the park downstairs. I saw there’s a slide."

Jean Ellison patted her head and said to Diana Sawyer, "It’s no trouble at all, Mr. Sawyer; the park downstairs is within the community and should be safe."

Diana Sawyer took Jesse’s hand, "Let’s go, Dad will take you to play on the slide."

Jean Ellison left the apartment alone, heading to the hospital.

Diana Sawyer took Jesse to the community park downstairs.

The park was small but had new facilities, with brightly colored slides, swings, and a sandbox.

Jesse excitedly ran towards the slides, and Diana Sawyer followed closely, keeping a constant watch on her.

At this moment, a man and woman walked in at the park entrance.

Lydia Warner and Samual Pryce had just finished work outside, and were preparing to return to the law office, coincidentally passing by this park.

Lydia Warner unintentionally glanced into the park and her eyes paused.

She tugged at Samual Pryce’s sleeve, "Hey, look at that little girl. Isn’t she the one Lawyer Holden knows, named Jesse?"

Samual Pryce followed her line of sight and also recognized Jesse, who was climbing the slide.

"That’s her; Justin Holden seems to really like this little girl."

To be precise, Justin Holden likes the little girl’s mom; just that it’s only Samual Pryce who knows about this at the law office, Lydia Warner is unaware of the situation between Justin Holden and Jean Ellison and thinks of them as having a normal client relationship.

"But who’s the man next to her?"

Lydia Warner frowned, closely examining Diana Sawyer who was standing beside the slide watching Jesse.

A gentle, refined-looking man, dressed in a casual suit, but unknown.

"Never seen him." Samual Pryce spoke the truth.

A thought suddenly crossed Lydia Warner’s mind.

"Could he be a human trafficker?"

Her voice was tinged with tension.

Samual Pryce was more cautious, "Don’t jump to conclusions, maybe he’s some relative."

"Doesn’t seem like it." Lydia Warner shook her head, "Look, there’s no bond between him and the child, just standing there. No, I need to ask Lawyer Holden."

She said, immediately taking out her phone to call Justin Holden.

The call was answered quickly.

"Lawyer Holden," Lydia Warner spoke rapidly, "I’m with Samual Pryce at the park beside Bloomfield Community, and we’ve spotted Jesse, Miss Ellison’s daughter."

On the other end, Justin Holden’s voice instantly became serious, "Is she alone?"

"No, there’s a man with her, about thirty years old, wearing glasses, and a gray suit. We’ve never seen him."

Lydia Warner said while keeping her eyes on Diana Sawyer.

"Lawyer Holden, should we call the police? I suspect something’s off with that man."

Justin Holden paused for a second, then said, "First, take a photo and send it to me. Don’t act rashly."

"Okay."

Lydia Warner hung up, immediately snapped some photos of Diana Sawyer and Jesse from her phone, and quickly sent them to Justin Holden.

In the park, Diana Sawyer seemed to sense someone watching him and glanced towards Lydia Warner’s direction.

Lydia Warner and Samual Pryce immediately pretended to be looking at their phones.

Justin Holden quickly called back.

"Lawyer Holden, do you recognize him?" Lydia Warner asked eagerly.

Justin Holden’s voice came through the receiver, emotionless.

"Yes, he’s Jesse’s dad, Diana Sawyer."

"What?"

Lydia Warner nearly shouted, quickly lowering her voice.

"He’s Jesse’s dad? How is that possible? Lawyer Holden, are you sure you’re not mistaken? The man doesn’t look anything like Jesse."

She couldn’t help but glance again at Diana Sawyer and Jesse, finding them increasingly mismatched.

"Saying he’s Jesse’s dad, it’s more convincing to say you’re Jesse’s dad."

On the other end, Justin Holden frowned.

Lydia Warner’s unwitting comment lingered in Justin Holden’s thoughts.

Diana Sawyer and Jesse truly didn’t resemble each other.

He’d vaguely felt this before, but hadn’t delved into it.

"Stay there." Justin Holden’s voice was calm, "Send me the location, I’m coming over."

"Okay, Lawyer Holden."

Lydia Warner hung up, immediately sent the park’s location over.

She exchanged a glance with Samual Pryce, and the two decided to sit on a nearby bench, pretending to rest but actually continuing to observe.

About fifteen minutes later, Justin Holden’s car stopped by the roadside near the park.

He got out and walked quickly towards the park.

Jesse was sliding down the slide and immediately spotted Justin Holden as she looked up.

Her small face instantly broke into a bright smile and she quickly climbed down the slide, hurriedly running with small steps towards Justin Holden.

"Uncle Holden!"

She dashed over, hugging Justin Holden’s leg, looking up with bright eyes.

Justin Holden bent down and lifted her up, his tone softened.

"Jesse, when did you come back? Where’s your mom?"

"Came back in the morning. Mom went to the hospital to visit Grandma."

Jesse nodded vigorously, her little hands hugging his neck, showing closeness.

She pointed to Diana Sawyer standing beside the slide.

"Dad brought me to play," then she said to Justin Holden, "but I just wanted Uncle Holden to play with me."

Justin Holden held Jesse, his gaze shifted to Diana Sawyer who was walking over.

He knew Jesse referred to Grandma Susan Kingston; Jean Ellison was evidently at the hospital.

Bringing Jesse back must mean Susan Kingston’s condition worsened again.

"Lawyer Holden."

Diana Sawyer approached and nodded at Justin Holden, as a greeting.

His expression showed some surprise but remained composed.

Jesse wriggled a bit in Justin Holden’s arms, looking at him, speaking in a childish voice, "Uncle Holden, can you play with me? I want to play on the seesaw."

She pointed to the seesaw not far away.

Before Justin Holden could speak, Diana Sawyer’s phone rang.

He took out his phone and glanced at it; it was a call from the United States, showing a work number.

He furrowed his brows, gave Justin Holden an apologetic look, then answered the call.

"Hello, this is Diana Sawyer."

Diana Sawyer spoke in English with the person on the other end of the phone.

He listened for a moment, his expression becoming somewhat serious.

"That document is in my laptop."

"I’m out right now..."

"Okay, I understand, I’ll handle it immediately and send it to you in ten minutes."

He hung up the phone and looked at Jesse, his tone apologetic: "Jesse, Dad has an urgent document to handle; the computer is at home, so we need to go home first."

When Jesse heard they were going home, she immediately pouted and hugged Justin Holden’s neck tightly.

"No, I don’t want to go home, I still want to play."

She looked at Justin Holden with eyes full of anticipation.

"Uncle Holden, will you play with me for a while? Daddy is going to work."

Diana Sawyer felt a bit conflicted.

The work was indeed urgent and needed to be handled immediately.

But he wasn’t comfortable leaving Jesse alone with Justin Holden, even though Justin Holden was Jesse’s biological father.

Justin Holden looked at the little girl acting coyly in his arms, then glanced at Diana Sawyer, who was clearly troubled, and spoke: "If you trust me, I can stay here and play with Jesse for a while; you can come back to get her after you finish your work."

Jesse immediately cheered, "Yay, Uncle Holden is the best."

Diana Sawyer hesitated for a moment.

He looked at his daughter, who was clinging tightly to Justin Holden, and thought about the document that required an immediate response.

Justin Holden was quite renowned domestically as a well-known lawyer; his status was reliable, and he likely wouldn’t openly take the child away.

"Then I’ll trouble Lawyer Holden."

Diana Sawyer finally nodded, his tone polite.

"I’ll finish quickly and come down; Jesse, you have to listen to Uncle Holden, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy, hurry up," Jesse waved her little hand.

Diana Sawyer said "Thanks again" to Justin Holden and turned around, quickly walking toward the apartment building.

Justin Holden carried Jesse and walked toward the colorful seesaw.

Lydia Warner and Samual Pryce watched the scene from a distance, their faces full of surprise and confusion.

"What’s going on?" Lydia Warner whispered to Samual Pryce, "Jesse’s dad left her with Lawyer Holden; are they that familiar with each other?"

Samual Pryce shook his head, "I can’t figure it out, but Lawyer Holden seems to really like the child."

Justin Holden placed Jesse on one end of the seesaw, sitting on the other end himself.

He gently applied force, lifting Jesse up, and she let out a gleeful giggle.

"Uncle Holden, a little higher," Jesse called out excitedly.

Justin Holden controlled the force, letting the seesaw gently rise and fall.

He watched Jesse’s happy face but couldn’t help having Lydia Warner’s words echoing in his mind.

"It’d be more convincing to say Lawyer Holden is Jesse’s dad."

He discreetly observed Jesse’s features. A child’s looks usually integrate characteristics from both parents.

Jesse’s eyes were large, her eyelashes were long, her nose was small and nicely shaped...

These seemed to have shadows that could be traced to Jean Ellison’s face.

But Diana Sawyer...

Justin Holden’s gaze deepened a bit.

This was merely a groundless speculation.

He reminded himself not to make hasty judgments just because of a lack of resemblance.

"Uncle Holden, it’s your turn to go down."

Jesse’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Justin Holden gathered his thoughts, cooperating to lower his end.

Jesse ascended again, laughing happily, her laughter ringing like silver bells throughout the park.

He played on the seesaw for a while longer, then took her to swing on the swing, carefully pushing her from behind.

About twenty minutes later, Diana Sawyer emerged quickly from the apartment building.

The expression on his face was somewhat relaxed, appearing to have completed his work.

"Jesse." He approached, "Daddy is finished."

Jesse was sitting on the swing, having a great time being pushed by Justin Holden; seeing Diana Sawyer, although a bit reluctant, she obediently said, "Oh, okay then."

Justin Holden steadied the swing and got Jesse off.

As soon as Jesse’s feet touched the ground, she ran to Diana Sawyer’s side, grabbing his hand.

"Daddy, will we come and play again tomorrow?"

Diana Sawyer patted her head, "Tomorrow, Daddy has to fly back to the United States; Mommy will play with you."

Jesse called "ah," feeling a bit disappointed but didn’t say anything further.

Diana Sawyer looked at Justin Holden, expressing gratitude once more.

"Lawyer Holden, thank you and for taking care of my daughter."

"You’re welcome." Justin Holden replied calmly.

Diana Sawyer took Jesse’s hand, "Say goodbye to Uncle Holden."

"Goodbye, Uncle Holden!" Jesse waved sweetly.

"Goodbye." Justin Holden stood in place, watching Diana Sawyer holding Jesse’s hand as the father and daughter walked toward the apartment building entrance.

Until their figures disappeared into the building, Justin Holden finally averted his eyes.

He turned and walked toward where his car was parked.

Lydia Warner and Samual Pryce noticed and quickly got up to follow him.

"Lawyer Holden!" Lydia Warner caught up with him, couldn’t resist asking, "Is that Mr. Sawyer really Jesse’s dad? It feels so strange."

Justin Holden didn’t answer her question, just opened the car door, and said in a deep voice, "Back to the law firm."

Lydia Warner and Samual Pryce exchanged a look, not daring to ask further, and quickly got into the car.

Judging from Diana Sawyer’s implication, he would be flying back to the United States early tomorrow morning, leaving his wife and daughter alone in the country; he seemed to not be doing his job as a husband well.

"Samual."

"I need a paternity test report for Diana Sawyer and Jesse."

Samual Pryce felt troubled, "To do a test requires..."

Before he finished speaking, Justin Holden handed him a strand of hair and a cigarette butt.

"When did you get these?"

Samual Pryce stared at him in disbelief, not having noticed him doing this.

"Just now."

Justin Holden drove while staying focused on the road ahead, his expression stern.

"You should become a cop instead of a lawyer."

Samual Pryce accepted the items from his hand and put them into a small bag.