CHAPTER 147: CHAPTER 147: NO CHANCE OF TURNING BACK

Sean’s nose turned sour, and he choked out a response.

Only a heavy nasal sound was left.

Every time he saw Florence, his heart ached.

It was so painful he couldn’t breathe.

Such a good Florence, how could Stella be so heartless to kidnap her.

There were still red marks on Florence’s arm, left from the day Stella’s parents took her away.

The doctor said it was nothing serious, just that Florence’s body was weak, and her blood clotting ability was much worse than that of an average child, so the marks on her body faded slowly.

Sean looked on, feeling a painful heartache.

He felt he owed it to Florence.

He vigorously rubbed the tears off his face.

The dust and bloodstains, the tears and pain, all mixed together as he rubbed.

For a long time, he didn’t let go of his hands.

After a moment, his shoulders trembled, and he cried terribly.

"Poppy is my only sister..."

"And Florence, if Stella wanted the money, why couldn’t she come to me?"

Sean couldn’t understand.

Was money really that important?

Important enough to make someone abandon morals and lose their conscience.

He had given Stella quite a bit of money, buying her designer bags whenever she wanted.

But Stella was still like a gluttonous creature that couldn’t be fed enough.

Knowing full well that Poppy was his only sister, and Florence was his only niece.

Sean had no daughters, in his eyes, Florence was no different from a daughter.

Florence squeezed Sean’s hand hard and, standing on tiptoes, wiped the tears from his face.

"Don’t cry, Uncle, you don’t look good when you cry."

"Hmm, Uncle won’t cry anymore."

After a moment, Sean let go of his hands, his eyes red, giving Florence a smile more strained than a sob.

Truth suggested that he go see a doctor about his injuries, but Sean refused.

He got up and left, his steps still somewhat unsteady.

Truth watched, her heart heavy.

After all, he was a child she had watched grow up.

In the early years, after Truth married Connor, they hadn’t had children.

At that time, there was only Sean in the Lynch Family.

Truth and Connor had practically raised him together.

Back then, Eugene wasn’t so profit-driven.

Whoever finished work early would pick Sean up after school until Poppy was born, and although the old lady had her grievances, she genuinely fell in love with her granddaughter after taking care of Poppy for a while.

Truth had even seen the old lady with a stern face, reprimanding Sean.

"Your sister is younger than you and a girl, you are the brother, a boy, you are naturally meant to take care of your sister."

From a young age, Sean remembered those words and lived by them.

These past years, no matter what Eugene and his wife did, Sean had always taken good care of Poppy.

Seeing him so lost and dejected, like his spirit had been completely drained, Truth couldn’t sit still.

She got up and said to Poppy.

"I’m going to check on your brother, I don’t want him collapsing, if everything’s fine, I’ll see him off, I won’t be at ease until he’s home safe."

Poppy nodded, whispered, "Go on."

The room fell silent.

Florence tugged at Poppy’s finger.

"Mom, let’s go see Uncle Hawthorne."

Poppy hugged Florence, pressed her cheek against Florence’s, and whispered, "It’s Daddy, he’s your daddy, not an uncle."

Even though Florence was only a little over two years old.

She understood that a dad was different from an uncle.

Their faces pressed together, without needing to make a sound, Florence knew what Poppy was saying.

She imitated Poppy’s action, whispering, "Then what should we do, Mom? How about we test Uncle Hawthorne? If he gets a perfect score on the dad test, he can be my daddy!"

Poppy didn’t know where this child got so many whimsical ideas.

Pretending to be troubled, she said, "But Mom didn’t pass the mom test either?"

"It’s different."

Florence shook her head, saying no several times.

She raised her short little fingers, waving them a bit.

"When I was in Mommy’s tummy, it was Mommy who passed the test."

The kindergarten teacher had told them that bringing them into this world was very hard for mothers.

When in her mother’s womb, her mother had already earned her perfect score.

Poppy embraced Florence.

Feeling a comforting warmth in her heart.

As they headed to Declan’s room, they found Jackie and Hugo already sitting there.

Declan’s wounds were all on his back, with one penetrating wound, requiring a period of rest.

Florence rushed over, "Grandma Big Bear, Grandpa Hawthorne!"

The elderly couple’s faces lit up with smiles like they had just tasted something sweet.

Hugo’s stern face broke into a smile when he saw Florence.

It would be better if she left out the "Hawthorne" when calling him Grandpa.

When would his granddaughter just call him Grandpa directly?

Every time he looked at Florence, Hugo wanted to kick Declan.

Such an adorable child, and he could hold back from bringing her home!

But seeing his son looking so frail now, Hugo felt a pang of heartache too.

Declan had been watching Poppy since she entered.

He could immediately tell that Poppy was in a low mood, with reddened eyes.

He called out, "Poppy."

Poppy looked up and gently shook her head at Declan, silently saying, "I’m fine."

Florence sat on Jackie’s lap, although the old lady was in a wheelchair, it didn’t stop her from holding her granddaughter.

Listening, she acted as Poppy’s translator.

"My uncle just came, Mommy and Uncle both cried, Grandma went to see Uncle off."

The person who found it hardest to accept all this was probably Sean.

Jackie’s eyes held a flicker of something.

"Poppy, Aunty wants to ask you a few questions, you just need to nod or shake your head, no need to speak."

Poppy nodded.

"You and your brother, are you close?"

Poppy nodded, then pointed to Florence, mimed a short, chubby child.

Meaning that Poppy and Sean were as close as Florence and Iris, siblings who grew up together.

Jackie asked again, "Does your brother seem unaware of these things?"

Poppy nodded.

"What if your uncle and aunt are sentenced according to the law?"

In the kidnapping of Florence and Anya, the people involved were not only Stella and her parents.

Eugene and his wife were also behind the plot.

Without their assistance, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Stella to succeed.

Jackie resented these people deeply!

Poppy paused for a moment, then nodded and shook her head.

Florence didn’t understand.

She looked up at Declan.

"Uncle Hawthorne, do you know what Mommy means?"

Declan chuckled softly.

"Your mom means that if it’s just jail, it’s too easy on them. She won’t accept such a verdict."

Poppy nodded.

She gave Declan a thumbs-up gesture.

Declan’s guess was spot-on.

Previously in the hospital, Declan had witnessed Eugene publicly insulting Poppy and Florence.

He knew she couldn’t possibly forgive easily.

Jackie felt relieved.

She worried that if Poppy had any emotional ties with Eugene and his wife, the case would be hard to handle.

But fortunately, Poppy wasn’t unreasonable.

Jackie had no idea that Poppy held another case in her hands, intending to sue Eugene.

She wanted to leave Eugene without a shred of turning back.