Every Breath You Take

Soon, Noah told Quarmy that Monica went abroad to visit Coco. He said that Coco had a high fever after being thrown into the stinking ditch in the hospital. Later, he was diagnosed to have leukemia. Quarmy was stunned. That lovely child was found to have leukemia? How could God be so cruel?

"Miss Mo sent him to a foreign country for treatment. He is now waiting for a suitable bone marrow."

Since her child was sick, why didn't she stay abroad to take care of him? What the hell was she thinking? After throwing her sick child to Leon, she went back to the Jane family and got back together with Roland. What on earth did she want? Didn't she know that Coco needed the mother's care most when he was sick?

Was it because she was short of money? He thought of what she said in the Jane family before. "I haven't been able to afford it in years." He was more certain of his conjecture.

Noah looked at Quarmy's gloomy face and sighed. "Mr. Huo, in fact, you shouldn't have treated Miss Mo that way. Last time, there was a reason she came to Madam last time. Madam once ordered someone to take her son away in the mall and threatened her to leave you. Someone sent her a note that day, so..."

Quarmy knew that, so he didn't blame her for fighting with Jenny or even beating her up.

"You shouldn't have engaged to Miss Jane so early!" Noah knew that Quarmy still loved Monica.

Quarmy didn't say anything. He got engaged with Madrigal not because Monica had a quarrel with Jenny, but because she said that she would never want him again. Monica disliked him, and Madrigal could no longer have children. He felt that Madrigal was pitiful. Since he couldn't get his beloved woman, he'd better compensate Madrigal.

Quarmy's eyes darkened. "Have you found out the identity of the person who threw Coco into the stinking ditch?"

"No. The monitoring of the hospital is not clear, and the man was wearing a hat and a mask. I can't see his face at all." Noah replied.

This was a premeditated act! Except for his mother who didn't want to see Monica, who else would do that?

"It's definitely not Madam's order. I checked all the calling records of Madam and what she had done during that period of time. I think she is innocent."

He believed that Jenny didn't do it. Although she was unreasonable and snobbish, she would not do such a vicious thing.

That was to say, someone deliberately did it and framed his mother. It must be an insider. At present, there were only a few people in Jiang City who knew Monica's relationship with him. Quarmy's eyes darkened.

He thought of Madrigal and Yale first, and then of Mandy. At that time, Monica had broken up with Roland, so Mandy wouldn't target her anymore. It was more likely that Madrigal and Yale did it. He controlled his emotions and said, "Go and find out what Madrigal and Yale were doing at that time."

Noah agreed and left.

After knowing that Coco had leukemia, Quarmy couldn't calm down all day. Coco's lovely face kept appearing before his eyes, and his heart seemed to be pressed with a heavy stone, which made him feel uncomfortable.

He remembered that Monica called him late at night a few days ago. She said that if he didn't get engaged to Madrigal, she would consider getting back together with him.

He answered her ruthlessly. After he refused her, she called him several times. He suspected that she had other intentions, so he refused to answer the phone and turned his phone off in the end. He always thought that she called him because she wanted revenge on Madrigal. Now he realized that he might have made a wrong judgment. It was exactly when she took her child abroad for treatment. That was to say, when she was almost helpless, she called him for help.

Quarmy's heart was burning with regret. If Monica told him the truth that night and she was really desperate to ask him for help, then how sad she would be after hearing his answer?

When Quarmy returned home, Jenny was playing cards with several ladies. Seeing him, Jenny stopped the game and went upstairs to greet him with concern. "Quarmy, why are you back so early?" Quarmy looked at Jenny angrily. "Mom, I want to ask you one thing. Did you threw Monica's son into the stinking ditch?"

"No!" Jenny denied.

"Really?" Quarmy was very agitated. Although he did not believe that his mother would do such a crazy thing, he was still worried.

If Noah's investigation was wrong and it was really done by his mother, Monica would definitely not forgive him for the rest of her life.

"I really didn't do this. I don't hate Monica. I threatened her just because I didn't want to see you have anything to do with her. Besides, I used to be a single mom and I know how important Coco is to her. How would I do such a crazy thing?"

Jenny's words made Quarmy let out a sigh of relief.

"Quarmy, why do you look so pale? What happened?" Jenny asked tentatively.

"Nothing. I just feel that the child is pitiful. He has lost his father's love at such a young age..." Quarmy stood up and swore, "I must find out who did such a conscienceless thing!"

Lassie came over with a cup of tea, and her face suddenly changed after hearing that.

The phone rang as soon as Yale got home. She picked it up and heard Lassie's nervous voice. "Madam, bad news. Mr. Huo is investigating the child being thrown into the stinking ditch." "What?" Yale was stunned. "Just now, he came back to ask Madam Huo if she did it. After she denied it, he said that he would investigate it. I'm a bit frightened. What if he finds out the truth?" "Don't worry, he won't." Yale comforted her. She did it flawlessly so Quarmy wouldn't never know the truth.

But Lassie was still worried. It was her son who did it. If Quarmy knew it, her son would go down. Yale also knew her worries. "Don't worry. My plan is flawless. Take it easy."

Hanging up the phone, Yale frowned. Why did Quarmy suddenly want to look into it when it had been so long? Fortunately, she was careful and did not ask a stranger to do it. Instead, she asked Lassie's son to do it. Lassie's son was Zoe's driver. Quarmy would never think of investigating Zoe's subordinates.

After the treatment, Coco was obviously much better than before. When Monica arrived, Leon was accompanying Coco to take a walk in the garden. When they saw Monica, they were very surprised. Coco threw himself into Monica's arms. "Mom, I'm very brave. I didn't cry even when I got the shot."

Monica held Coco in her arms and kissed him. "My poor son!"

Looking at her thin face, Leon knew that she must be under a lot of pressure during this period of time. "Monica, you don't have to worry too much. The doctor said that Coco's condition was not very bad. We have time."

"How can I not worry?" Monica picked up Coco and went back. As the saying goes, mother and son are united. Coco was her son who had to endure the torment of the illness at such a young age. How could she not worry? If possible, she hoped that the person who was tortured by the illness was herself.

The arrival of Monica made Coco very happy. The room was full of laughter. Despite her fatigue, Monica accompanied her son to play with building blocks. Leon also joined them. The three of them sat on the carpet and had a good time. Then, Leon's phone rang and he picked it up. It was from Mandy. "Leon, Grandma asked you to go home for dinner tonight."

"I don't have time tonight." Leon answered while stretching out his hand to place the blocks.

Mandy turned on her phone for hands-free. Old Mrs. Gu heard that and gestured for Mandy to continue persuading Leon. Then, they heard a childish voice. "Uncle Gu, this is for you."

Coco picked up a piece of block and handed it to Leon. Then, he pointed to the building blocks placed by Monica. "Mom, this is wrong. It should be here."

"You're so smart!" Monica praised him.

Hearing Monica's voice, Old Mrs. Gu's face suddenly darkened. Mandy was also unhappy. "Leon, you haven't come back for a few days. Grandma misses you very much. She specially asked the chef to prepare your favorite food..."

"I know. I will visit her tomorrow." Leon answered and hung up the phone.

"Grandma, this Monica is too hateful!" Mandy hated Monica. "She used her son to pester Leon, but she hooked up with Roland. It's said that she also had an affair with her ex-husband. What on earth does she want to do?"

Old Mrs. Gu was very annoyed. The matter between Monica and Leon had always been a knot in her heart. At that time, she looked down upon Monica and opposed her dating with Leon. However, she did not expect that Monica was Zoe's daughter. If Monica had told her the truth, she would not have stopped her from being with Leon.

However, Monica would rather break up with Leon than tell them her identity. It was obvious that she didn't love Leon at all. However, Leon loved her so much that he had been single for her. "Grandma, Monica is a jinx. With her around, Leon won't be in the mood to start a new relationship. You should ask Monica to leave Leon forever."

Mandy's words made sense. Since Monica didn't love Leon, she should stay away from him. Their frequent meeting would only give him hope. Old Mrs. Gu sighed slightly. "Let me think about it!" Roland did not believe that Monica would be the daughter of the woman his father loved. Not long after Monica left the hospital, he took off the needle on his arm and left the hospital to look for Jim. Seeing Roland, Jim was very surprised. Roland said with a cold face, "Get in the car. I want to ask you something."

Jim got into the car. Roland asked him directly, "Is the woman you like called Hannah?"

"Who told you that?" Jim asked.

"Just tell me whether it's Hannah Mo or not." Roland was fierce. After being silent for a while, Jim nodded.

"Bastard! You are a bastard!" Roland shouted at Jim. "You are a coward man. Since you love Hannah, why did you marry my mom? Why did you cheat on my mom with Eva? Don't you think you are dirty?" Jim kept silent. Seeing that, Roland became angrier. He yelled at him, "Why did you marry Grade while you didn't love her? Why did you give birth to me? How can I have a father like you? Why don't you go to hell?"

"Roland, I'm sorry!" Looking at his furious son who was out of control, Jim felt guilty and apologized.

"What's the point of apologizing? Can it make up for my mother's 20 years of loneliness? Can it make up for all the years of fatherly love I've lost?" Roland growled, "Jim, why don't you have respect for the living when all you have is guilt over the dead? Do you know what Grade has been through these years? She used to be a rich young lady, but now, she's a Buddhist because of you! Bastard, is what you want?"

"At least she's still alive!" Jim said with a sad smile.

"What did you say? How can you be so coldblooded? What did Gracie do to make you so heartless?" Roland did not expect Jim to say such words. He grabbed Jim's collar and said, "Jim, you are the root of the pain of my mother and I. Why don't I end our pain today? Let's go to hell together!"

"Roland! You're crazy!" A painful look flashed across Jim's face. "How much do you know about the past? Let me tell you, Grade asked for it herself!"

"You!" Roland raised his fist to Jim but Jim was not afraid at all. "Roland, who told you that Hannah stole your fatherly love? Who told you that Gracie was wronged? Let me tell you, the real truth is not like this! If it weren't for Gracie plotting against me, I wouldn't have broken up with Hannah. Hannah wouldn't have married another man and died at such a young age!"

Jim pushed Roland's hand away. "I don't like Gracie just like you don't like Mandy. I've never wanted to marry her. At that time, I told her very clearly that I wouldn't marry her because I loved Hannah. But what did she do to me? On the surface, she promised not to pester me, but she plotted against me and let Hannah see me sleeping with her. Therefore, Hannah broke up with me. Your mother has never been innocent! I became like this because of her! Do you understand?"

"Nonsense!" Roland did not believe that his gentle mother would do that.

"You can go and ask Gracie yourself. After that night, she got pregnant and forced me to marry her. I was in great pain after losing Hannah, so I compromised." Jim smiled bitterly. "If it weren't for what she did to Hannah, we would have lived a peaceful life. Do you know how Hannah died? She died in a car accident because your mother asked her out! The driver escaped. Is the car accident really a coincidence? Gracie became a Buddhist because she wanted to repent!"

"No, you're lying!"

"It's all true. I never thought about being with her. I've given her countless chances to divorce over the years, but she refused to divorce! Let me tell you, the only people I'm sorry for in my life are Hannah and you. That's all!" Jim said firmly.

Roland sat in the car in a daze. If what Jim said was true, and the car accident was not a coincidence, then his hatred for Hannah would be a joke. It was his mother who killed Hannah and made Monica lose her maternal love at such a young age. He was the one who should feel guilty, not Monica.

In his memory, his mother was gentle and kind, which was totally different from the insidious and vicious woman Jim mentioned. On the contrary, Jim's coldness and heartlessness had rooted in his heart. Jim must be lying. Roland wanted to ask his mother in person.

He insisted on going home in spite of his weak health. Beck immediately booked two flights and accompanied Roland home.

After more than ten hours, Roland and Beck appeared in the Wang family. Roland didn't go to see his grandpa and went directly to Gracie's place.

Gracie was sitting in the yard reading Buddhist scriptures in plain clothes. When she heard the noise, she looked up and was shocked. "Why are you back?"

Roland walked to her side and stood still. He had many questions, but when he really saw Gracie, he didn't know how to ask her.

If everything was made up by Jim, was it appropriate for him to question his mother like this?

Gracie's servant immediately brought a stool for Roland and poured tea for him. Grade put down the Buddhist scriptures in her hand and asked, "Why are you so pale? Are you sick?"

"No, I had a diarrhea before." Roland answered.

"If you're not feeling well, you should go to the hospital. Be nice to yourself." Gracie looked at her son with distress and ordered the servant, "Make some carrot juice for Young Master."

The servant nodded and left. Gracie softly asked Roland about the condition of the company and Roland gave her a general answer. The servant brought Roland some carrot juice and said, "Madam, Miss Mandy comes to see you again. Do you want to meet her or not?"

Gracie glanced at her son and saw that he frowned, so she answered, "Tell her that I'm busy today."

The servant nodded and left again. Mandy was standing at the door. The servant came out and shook her head at her. "Madam is not available now. You'd better come another day." Mandy came here because she heard that Roland had come back. She didn't really want to see Gracie. Though Gracie refused to see her, she wasn't angry. She turned and left. Roland drank up the carrot juice and handed the cup to the servant. Gracie asked, "Mandy is gone?"

"Yes."

"She often comes to visit me. It's kind of moving." Gracie praised Mandy. Seeing that her son did not answer, she took the initiative to mention the matter between him and Mandy. "Mandy grew up with you. She is gentle, kind and beautiful. I like her very much. Can you listen to me and marry Mandy?"

"Mom, I don't like Mandy. Didn't I make it clear last time?" Roland was impatient.

"We know Mandy well. At least she's better than other women."

"That's not necessarily true. Do you really know her?" Roland sneered. He knew very well Mandy's personality. When he thought of his mother's praise of Mandy, his heart sank. Wasn't his mother also such a gentle and kind person?

"Roland, Mandy is not a bad person." Gracie did not know what Roland was thinking, and she was still trying to defend Mandy.

Roland frowned and interrupted her. "Mom, I met Jim before I came back."

"Is he... is he all right?" Gracie's eyes lit up.

"He's fine." After a moment's hesitation, Roland asked, "Mom, do you know Hannah Mo?"

Gracie's face suddenly changed. After a while, she said, "Yes!"

"How did she die?"

"What did Jim say to you?" Gracie asked.

"He said something about what happened between you two. He said... Hannah was killed by you!"

"Did he really say that?" Gracie's face suddenly turned pale, and she was trembling.

"Mom, is that true?" Roland asked persistently.

"If he said so, then it's true!" Gracie's face was pale, and her heart was bitter to the extreme. Roland did not expect that Grade would admit it. He was disappointed. He really hoped her to deny it, but she didn't His mother, who had always been kind and gentle, was actually a murderer. It made him feel so bad that he could not accept it at all. "So what Jim said is true? You set him up to marry you? Mom, why did you do this?"

Grade's face became paler, and she felt extremely humiliated. She was also a victim. In the past, she had sex with Jim without knowing it, but no one sympathized with her. Jim insisted that it was her scheme that made him break up with Hannah. No matter how she explained, he did not believe her.

Jim was forced to marry her, so he'd been very indifferent to her. In fact, everyone in the Wang family looked down on her and thought she was a scheming woman. But she was really innocent. Later, after Hannah had a car accident, everyone thought that she was vicious and sinister. Only God knew that it was just an accident. She never thought about hurting Hannah.

Over the years, she had suffered a lot. For her son, she didn't kill herself. But what on earth was Jim going to do? Why did he tell Roland these things? The most important thing was that she was actually innocent. The only thing she did wrong was to marry Jim. She had lost everything for this decision. Why did she have to bear such humiliation?

Her son was questioning her with cold eyes. Gracie smiled sadly. "Why? That woman took my husband and my son's fatherly love. She made me live a lonely life at such a young age... Do you still want to ask why?" "You killed her! Mom, how could you be so vicious and cruel?"

"Vicious? How dare you say that?" Gracie looked at Roland with tears rolling down her face. "Everyone except you can call me vicious and cruel! You're my son. I worked so hard to raise you. You can't judge

me!"

"Am I supposed to blindly defend you because you're my mother?" Roland growled in a low voice. "If you raised me for that, I would rather you didn't raise me! What's more, you should know why you gave birth to me, shouldn't you?"

"You... damn... get out of here!" Gracie pointed at Roland, her fingers trembling. Roland glanced at her and then turned around to leave without saying a word. Seeing that, she sat down dejectedly. The servant stepped forward and asked, "Madam, are you all right?"

Gracie didn't speak, but let out a long sigh. She was really a loser! Her husband didn't love her, and now even her son started to hate her. She was really upset. What was the point of living?

Roland went back to his room angrily and pushed away from the housekeeper who came to greet him. He entered his room with a cold face and locked the door. He lay exhausted on the bed with indescribable disappointment and sadness.

After a long time, he heard footsteps. Someone knocked on the door. "Young master, it's time for dinner!"

Roland ignored him and continued to lie motionless. The servant left after getting no reply. After a while, Old Mr. Wang's soft voice sounded. "Roland! Open up. Grandpa wants to talk to you!"

Roland grabbed the quilt and covered his head, isolating all the sound outside. Silence and darkness surrounded him. After an unknown period of time, he fell asleep, but he still had consciousness. He felt a headache and unspeakable sadness. He could feel the pain in his heart. It was so painful that he wanted to die. It would be great if he could die like this!

As soon as this idea came into his mind, he suddenly heard a piercing scream in the mansion. "Help! Madam... Madam committed suicide!"

Roland instantly sat up. It was not a dream. There was a flurry of footsteps outside, accompanied by the panic and trembling voice of a servant. "Send Madam to the hospital now!"

Someone knocked on the door. "Young Master! Come out! Madam committed suicide!"

Gracie was in the operating room. Roland leaned against the cold wall and crouched down on the ground. He held his head without saying a word and his body was slightly trembling. Old Mr. Wang bent down and patted him gently. "She'll be fine. Don't worry!"

How could he not worry? The person lying on the operating table was his mom. He was disappointed and resentful because he loved her. He couldn't accept that his mom was a vicious woman.

But he never hoped that something bad would happen to her. No matter what, he was her son and she raised him up with painstaking efforts. They were always related by blood.

The operating room's light went out, and the door was opened. Roland suddenly stood up. A nurse came out first. "Her vital signs are stable. Don't worry."

Roland was relieved and pushed Grade into the ward with others. Grade was still in a coma. Looking at her pale face, Roland's heart ached.

Monica had been away from Jiang City for three days. During these three days, Quarmy had called her countless times with different numbers, but she didn't answer the phone.

Monica left, and so did Roland. Although they were not on the same flight, Quarmy did not believe that they would not contact each other. If possible, he really wanted to go abroad and take this heartless woman back.

However, with the help of Roland and Leon, he really had no way to deal with Monica abroad.

At this moment, Noah reported to him his investigation. Madrigal had no friends except for Nee. As for Yale, she had nothing unusual except for hanging out with some ladies.

This result surprised Quarmy very much. In the past few days, he had been thinking that Madrigal and her mother were the only ones who didn't want Monica to appear in Jiang City except his mother. But the three people were all innocent. Who on earth was targeting Monica? Was it really Mandy?

Quarmy didn't know that Yale didn't do it by herself. She left it to Lassie's son, the driver of the Jane family. In addition, he didn't know that Lassie, who had been a servant in his house for more than ten years, would associate with Yale.

Quarmy was deep in thought. Noah stood quietly aside and waited for his order. After a long time, Quarmy said, "I need you to find some famous infertility specialists at home and abroad!"

Noah was stunned. Quarmy had never asked him to do it even when Monica was unable to get pregnant. Why did he suddenly say that?

Roland was smoking at the end of the corridor. The cigarette tip shone on his gloomy face. He heard footsteps behind him and felt a hand on his shoulder. "Roland, I want to talk to you." Roland nodded and went to the study with Old Mr. Wang. "I already know what happened yesterday. In fact, if you want to know what happened before, you can ask me."

Roland didn't say anything, he just quietly looked at Old Mr. Wang.

"The relationship between your parents and Hannah was actually a tragedy caused by the marriage between the wealthy and powerful families. Your two grandmothers were good friends and they wanted to be in-laws. They thought your mom was kind and virtuous, so they decided to let her marry your father. However, they didn't expect that your father was in love in Hannah. All the things happened at that time were hard to be explained. Everyone had different opinions. For us, your mother is a kind woman. She is filial and gentle. No one dislikes her except her husband." Roland couldn't help sneering. "She knew that Jim didn't love her. Why did she marry him?"

"It's hard to know what's right or wrong in a relationship. Look at the elders around you and your friends. How many couples are soul mates?"

Roland became silent. Old Mr. Wang continued, "Your father had been depressed since he married your mom, but you mom had always been taking care of him without regrets. For me, it is really a blessing to have such a daughter-in-law. In fact, Hannah is not innocent. After she married someone else, she wrote to your father and asked him to meet her. Your father didn't forget her so he went to see her. I don't know what she said to your father, but he abandoned you after that."

"At that time, you were still very young. Your mother didn't want you to lose your father's love at such a young age, so she endured the humiliation and went to find your father in person. But he refused to come back. Your mother could only turn to Hannah. She asked Hannah out and then Hannah died in a car accident."

"Is it really an accident?" Roland asked. "Grandpa, are you sure?"

"I'm sure that your mother has nothing to do with the car accident. To tell you the truth, I never think that your mother is wrong. She is your father's wife and she has the right to defend her marriage. You can only blame her for being unlucky. It's an accident that Hannah died on the way to meet her, but your father blamed it on her. Your mother has been regretting it. If she didn't ask Hannah out, Hannah would not

have died. That's why she became a Buddhist."

"If she didn't feel guilty, why did she become a Buddhist?"

"Roland, don't push her. Ask yourself, why are you so strict with your mother? Don't you do it for Monica? If Hannah is not her mother, will you still be so mean to your mother? How can you blame everything on your mother? Roland, don't you know what kind of person your mother is? Don't you know how miserable she is over the years?"

ii I ii

"You are already a mature man, you should have your own judgment and responsibility. I won't force you to live according to my idea, but I hope you can treat your mother well!" Roland went to the hospital alone and stood at the door of the ward. Through the glass, he saw his mother leaning against the bed and crying. Mandy sat at the bed and held her hand, talking to her. He had never seen his mother crying before. Even in the face of other's sarcasm and the rumors, she had always been strong.

His mother had always been kind. Her donations to charity over the years were numerous. As a rich lady, she even went to the nursing home as a volunteer. She hardly blamed the servants at home. How

would she kill a person?

Hannah's death should be an accident. He was so angry that he didn't notice it before!

Grandpa was right. If Hannah was not Monica's mother, would he blame his mother for this matter? He blamed his mother because he couldn't stay with the woman he loved. He was so frustrated that he vented his resentment on his mother.

However, his mother committed suicide because of his resentment. If the servants hadn't found it in time, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Old Mr. Wang's words echoed in his ears. "You are already a mature man, you should have your own judgment and responsibility. I won't force you to live according to my idea, but I hope you can treat your

mother well!"

Roland looked at his mother in the ward in a daze and asked himself over and over again, "Roland, what have you done for your mother?"

He couldn't think of anything. In his memory, he had done nothing for him mother while his mother had been taking care of him! He remembered her mother's pleading eyes that night. "Mandy is a good girl. I like her very much. I hope you to be with her!"

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Roland's mouth. At this moment, he finally understood his father's feelings. Because he couldn't be with someone he loved, it didn't matter to him who he was with.