Trapped with a Lawyer
Chapter 71 She’s Lost It

Gazing at her sleeping son, Ella fell into a daze, holding her cheeks in her hands.

Why had Jerry been crying? Dldn't he like Emma? No, it couldn't be that. He hadn't cried when Emma held him at the old house the last time.

Suddenly, the door of the baby's room was opened from outside. Surprised, Ella stared at the man in the doorway.

She glanced at her cell phone. It was just about 12 o'clock. 'Had he returned home for lunch?'

"Samuel..." She stood up and began to walk towards him. After entering the room with a few heavy steps, Samuel walked directly to his son's crib.

Ignoring Ella, he pulled the child's clothing down to have a look at him.

From the front, baby Jerry seemed fine. However, as Samuel turned him over and pulled down his freshly-changed diaper, he was shocked to replace a large bruise on his son.

By the look of it, Catherine seemed to be telling the truth. As expected, Emma had told the truth.

Ella noticing the bruise for the first time, finally understood why the child had been crying so insistently. 'Emma had pinched my son! How heartless! How could she dare hurt a child.' thought Ella.

"I'm going to pinch your whole body!" Gnashing her teeth in anger, Ella went to her son and moved to pick him up.

"Liar!" Samuel's single utterance caused Ella shudder and stop.

With a bad feeling in her stomach, Ella felt her skin crawling as she saw at the icy-coldness in Samuel's eyes. "Samuel, what are you talking about?" She seemed to have heard Samuel calling her a liar.

Seeing honest confusion on her face, Samuel almost believed her again.

"Ella, where did this bruise come from?" The question was rhetoric. Samuel just wanted to hear her explain herself.

Seeing his expression, Ella was becoming worried. Emma and her sister must have been spreading lies behind her back.

"Samuel, I did not hurt Jerry! It must have been Emma! Jerry wasn't crying when she first came over, but a little while later, I couldn't get him to stop."

"Enough.." Having been betrayed by her before, Samuel no longer had any faith in Ella.

Listening to her hurried explanation, Samuel felt only that she was making an excuse.

At that moment, Ella felt her heart drop. Then she frowned. "If you were never going to believe me, why did you even ask?" She was shocked that Samuel had believed the sisters. Samuel picked up the sleeping child and walked towards the bedroom door.

"Samuel, what are you doing?" Anxiously, Ella stood in front of Samuel. 'Where is he trying to take the boy?'

Samuel looked at her coldly. "This is child abuse! If you don't want me to press charges, then get out of the way now!" Child abuse not being his legal forte, Samuel was uncertain of the exact process for determining abuse, though he knew he could at least press charges for wounding with intent.

Child abuse? Ella stared at Samuel in disbelief. "Samuel, are you stupid? He's my son. How could I ever do something like that? You're crazy!"

Ella's rebuke made Samuel feel gloomy. "I know that the death of your mother and father was a terrible shock. I will ask my grandmother to look after Jerry for the short term. It would be better if you don't see him for now." With this, Samuel pushed Ella aside and walked out the door.

Ella felt frozen to the floor and watched silently as Samuel walked away. Was this somehow related to the divorce?

Regaining her composure, she quickly ran after him and caught up to him. "Samuel, you can't do this!" He is my son, and he needs me!"

"Ella, it's only for a few days. I will not keep him away forever. You just need time to deal with all this pain." Samuel looked away from her and kept moving.

Samuel seemed to be implying that Ella had lost her grip on reality following the death of her mother and father. Did he think she had abused her own son because of this?

Well the pain was real, that was true. Losing her mother and father had been a crushing blow to Ella. But she had pulled herself together! Those two damn sisters. In her moment of suffering, they had whispered gossip in his ears.

"If you take Jerry, I will get Emma in trouble!" After all, it was her fault that Samuel was trying to take Jerry away!

"Ella..." "You're hysterical!" Come with me to apologize to Catherine and Emma this afternoon. Samuel moved around her and went down the staircase.

Ella hurried behind him, but was careful in the staircase with Samuel and Jerry. Ella stopped Samuel for a third time after they arrived on the first floor.

"Samuel.. Samuel, please. I will apologize to Emma and Catherine, just let me have my son.. Please.." Ella's eyes were red and swollen. But she could tolerate this injustice, even it was only for her son. Samuel was disappointing her.

"I told you that after a few days, I will let you see Jerry again." Samuel gave Ella a final, solemn look, adjusted the sleeping child on his shoulder and left the villa alongside Joy.

The front door was closed and Ella could not help but burst into tears.

When Samuel returned from the old house, he found the home deserted. Where had he gone?

He tried her phone, but the call went immediately to answering machine. Samuel suddenly felt worried.

He began to worry that perhaps he had been too hard on her and that she might do something stupid again.

Samuel drove around looking for Ella, but as night began to fall, he still hadn't found any trace of her.

Pulling off to the side of the road, Samuel slowly smoked a cigarette. The smoke rose slowly, softly enveloping his outline against the setting sun.

Abruptly, Samuel's phone rang. He quickly put out his cigarette and picked up the phone. It was Anna.

"Hi."

"Mr. Shao..." Anna seemed to pause unnaturally long.

Samuel prodded her to speak. "Yes, please go ahead." Impatiently, Samuel ran his hands through his hair. Where on earth was Ella?

Anna cleared her throat before relaying the message she had just received. "Ella just went to a bar.. and.. Well, she fought Emma."

Samuel felt a sudden, sharp pain in his temples.

Samuel stood silently for a few moments before speaking. Just as Anna was beginning to wonder whether the call had disconnected, he spoke. "Which bar?" After punching the address into his GPS, Samuel drove his Porsche quickly down an empty road towards the Twilight Bar.

This woman.. She was always causing problems. How could she actually fight with someone else?

At the Twilight Bar.

The whole bar was smashed to pieces. Triumphant, Ella stood in the middle of the bar surrounded by a group of strangers. She stood looking down on another woman.

Emma was crouched on the ground. Her hair was a mess of tangles, and he clothes were ripped to shreds. Her silk stockings were torn and one of the heels was missing from her designer shoes. Ella pulled a stool in front of Emma and sat down. "Emma, apologize to me.. NOW!"☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐