The hidden billionaire heiress (Lyra Melvin)

Mavis was completely bewildered by this. Her son hadn't seen her in five years, and she was wearing a mask. How did he recognize her at first glance?

As she stood there stunned, Alistair clung to her and whined, "Mommy, are you here to take me to heaven?"

Mavis didn't know what to say.

It seemed that Alistair wasn't thinking clearly at the moment; it was just a coincidence or a guess.

She rubbed his soft little head and spoke softly, "Alistair, I'm a nurse from the hospital here to check your health. Can I finish the exam first?"

Alistair sniffled and pouted his lips as he shook his head. "You're not a nurse; you're my mother! You look exactly like my Mommy in the wedding photo with Daddy! I can never forget what you look like!"

Did Anthony show their son their marriage certificate? He must have seen Mavis's face more than once for their son to remember so well.

Was it guilt? They got married without even having a wedding or taking wedding photos. Anthony probably only had one photo of Mavis on their marriage certificate.

"Mommy, I miss you so much! Daddy misses you too! Every year on my birthday, Daddy takes me to the temple to kowtow before your picture and tells me how beautiful of a place you went but couldn't come back from yet because I'm not grown up enough yet... I really want to grow up quickly!"

As he spoke again with tears in his eyes as if he were dreaming out loud, Mavis stiffened all over because of what he said and couldn't snap out of it for quite some time.

Ring-

It was Lyra's message alerting her about time constraints so that Paloma or Rebecca wouldn't see them together.

She immediately snapped out of her complex thoughts and continued measuring Alistair's blood pressure while casually asking him about how Anthony treated him these past few years.

At the mention of Anthony, Alistair pouted even more, "Daddy... he doesn't love me anymore..."

Thinking about this made him sad again as he buried himself into Mavis' arms while crying softly.

This also made Mavis teary-eyed as she asked gently, "Why do you think that way? Does your father treat you badly usually?"

"He's super mean!"

Alistair let out a sob, as if he had found a shoulder to cry on. His voice was soft and whiny as he complained, "Daddy never picks me up from school. He promised to take me to the amusement park, but then he left me there and went back to work."

"He likes Spencer more than me. Every time he talks about him, it's all praise. He says I'm stupid and dumb, but Daddy never praises me..."

He sat up in anger and then leaned on Mavis' lap again. He grabbed her hand and placed it on his little butt while vividly describing the situation, "I get scolded all the time for not listening or behaving well, then Daddy... smack! Smack! Smacks me hard!"

"Waaahh... It hurts so much..."

He rested his head on Mavis' lap while crying uncontrollably. Tears kept streaming down his beautiful blue eyes as if trying to express all of his sorrows from these past few years. "I don't want Daddy anymore..."

Mavis listened to him cry with a broken heart.

If it weren't for this huge injustice that her son suffered through, how could he have been hurt like this? She should have known that Anthony didn't love her; how could she expect him to love their son? She felt an urge deep inside her heart - she wanted nothing more than to take her son away from Crana immediately.

But now was not the best time.

If he was taken away from the hospital right now, they would be monitored constantly by the Callahan family. They would be caught before even reaching the airport.

She couldn't make any rash decisions at this point; she held onto her son tightly instead - expressing five years worth of longing without saying a word.

"It's okay if he doesn't love you because there are many people who do love you in this world - your mother, great-grandmother... they all love you."

But... but what he really wanted was his daddy's love!

Alistair became increasingly helpless with each passing thought until finally letting out an anguished plea, "Mommy, can we go together into heaven? Maybe when we're there, I won't feel sad anymore..." Mavis' heart broke even further upon hearing those words just as Lyra called again,

[Anthony is at the hospital now; he has arrived at the parking lot already so please come out quickly.]

Mavis immediately became nervous once again; she had no choice but let go of Alistair who looked extremely wronged by everything that happened. "Mommy, you don't want me either?"

Her heart twisted painfully upon hearing those words yet still managed comfort him by rubbing his tear-stained face gently.

"I'll come back tomorrow. I'll tell you stories and play with you too! Will that make you happy?"

"You promise?"

"I promise - pinky swear! And remember only puppies lie!"

Alistair finally believed in what Mavis said after hearing about puppies lying, which made him release his grip on Mavis, allowing himself rest back onto bed once more.

She quickly organized the medical supplies and carried the tray out of the room. Just as she stepped out, she heard a ding from the elevator nearby.

Anthony's face was cold and he wore a well-tailored navy blue suit. He walked out of the elevator with casual steps. Five years had passed, but it seemed like nothing had changed for him except for his age increasing. His face was still extraordinarily handsome, making it hard to look away.

But Mavis didn't want to stare too long. She quickly lowered her head and walked in another direction away from Anthony. The distance between them was only ten meters, but it felt like they were separated by an ocean of unfamiliarity.

There weren't many people in the corridor, only three or four nurses and doctors passing by occasionally. Anthony noticed that one nurse came out of his son's room, thinking that something might be wrong with his son, so he looked up at her and said, "Miss, wait a minute."

The corridor wasn't crowded at all, but Mavis didn't stop walking as if she hadn't heard anything; instead she quickened her pace.

Anthony stared at her slender figure from behind and felt a sense of familiarity rising in his heart. Despite most of her blonde hair being covered by a nurse's cap, he felt uneasy about something not being right here.

He frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice, "Stop."

Mavis tightened her grip on the medical tray in hand; feeling nervousness creeping up into every cell of her body - how could things go wrong this fast?

Stopping now would mean exposing herself before Anthony; therefore she took a gamble on running away as fast as possible instead.

Anthony immediately chased after her down the hallway where they ran for about one minute without Mavis looking back once. Finally, she disappeared around another corner, leaving Anthony behind without any trace except for an empty hallway ahead.

The entire hallway was empty except for safety exits which could hide someone easily enough, so Anthony's expression became serious while pushing open one such door. Suddenly, Lyra elegantly emerged from inside surprising both parties equally upon seeing each other there unexpectedly.

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

They both asked almost simultaneously while looking surprised at each other's presence there together alone like this, which made Lyra smile first before explaining herself,

"I went upstairs to see Spencer. Since it's only one floor anyway, I thought taking stairs would be faster than waiting for an elevator... And what about you?"

Anthony relaxed his previously tense eyebrows slightly, while casually explaining himself too.

"I'm just like you. I hate waiting around so I decided to take safety exit upstairs to check on Spencer myself."

"Let's wait until later then," said Lyra closing safety door behind them both before continuing, "He just fell asleep again so if we wake him up now, he'll probably get cranky."

Anthony stared at her as she closed the door, his jawline stiffening and his expression becoming serious.

As the door was about to shut, he forcefully reached out and held it open. "I just saw a suspicious nurse come out of Alistair's room. I called out to her and she ran away nervously. I'm worried that she might be working with those kidnappers who are seeking revenge."

Lyra looked surprised. "What? These people are so brazen that they dare to come here despite the hospital's security measures? Did you catch her?"

"No," Anthony replied, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I suspect that she is hiding behind this safety corridor door right now. What do you think, Lyra?"