Chapter 732 A Mother’s Provocation
Sending a mother her son’s corpse was not an exchange. It was a provocation.
Wyatt said, “Margaret must never know that Paul is already dead.”
Out of fear of public backlash, Paul’s death had not yet been announced, and now it was even more crucial to keep it hidden.
In Margaret’s eyes, Paul was still under Wyatt’s control. That was why she had taken Yunice hostage—she wanted to trade Yunice for her son’s life.
Her terms were clear: Wyatt was to transfer enough money for Paul to live lavishly for the rest of his life, and then send him to a safe place.
Only once Paul had escaped would Margaret release Yunice.
Wyatt clenched the crumpled piece of paper in his fist, his face grim as he said coldly, “She stabbed Yunice just to show me that she really would kill.”
The room fell silent.
After a moment, Freya hesitated. “What if we use Paul’s old trick—find someone who looks like him, have that person pose as Paul, and meet Margaret’s demands?”
“No.” Laurie cut her off. “You don’t have children, so you don’t understand a mother’s attention to detail. Margaret knows Paul’s little habits better than any of us. Even if we find someone who looks like him, she’d recognize the difference in the smallest of details. We won’t fool her.”
Again, silence.
Gill stumbled forward, his head wrapped in heavy bandages, and added with difficulty, “But doesn’t that mean if Paul doesn’t show up, Madam Margaret won’t harm my lady?”
“In theory, yes,” Victor replied, “but you’ve pointed out a harsher truth. Paul’s absence might stop Margaret from killing Yunice outright, but it doesn’t mean she won’t hurt her to put pressure on us.”
The room fell silent once more.
Tears streamed down Gill’s face. “It’s all my fault… If it weren’t for me, my lady wouldn’t be in this mess. Why did I drive that car? Why did I have to call her on the phone…”
Freya said, “Margaret was after Yunice. If she hadn’t gotten her this time, she’d still find another chance later. When someone is determined to harm you, how can you stop it? The real problem is, none of us expected Margaret to suddenly reappear.”
Ever since marrying into the Powell family, Margaret had never been loved by Jackson or Jensen. After Paul was born, she remained marginalized. Jensen fooled around outside, and Margaret turned a blind eye. He strung her along for years, until she finally managed to divorce him not long ago.
Her bond with Paul was lukewarm at best—perhaps she was even closer to Yunice than to her own son.
After the divorce, Margaret moved abroad and left Gill to take care of her house. From then on, there was no news from her.
She had no ties to the Powell family and only a distant connection to Paul.
So neither Yunice nor Wyatt had considered the possibility that Margaret would strike back.
Yunice thought Margaret would understand her, but she had overlooked the power of a mother’s love and blood ties.
When Yunice woke, she found herself in a dimly lit room.
Her head throbbed as she tried to sit up, only to realize that her arms and legs were bound tight with restraints. She was fixed to the bed and could not move.
At the sound of a belt buckle shifting, the door opened, and Margaret walked in.
Yunice hesitated, then called out, “Margaret…”
Margaret set down what she was carrying and said, “No one is coming to rescue you. There’s nothing here but a TV, no electronic signals at all. And I’ve stocked up a month’s worth of food. For this entire month, you’ll stay in this room with me. You’re not going anywhere. We’ll wait together until Paul is safe.”
Yunice tried reasoning with her. “Haven’t you always said you were disappointed in the Powell family and in Paul? Didn’t you say you wanted nothing to do with the Powells, that you no longer acknowledged Paul as your son? Didn’t you say he got close with Linda, that men are all the same, calling her ‘Mom’ as soon as she fed him…?”
Margaret sat down. “Yes. The Powells never accepted me, and Paul, afraid of being dragged down by me, turned to Linda because she was more favored. That family lived in harmony, while I was treated like I wasn’t even there.”
Her voice softened. “But my only demand now is that he live. Yunice, you and Wyatt don’t know what it’s like yet. You’ve never cradled a tiny child in your arms, watching him grow from fifty centimeters, just a few pounds, into a tall man towering at six feet. That kind of memory lingers in a mother’s heart… I despise the man Paul has become, but as a mother, I can’t help remembering when he clung to my legs, saying I was the most beautiful woman in the world, saying he loved me most… Back then, when his father hit me, he would stand in front of me and say he didn’t want to be a Powell anymore…”
Margaret’s lips curved faintly as she fell into silence.