At that moment, Patricia, and Haillie were sauntering in with shopping bags and chatting away.
âPatricia, that dress you helped me pick out is just gorgeous, I love it! Iâm gonna wear it to the birthday party tomorrow!
âYeah, I think itâs stunning too! Haillie, youâll surely amaze everyone when you strut in with that dress tomorrow!â
âWhoa!â The kid saw his mom coming back and couldnât contain his excitement, he bolted towards her like a cannonball, tripped, landed face first on the floor, and began bawling his eyes out Patricia nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight. She rushed over and picked him up off the floor, âWhat happened?â
The child clung to her neck, seeking solace in her arms, but kept crying âHoney, tell Mommy whatâs wrong. Are you feeling unwell?â
The one year-old didnât know how to express his feelings other than by crying Patricia got worried. She examined his body and rolled up his sleeves. She found his arm full of bruises, scary ones!
Patriciaâs heart ached so much that her eyes welled up immediately. âHow could this have happened?â
The child just cried as his tiny body trembled Haillie was shocked by the bruises too, and then she turned her accusing gaze to the only other person in the room âYou! Ellinor, you must have abused our child while we were gone!!
I didnât Ellinor was puzzled.
Haillie glared at her, âOh, you say you didnât and thatâs it? You were the only one with the child. If it wasnât you, who else could it be?â
Ellinor remained calm, âHaillie, accusations require proof Haillie sneered Proof? You cant prove that you werenât here, thatâs the best proof Patricia cradled her son as tears streamed down her face. She looked at Ellinor as her voice choked with sorrow and anger, âEllinor, 1 asked you to watch my child only for a while. How could you do this to a child? I trusted youâ¦â
Trust? Patricia said she trusted her? What a joke!
Ellinor instantly realized that this was a trap set by Patricia when she saw her hypocritical performance Who would have thought Patricia could be so ruthless and take advantage of her own son?!
Just then, Balfour came back from his work, walking in on his sister and nephew crying. He frowned.
âWhat happened?â
Patricia flung herself into her brotherâs arms and continued crying inconsolably.
Balfour was puzzled Patri, whatâs going on?ââ
Haillie marched forward angrily. âBalfour, good youâre here! Ellinor has been mistreating the child while Patricia and I were out! Look at all the bruises she left on him, heâs been crying from the pain! Itâs heartbreaking!â
With that, Haillie lifted the childâs shirt for him to see Balfourâs brows furrowed even more when he saw the patchy marks on the childâs body. His gentle eyes turned cold as he glared at Ellinor, âMs. Mendoza, have you lost all your humanity? How can you be so cruel to a child?â