Chapter 335
Camilla hadn’t expected it. The second she mentioned custody, Lean’s whole face changed. He just stared at her, eyes uneasy, and stayed silent.
She pressed on, her voice steady. “The fact that I found you here means it’s easy enough for me to dig up everything. So there’s no need to keep covering for Barnard. I already know your father’s treatment was paid for by The Carter Group. That’s been hanging over your head for years, hasn’t it? Don’t you want to finally get out from under it p>
Lean’s confidence wavered. He looked away, clearly crumbling.
Camilla didn’t rush him. She waited, letting the silence stretch between them. “You’ve worked for Barnard, so you must know something about how things were between him and me. I’ve met your parents. They’re good people, honest people. You really think they’d want their son involved in something like this? Lean, forget everything else for a second. Have you actually been okay living abroad all this time? Ask yourself that, really p>
Lean’s expression darkened. The tension in his posture made him look even older.
He finally said, “Can you promise my parents will be safe p>
Camilla nodded. “I can. If you want, you all can move back. You don’t have to keep hiding like this p>
She remembered how Lean’s parents had looked when she talked to them before, uncomfortable and lost in a foreign place. Her words seemed to reach him right where he was most vulnerable.
A long moment passed before Lean finally gave in. He took the chair opposite her, shoulders slumped. “Five or six years back, Barnard came to me. He gave me a hotel key and told me to go to a room p>
He glanced up at Camilla and hesitated, then changed direction, voice low. “At that time, my dad needed surgery, and I couldn’t pay for it. I set my morals aside and agreed. But once I got to the door, I just… couldn’t go in. I felt terrible. I left. But running away only made things worse, so I decided to go back and talk to Barnard, clear things up. The moment I got back to the hotel, I ran into him. By then, someone else was already in the room. Barnard thought it was me. He handed me some money and told me to get out of the country as soon as possible. I’m sorry, ma’am. I was desperate for money. I wasn’t thinking. So I left p>
He swallowed, guilt weighing him down. “I’ve regretted it every day. I wanted to set things right, but I always worried Barnard would hurt my parents if I did. So I stayed away, just scraping by overseas. My parents are getting old. They don’t have much time left. To be honest, I figured that if Barnard stayed out of my life, I’d wait until my parents were gone and then come back to clear up everything myself.
“I’m sorry. I know what you’ve gone through all these years, and I know it’s mostly my fault, for being so selfish. I’ve told you everything. If you can’t forgive me, go ahead and call the police. Just, please… my parents had nothing to do with it. All I ask is that you leave them out p>
Mid-sentence, he stood and dropped to his knees in front of Camilla, his plea more heartfelt than ever.
She just sat there, stunned, everything whirling inside her.
She’d thought she had the whole story now.
She’d assumed Lean was Jasper’s biological father. She never expected the truth would be so twisted.
Barnard had pulled all the strings, that much was clear. But in the end, not even he knew who Jasper’s real father was.
Camilla didn’t say a word. Lean’s voice grew raw and despondent. “I realize what I did was basically fraud. If you want to press charges, I won’t fight it. Just don’t tell my parents. To them, I’ll always be their pride. I don’t want to destroy that p>
She looked down at Lean’s wrist, where a small mole stood out against his skin. She forced herself to breathe. When she finally spoke, her voice shook. “What about this mole p>
“Five years ago, Barnard found me,” Lean admitted. “He gave me a picture of a baby and told me to get a fake mole in this exact spot p>
Camilla felt a bitter laugh build inside her. She’d guessed as much, but hearing it was something else.
Barnard really had thought of everything just to keep her in his grip.
Even after being so sure that Jasper was Lean’s child, he’d made Lean get a matching mole—only for her, like some kind of proof, perfectly staged.
Now that he’d started, Lean didn’t hold back. “Barnard only reached out to me that once. But he arranged my last job, and he planted his own people in the company. I wasn’t allowed to quit. He kept tabs on every move I made. For years, I worried about what he’d have me do next, but nothing came up, not until recently when he suddenly contacted me again p>
Camilla’s voice was quiet. “So why did he bring you back this time? What did he want p>
“He just told me to keep playing along, to own up to what happened before, and to threaten you into remarrying him. I really couldn’t go through with it, not again. I refused from the start. He never shared the full plan with me,” Lean finished, his words trailing into silence.