Chapter 5 Chapter 5 He Just Wants Mom with Him

The moonlight was chilly, and even the breeze seemed to have paused.

Gabriel gradually let go of the hostility in his eyes. He bent down carefully to check Aiden's injuries-just some scrapes, nothing serious. Then his gaze shifted to Lilah.

He was quiet for a moment before he finally said in a low voice, "Sorry. I blamed you."

Wait, what? Gabriel... actually apologized?

Lilah froze for a beat.

She instantly tapped into her inner actress, blinking a few times, her long lashes fluttering.

"In your eyes, am I really that awful?" she asked, voice trembling slightly, her eyes glistening with tears as she looked straight into Gabe's.

"I know I messed up before, lost control sometimes. But I've never hurt Aiden."

Her words hit like a key turning in a lock, unlocking something in Gabriel's memory.

That delicate, tear-streaked face overlapped with the screaming mess he remembered. The soft stir of sympathy he'd just begun to feel was quickly drowned by a wave of doubt. Was she playing the same card again-just fishing for pity?

But something in her expression-real hurt, maybe-made him hesitate. A flicker of confusion flickered through him.

Truth be told, no matter how over-the-top Lilah had acted in the past, she'd never once laid a hand on Aiden. Her only target had always been Verity. If Gabriel thought carefully, none of Verity's stories could actually be proven.

It all came down to one question-who did he trust?

Catching that trace of hesitation in his eyes, Lilah sneered inwardly, but on the outside, she cried harder.

Gabriel frowned deeply, overwhelmed by a wave of restlessness and inner mess.

He got up, tone cold and clipped again. "To the doctor."

He reached out, trying to pull Aiden away from her arms, but Aiden only clung tighter to her, shrinking back slightly.

"Can Mom come too?" he murmured, eyes wide and pleading as he glanced up at Gabriel.

Lilah had just been thinking about how to sway Gabriel further.

Hearing that, she immediately lifted her tear-streaked face to meet his gaze.

Gabriel froze for a second, then gave a stiff nod. "Fine. Come."

Lilah hid the small victory glow in her eyes and stood up cautiously.

For the first time, the three of them walked side by side down the dim path.

But just as they reached the clinic, a silhouette darted toward them-Verity.

Clearly she'd heard something and rushed over. "Aiden, are you okay?"

The moment Verity saw Aiden holding Lilah's hand, her expression soured.

That brat! Already getting close to Lilah?

She'd told him a million times-Lilah's insane!

Does he have a memory of a goldfish?!

She reached for Aiden, trying to pull him away with a face full of fake worry. "Let me take care of him."

"Verity." Lilah shifted slightly, stepping between her and Aiden. "There's a doctor here. Or are you planning to moonlight as one now too?""Lilah, I was just worried..." Verity tried to keep calm, but her eyes were glistening with fake concern as she looked at Gabriel. "Besides, Aiden isn't nearly as timid when he's with me."

"If you care so much, Miss Nolan, how about getting him a glass of water? That's more in line with what your 'job' looks like," Lilah shot back with a smirk, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Verity was completely thrown off, her face flushing red then turning pale in seconds.

Gabriel's voice finally cut through the tension, cold and commanding. "That's enough. Let the doctor check him."

Like hitting a pause button, Verity froze. She clenched her jaw, clearly pissed, and stepped aside, though her eyes stayed locked on Lilah like venomous darts.

Since when did Lilah get so close to Gabriel?

Jealousy clawed at Verity's insides, and she bit her lip hard. No... this couldn't go on.

That lunatic has to be dealt with-fast.

...

The doctor finished examining Aiden and confirmed it was just a minor scrape. Disinfecting it would be enough.

Lilah and Gabriel both exhaled in relief.

The brief calm was interrupted as Mr. Reed showed up at the door.

"Sir, about the surveillance footage you asked for..." He hesitated, looking uneasy. "There was a malfunction during that time. That segment's missing."

No footage?

Lilah's heart sank.

Yeah... she'd expected this, but Verity really moved quick this time.

Before she could process it, a maid stepped out from behind Mr. Reed.

The maid kept her head down, nervously wringing her hands. "Sir, I saw it this afternoon."

"Madam suddenly lost it and pushed Miss Nolan over. She just tried to calm her down, but Madam even slapped her!"

Gabriel's expression went stone cold, the air around him growing sharp.

Clearly, his trust in Lilah wasn't solid yet...

Well, not surprising. Verity spent three years plotting this-she wasn't going down easy.

Lilah squinted slightly.

Sure enough, Verity was hitting back hard-and fast. She even had someone lined up to back her claim.

But Lilah wasn't someone you could frame this easily.

Such a sloppy setup-she'd tear it apart with her eyes closed.

She didn't scream or panic like the original Lilah would have. Her voice was calm, almost too composed. "Really? So you saw me push her and hit her?"

"Then tell me-where was I standing when I pushed her? Which hand did I use to slap her? Was she standing when I hit her, or already on the floor? And were you the only one who saw it? Because I remember other people being there too..."

Her rapid-fire questions were razor sharp, each one hammering home and making the maid shrink.

The girl clearly hadn't braced for this kind of confrontation-she panicked on the spot.

"I-I... I... uh..."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, watching the maid's evasive expression. His brows knitted tight, his whole posture stiff and tense.

Sensing his indecision, Lilah's eyes reddened. She looked straight at him, her gaze full of pain and disbelief.

"Gabriel, do you really believe her over me?"