Lawford Should Return Home and Live with Him 19: Chapter 19: His Mrs.
Lawford Should Return Home and Live with Him ‘But still, even after a year and a half in prison, a once-resplendent top lawyer like Ruby Grant couldn’t have ended up looking like this, could she?’
A look of disgust crept into Yana Grant’s eyes.
She scanned Ruby Grant from head to toe and instinctively took a few steps back, creating distance between them.
‘Looks like I was mistaken.
She’s just some destitute woman who happens to have a similar figure to Ruby Grant.’
“Fine, you can go.”
Yana Grant waved a hand dismissively, her gesture dripping with condescension.
She paid no mind to the fact that she was the one blocking the other person’s way.
Ruby Grant hung her head and gritted her teeth, hunching over even more as she all but fled in panic.
Yana Grant lifted her chin, shot a contemptuous glance at the slender, retreating figure, then folded her arms and walked away.
‘Just standing next to someone like that makes the air stink of poverty.’
She pinched her nose and waved her hand dramatically in the air, dispersing the non-existent “stench of poverty.”
Instead of taking a cab as Miles Spade had told her to, Yana Grant called a subordinate from the law firm The Lawford Group had established for her to come give her a ride.
While Ruby Grant waited outside for a car, Yana Grant strode directly to a private vehicle that had been waiting for some time.
With her stunning figure and an understated yet luxurious velvet minidress, Yana Grant looked every bit the rich, beautiful socialite as she walked.
Even though she was trying to be discreet, countless eyes still followed her every move.
No longer daring to stand out in the open, Ruby Grant hid behind a large flowering tree near the hospital entrance, taking in the full display of Yana Grant’s luxurious lifestyle.
Her hands clenched into fists, a burning hatred rising in her eyes.
‘Climbing to the top on my back…
it must feel amazing, doesn’t it?’
“Da-da-da…”
A faint stirring came from her arms.
Ruby Grant lowered her gaze.
Ceci was looking up at her, blinking her big, bright eyes, her small mouth open in a sweet smile.
Ceci had recently started learning to talk, and her random babbling sounded surprisingly like she was calling for her daddy.
‘Hearing this, Ruby Grant felt a mix of emotions.
She didn’t know if this was just a natural stage of a baby’s language development or if Ms.
Pound was right—that every child needs a father.’
Looking at her daughter’s adorable little face, Ruby Grant’s heart softened.
She lowered her head, pressing her forehead against Ceci’s smooth one and nuzzling her gently.
A bitter ache pierced her heart.
Perhaps sensing her mother’s change in mood, Ceci affectionately grabbed a lock of Ruby Grant’s loose hair, her dark, grape-like eyes full of curiosity.
The weather was fickle; the once-clear sky had suddenly darkened.
‘This is bad,’ Ruby Grant thought.
‘It’s going to rain.’
Just then, the car Ruby Grant had called arrived.
Mother and daughter immediately got in and headed for the staff dormitory.
By the time she returned to her dorm room, a heavy rain was already falling outside.
Back in the room, just as she finished changing Ceci out of her outerwear, her phone rang.
Ruby Grant stared at the unfamiliar number on the screen, feeling an inexplicable urge not to answer.
She hesitated, wanting to hang up, but found herself walking to the window and answering as if compelled by some unseen force.
“Hello, am I speaking with Cecilia Grant’s guardian?”
The greeting at the start was exceptionally formal.
Ruby Grant was momentarily confused, but her guard went up instantly.
“Who is this?”
“There’s no need to be nervous.”
On the other end of the line, Ben Linden scratched his head.
The woman’s voice was muffled by the roar of the rain, but he thought he detected a strange hint of familiarity.
“My name is Ben Linden.
I’m the personal assistant to President Lawford, the primary investor in Lawford Private Hospital.
We found your contact information in the hospital’s registration system.”
As Ben Linden stated his identity, Ruby Grant’s heart nearly stopped.
In that instant, she felt a pang of regret for answering the phone.
“What is it you want?”
She deliberately lowered her voice, which sounded unusually deep and muffled when mixed with the sound of the rain.
That faint sense of familiarity faded.
The phone was on speaker.
Ben Linden glanced at Caleb Lawford.
Seeing no reaction, he continued, “We are extremely sorry about what happened yesterday.
We wanted to call and inquire about your child’s condition.”
Ruby Grant finally understood the purpose of the call, and she found it utterly ironic.
“Just fine!
If I hadn’t wasted my time at your hospital, my daughter’s treatment wouldn’t have been delayed in the first place!”
Ruby Grant didn’t know what came over her, but she lashed out at Ben Linden with a stress-fueled mix of sarcasm and condemnation.
Ben Linden was left speechless.
‘This woman…
She’s really something else.’
‘Ever since he became the president’s assistant, everyone beneath him had been unfailingly respectful.
Even his superiors treated him with courtesy, knowing he was the president’s right-hand man.’
‘This was the first time in ages that someone had dared to chew him out, especially after he’d stated his identity.’
‘But then again, it really was their fault.’
“I’m truly sorry for the trouble this caused your child.
We’re willing to offer you appropriate compensation.”
“We don’t need it!”
Ruby Grant cut him off coldly.
Ben Linden choked.
He heard Ruby Grant’s voice ring out again, “Just tell President Lawford to stop using his power to bully people.
The lives of ordinary people are still lives!”
Her words were so sharp they made Ben Linden break out in a cold sweat.
He instinctively snuck a glance at Caleb Lawford’s face.
Surprisingly, he didn’t look angry.
Instead, his expression was dazed and wistful.
‘That voice…’
Caleb Lawford couldn’t help but think of a video clip he had stumbled upon before.
The case had shaken all of Kincaid, and the clip showed Ruby Grant as the defense attorney, arguing passionately and logically.
That was a Ruby Grant he had never expected to see—as coolly elegant and unyielding as a mountaintop pine, upright and incisive.
A single slam of her hand on the table was enough to make the opposing lawyer break out in a cold sweat.
Now, the woman’s sardonic warning over the phone merged with the voice of the Ruby Grant from the video.
It was so familiar that it caused a flicker in Caleb Lawford’s usually placid emotions.
His pupils constricted as he stared intently at the phone in Ben Linden’s hand.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”
The woman’s voice became steady, blending with the intensifying roar of the rain.
The sense of familiarity was washed away slightly, and Caleb Lawford snapped back to his senses.
Only then did he realize what he had been speculating.
‘I must be going crazy.’
‘The woman on the other end of the line has a child; she’s a mother.’
‘And I’m connecting her to Ruby Grant, who just got out of prison.’
Caleb Lawford rubbed the bridge of his nose, his head throbbing.
‘Since she doesn’t want compensation, since she’s so ungrateful, it’s not like I’m some Bodhisattva who has to force it on her.’
He waved a hand, signaling for Ben Linden to hang up.
But before Ben could offer any closing pleasantries, a sharp BEEP sounded—she had already ended the call.
The corner of Ben Linden’s mouth twitched.
Caleb Lawford’s jaw tensed, a flicker of irritation crossing his face.
Ruby Grant’s disappearance had inevitably affected him, and he didn’t want to waste any more mental energy on it.
‘Since she is my Mrs.
Lawford, she should come home and resume her life with me.’
Caleb Lawford tapped his fingers on the desk and issued an ultimatum.
“Tonight.
I want to see her at Mount Sinclair Villa.”
Ben Linden froze for a second before quickly realizing that “her” meant Mrs.
Lawford.
A troubled expression crossed his face.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to come clean.
“President Lawford, I’ve already sent people to South Sinclair Garden.
The manager there said that because Mrs.
Lawford’s bank accounts were frozen, she couldn’t live in the house and was kicked out a while ago.”
The implication was clear: he had no idea where Ruby Grant was.
Ben Linden stole a glance at Caleb Lawford’s impassive face and cautiously lowered his head.
‘Mrs.
Lawford was so delicate she couldn’t lift a finger.
She’d been pampered as a wealthy heiress for years.
Even after grad school, when she became a chief attorney, she never had to get her hands dirty.
Now, penniless and homeless…
he couldn’t imagine how she was surviving.’
‘Even he had to admit that President Lawford was being too cruel, too heartless at times.’
‘But President Lawford was his boss.’
“President Lawford, we’ve discovered that a new bank card has been issued in Mrs.
Lawford’s name, and it has been receiving continuous, small deposits.”
Ben Linden chose his moment to speak, seeing a flicker of movement on Caleb Lawford’s icy face.
He boldly continued, “Mrs.
Lawford has no family or relatives in Kincaid, and it’s unlikely she has any close friends.
We don’t know how she’s getting by, but…
if this bank card were also frozen, I imagine that with nowhere left to turn, she would have to come back on her own…”
His voice trailed off toward the end, his guilt palpable.
“Do it.”
Caleb Lawford narrowed his eyes, accepting the suggestion without hesitation.
“Yes, sir.”
Ben Linden exited swiftly, closing the door behind him.
Caleb Lawford’s gaze returned to the stack of documents on his desk, but he had no mind to read them.
He set down his pen.
A blot of ink spread across the white paper, just like the chaos in his mind.
A tightness constricted Caleb Lawford’s chest.
He rose and walked slowly to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Looking down from his high vantage point, he saw the endless streams of traffic.
The people and cars swarmed below like ants.
‘Ruby Grant…
among all those people down there, which one is you?’