Chapter 10

Esther understood what Tinkerbell meant. She was trying to say that she was ill and did not want to become a burden. “Tinkerbell, you’re not a burden. You’re the best, best, best gift God has given me.”

With her big eyes, Tinkerbell looked like she did not understand what Esther said. It took her some time before she said, “But… I don’t want you to be my mommy!” Without giving Esther any chance to react, she ran away. Esther’s legs felt extremely weighed down as she was reluctant to take even one step.

Jasper approached her and advised, “Esther, the kids are going to bed. We should leave too.” “Jasper, can I take…” Jasper coughed and reminded her, “I understand what you feel, but it’s too reckless to assume Tinkerbell’s your daughter owing to a photo. Besides, they won’t let you take the child away just because you claim to be her mother as they have their rules and regulations. “If you want to take Tinkerbell home sooner, do two things now. One, go for the bone marrow transplant test. You have higher chances of matching if you’re Tinkerbell’s mother.” Jasper calmly analyzed the current situation with Esther. “Two, you need to write an application to explain yourself. The home will arrange for a third party to do a maternity test for you. Once the result confirms that you’re Tinkerbell’s mother, you can reasonably and legally take her back without the three months of probation.” Esther nodded seriously.

“Jasper, you’re right. Let’s go to the hospital for the test now.” “Sure.” Jasper took Esther to the hospital. “Esther, this is a public hospital. Their hematology department, especially, is famous nationwide. Go for the preliminary test now. The more detailed ones can only be done when the other departments are working tomorrow.” The public hospital was unlike private ones where one could do all the tests as long as they were able to pay. Jasper registered Esther for an emergency and explained the reason at the ward. The doctor there wrote her some referrals for the preliminary check-up. After the tests were done, Esther checked the time and realized that she had been away for nearly three hours. She wondered whether Felix had been caught. She did not want to anger Bradley at this point either because she needed to persuade him for a matching test if her bone marrow was not a match.

“Jasper, I’ll go back first.” Jasper sent her back to the hospital under the Warner Group personally and stopped her before she got out of the car. “Esther, hold on.” He got out and stood before the door on Esther’s side, going on one knee to take off the flats that did not fit her feet. He then put on the size 37 white lambskin shoes for her. “Esther, have a good rest. I’ll keep an eye on Tinkerbell’s situation,”

Jasper told her softly. “I’ll also do my best to find the couple who adopted Pixie. I believe you’ll reunite with them very soon.” Esther looked at the man gratefully. After what happened to her five years ago, the others avoided her like the plague, but Jasper treated her just the same. “Jasper, thank you.”

Jasper patted her hair and teased her. “Nonsense! Go in now. Don’t upset Bradley.” “Okay.” Jasper stood at the hospital entrance and watched Esther enter with a gentle gaze. After he could not see Esther, he looked up at Bradley at the faraway balcony challengingly. He smirked and turned away nonchalantly to get in the car. When Esther sneaked to her hospital ward, the room door opened abruptly. The bodyguard glanced at her and said with a blank face, “Mr. Warner’s waiting for you.”

Once she heard that Bradley was waiting for her, her heart skipped a beat. She entered the room in fright. Bang! Bradley threw a luxurious crystal glass at Esther mercilessly. The crystal glass shattered against the door beside Esther, and the splattering shards flew past her. One of the thin shards brushed past Esther’s face, and a line of blood immediately appeared on her fair face. The crimson was incredibly glaring. “Esther Quill, very bold of you!” Bradley had checked the surveillance recording and found out that Esther had escaped through that pipe on the balcony. What was more infuriating was that she had used a child like Felix. He got up from the chair and marched to Esther, clenching her chin and asking aggressively, “How dare you teach Felix to lie!?” Once Esther thought of Tinkerbell’s illness, she dared not anger the man further. What if Tinkerbell could use his bone marrow? She explained nicely, “Bradley, I found out from Felix that they were at Sunflower Welfare and couldn’t help but go see them.” “Couldn’t help?” Bradley snickered. “Didn’t you hold back well during the four years you spent in prison?” “Have you forgotten? You bought them over to tell me that my babies had died! If I had known…” Esther could not help getting emotional. “If I had known that they were still alive…” She would have been on her best behavior and tried to get released on parole. No, no. She would have made an appeal if she had known that her children were well and alive. She could not bear her daughters to carry the title of a murderer’s daughter once they were born. “Use Felix again, Esther, and I’ll ensure you won’t find them for the rest of your life.” Bradley released her and sneered when he caught a glimpse of the red mark on Esther’s pale face. “Bradley, is your bone marrow record in the National Bone Marrow Bank?” Esther quickly asked when she thought of Tinkerbell’s state and when Bradley was going to leave. “What does it have to do with you?” Bradley asked coldly. Esther grabbed his arm. “Please, just tell me. It’s important to me.” Tinkerbell was his daughter. If his bone marrow record was in the bank, this meant that Tinkerbell would have a higher chance of finding a match. “If I could choose, I wouldn’t want my son to have anything to do with you.” Bradley had undergone tests to check whether he was a match when he found out that Felix had leukemia. He had also registered his data in the bank in hopes that his bone marrow could help someone one day, like how he wished someone’s bone marrow could help his son. It was just that… never in his wildest dreams did he expect that the person was Esther. She was Felix’s hope of survival. Bradley forbade anything from happening to Esther here. He warned her ruthlessly, “Stay in the hospital. If you escape one more time, I’ll tie you to the operation theater myself!”