Chapter 1195 Take You To Court


    Tessie bit her lower lip and made a choice.


    After parting with Tessie, Tam walked towards his daughter. Julianna immediately grabbed his arm and


    pulled him to her side. "Dad, stay away from Miss Troublemaker, okay? You don''t know how much of a


    bitch Erica is. Look at Tessie and the state she''s in. That''s thanks to Erica!"


    "Erica?" Tam nced back at the car, where Erica was waiting, leaning against the passenger door.


    "What did she do?"


    "Erica got Tessie drunk, took her to the sink and tried to drown her. She even took off Tessie''s clothes


    and took pictures of her to ckmail her. Erica did even worse shit, but Tessie wouldn''t tell us! She said


    it hurt too much to remember!" Julianna said angrily.


    Tam said nothing. He was listening, and mentally trying to poke holes in Tessie''s story.


    After waiting for more than ten minutes, Erica finally saw Tessiee over. She looked into Tessie''s


    eyes, red from crying. After a tense moment between them, she broke the silence. "I didn''t do anything


    to you! Just what the hell is going on?"


    Tessie''s voice was a bit shaky. "I''m sorry, Erica. This is all my fault. You remember how difficultbor


    was, right? After you took the kid away, I got better, but..." She lowered her head and looked at her


    shoes. "I lost my memory. I couldn''t remember a thing until three months ago. I could remember how to


    do basic things like tying my shoes or getting dressed, but I didn''t know who I was..."


    Tessie had thought about this a lot. She''d gone over it a thousand times. She had to make sure her


    story was perfect, even if it was made up.


    "You lost your memory?" Erica was dumbfounded by her exnation. She didn''t know whether tough


    or cry.


    "Yes, the doctor said that I lost my memory because of a screw-up when they gave me the epidural.


    They said I moved too much and the needle slipped and damaged the nerves."


    Erica chose to believe her, mainly because her story seemed to make sense. "Well, then why is


    N?velDrama.Org ? 2024.


    everyone saying I hurt you? What''s up with that?"


    Tessie burst into tears and sobbed, "I''m sorry, Erica. If I didn''t say that, my parents would have found


    out what happened. They''d never let me stay here if they knew I had a kid. I didn''t mean it. I''m sorry.


    Please forgive me!" She grabbed Erica''s hand, a pitiful expression on her face.


    Erica felt bad for her. After all, they used to be so close. They slept in the same bed, shared food, wore


    the same clothes, and used the same cup.


    Theyughed and cried together.


    She suppressed the sadness in her heart and asked, "Then why didn''t you call me? Text me? You got


    your memories back, right? You must have heard I was going to marry Matthew." Three months ago,


    she had been engaged to her current hubby. The whole world knew about it. She was viral news for


    awhile.


    Tessie''s eyes shed with guilt. "I was afraid... afraid you''d try to give the kid back to me. My parents


    would kill me if they found out I had a baby! No father in the picture, no husband, either!"


    "That''s it? That''s why you didn''t try to get a hold of me? I thought you were dead! I cried every day! Do


    you know what I went through?" Erica couldn''t hold back her tears anymore.


    Tessie''s "death" hurt Erica to the core.


    The year she vanished, she was really living with Tessie, who was pregnant at the time. She was taking


    care of her, the both of them living in a basement. Erica never left the country—she knew the ce like


    the back of her hand. It was the perfect n.


    Tessie was very thin. Even at five or six months, the baby bump was not obvious. And she knew how to


    hide it. She wore bigger clothes, bulky, shapeless sweaters, leggings, ck tights, and skinny jeans.


    Even a scarf. She draped it just right to cover her expanding belly. People couldn''t tell she was


    pregnant, so she could still go to school.


    On the other hand, Erica didn''t dare go out for long because Wesley and Gifford had their people


    looking for her ever since she disappeared. One slip and everything would unravel.


    Sometimes when she ventured out in the middle of the night, she would still bump into the men they


    sent. They were quite good at their jobs. She had to be better.


    Tessie figured out the ideal ce to have her baby. It was a tiny hospital.


    After the baby was born, Erica took him to the basement and went back into hiding for a month before


    she finally came back home.


    Those short weeks were a nightmare for Erica.


    She burst into tears at the thought of it. "Do you think ''sorry'' is going to cut it? Like I can forgive this


    easily? Tessie, do you know what I had to do? I had to take care of your baby alone!"


    Erica didn''t know how to take care of a baby. When the baby cried, she didn''t know what was wrong or


    how to help him. Sometimes, he''d cry for hours. She tried her best to calm him down, but he still kept


    crying. That made her cry.


    She knew she couldn''t keep doing this, so she gave some money to a elderly mute woman upstairs


    and asked her to buy form, change his diapers and bathe the kid.


    She ate takeout every day, and sometimes the olddy would give her a bowl of rice. She made do for


    a month before finally returning home with the baby.


    Tessie took two steps forward and hugged her. "Erica, it''s all my fault. I''m sorry. I''ll make up to you in


    the future. Don''t be angry, okay?"


    Erica quickly wiped her tears and pushed Tessie away. "We can''t go back to the way things were. I''ve


    got a kid to take care of. I know you don''t want him, and that''s fine. I don''t want to give him back. He''s


    with my parents, and they love him like their own. I named him Feb Wu at first, and Dad changed his


    name to Ethan. He''s taken our family name. So, from now on, he''s a Li. He''s not really yours anymore.


    Even if you want him back, that''s not gonna happen."


    Tessie murmured, "Ethan Li, Ethan..." She also missed her baby.


    After a long moment of silence, Erica decided to let it go. She was stupid and made friends with the


    wrong person. Life was too short to spend time mad about it.


    ''I''ve learned a lesson from Tessie, and I will never do something like that again. I''ve suffered too much


    for this, '' sheforted herself.


    She walked away, and didn''t spare Tessie another nce.


    Tam ran over and stopped Erica who was about to get in the car. "Mrs. Huo, I still want Ethan. Can you


    tell your father when you have time?"


    Erica nced at him and answered expressionlessly, "No, you can''t have him. I lived in a basement for


    nearly a year. I ate takeout for a month and borrowed money to raise the baby. My parents have tried


    their best to take care of him since I came back home. From now on, he''s mine! He won''t be going


    anywhere, except with me!"


    Then she got in the car, ignoring Tam.


    Tam anxiously stopped the driver who was about to close the door for her. "Erica, I know it''s unfair to


    you. But I really want that child. If anyone misses him, they cane see him anytime. You, Mr. and


    Mrs. Li, anyone! What do you think?"


    "No way! Where''s your sense of justice? I paid dearly to do something nice for you and Tessie. And


    what do I get in return? Spit on by my ssmates. My reputation ruined at home. An arranged


    marriage. So something''s going to go my way. You''ll never get your kid back. That''s the price you''ll


    have to pay for ruining my life."


    Tam had been calm up till now. But now his voice was on the edge of hysterics. His eyes were wide, his


    speech too rapid by half. "I''ll take you to court!" he threatened. "My sister''s a chief justice in the city.


    You won''t win this one...I''ll make sure of it!"


    Erica always hated being threatened. "Oh, really? You think the Lis are afraid of you or your sister? Or


    the Huos, for that matter?"


    Tam felt like he was being strangled. It became harder and harder to breathe. He had to have that


    child. He said without thinking, "Aren''t you afraid we''ll sue you for stealing our child? We can do a DNA


    test, you know!"


    Erica felt that her anger was boiling in her heart. The anger instantly devoured her reason. She pushed


    the door open and got out of the car. Smack! She pped Tam without even thinking about it.


    Tam was taken aback. He was more than forty, and this was the first time a woman hit him. Just to add


    insult to injury, the person who pped him was the same age as his daughter.


    For a moment, he didn''t know how to respond. He stood there with a nk expression, his head tilted


    from the p.