Chapter 264 Give Birth Abroad


    "Cooper!" Maria eximed with a smile. "I see you never changed your phone number, what a


    pleasant surprise!"


    "Well, it''s too troublesome to change my contact details."


    That made sense. People like James and Cooper must possess a wide range ofwork and


    connections. Of course they couldn''t just change numbers as they liked.


    "I wanted to thank you for what you did. I do have a question though. How did you know that I was


    about to donate a kidney?"


    "Well, you did lie to my brother about your abortionst time, and I got worried you two might get


    into a serious fight. So I asked my men to keep an eye on you. You''re not mad at me for doing this,


    are you?" Cooper exined in his usual gentle manner.


    She wasn''t entirely sure just yet. ''So he was there when James answered the phone that time.'' She


    answered, "Why would I be mad at you? I know you had my best interests in mind. But where did


    you find the donor?"


    "That''s a secret."


    Maria burst intoughter. "We haven''t seen each other for years and you''re still keeping secrets


    from me?"


    "Can''t I? I''m a twenty-something grownup now, you know."


    "Well, anyway. I just called to let you know that I’ve broken up with your brother. Will you still be


    willing to help me when I''m in trouble?"


    "You broke up with him?”


    "Yeah." They even had the breakup sex to ount for it.


    "Of course I will help you. You will always be my sister-inw." To Cooper, only Maria was deserving


    of that title.


    She went silent for a moment. "I have something to tell you. Can you promise me not to tell


    anyone? Including your brother."


    "Sure."


    Têxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Then she dropped the bomb.


    "I''m pregnant with your brother''s child. I intend to go to the US and give birth there. Do you think


    you can help me keep the whole thing a secret?" Cooper was rich anyway, it wouldn''t burden him


    too much if she came to him for help.


    Besides, the child was his nephew, too, so he bore a measure of responsibility in raising it.


    Cooper was unable to respond for a good while as his eyes bugged out of their sockets and his jaw


    hung open.


    Muchter, Maria went over to Miracle Cafe.


    She had rarely dropped by recently, and when she did, she had often chosen to do so at night.


    If the shop assistant hadn''t called her and told her that ine had brought someone here to make


    trouble, she wouldn''t havee. She didn''t want Colby to know she was discharged from prison.


    Most of the staff were already off duty when she arrived, and only Kent and a female clerk were left


    behind, cleaning up the mess.


    ine hadn''t actually wrecked the whole store; perhaps she had feared the same retribution that


    Ronald had reaped. Instead, she and the men she brought only smashed a handful of furniture.


    Maria stepped inside. Kent paused what he had been doing and walked over to her. "You''re here,"


    he nodded.


    "Yeah," she replied, taking off her sunsses. "I see you''re still working. Thank you for your hard


    work."


    "Not at all," Kent smiled.


    Maria eyed the rest of the mess that hadn''t been cleared yet. "Do you know why ine did this?"


    "Yes, I think so. She kept cursing you over and over for having her daughter donate her kidney."


    ''A kidney?'' She had to wonder whether the donor that Cooper had found was Carolina or Dani.


    Maria''s face changed slightly. She took out her phone and called Carolina.


    "Maria!" Carolina answered in obvious surprise. "Are you released?"


    "Where are you now?"


    "I''m at thepany, why? What''s wrong?"


    So it wasn''t Carolina. "Where is Dani?"


    "She was taken away," Carolina said after a short pause. "It looks like she was forced to donate her


    kidney against her will. She''s still recovering at the hospital." ine had been insisting that Maria


    was behind Dani''s predicament, but Carolina had always said that was impossibly. Maria was


    supposed to be still in jail after all.


    It turned out that she had already been free all this time. That would make more sense to Carolina,


    though. There was no way James would just stand by and watch his woman stay locked up in


    prison.


    Maria, meanwhile, was exhaling a slow sigh of relief.


    ''So it was Dani. Well, it doesn''t matter as long as Carolina is okay.''


    As for Dani, Maria didn''t give a damn that the bitch now only had one kidney left.


    "Maria, do you know anything regarding this matter?"


    "I do, actually. But I won’t tell you anything."


    Carolina sighed and shook her head. "All right then. I won''t pry any further." In her eyes, this could


    have easily been the karma that Dani had been courting all along.


    "Don''t tell anyone that I called you."


    "Okay."


    Maria''s enemies still thought her to be in jail, and it would be to her advantage if they kept thinking


    that way.


    They ended the call, and Maria instantly dialed Cooper''s number. "Dani Song is the donor,"


    she stated without preamble.


    "Yeah." He hadn''t expected her to find out so soon. "Remember how you ended up in the hospital


    several weeks ago? That was her doing. You know those men you encountered on your way back


    to the city aftering over to my grandparents'' vi?"


    This was old news to her, however. She had already hired someone to investigate that incident.


    That might also be the reason why she wasn''t feeling sorry for the now chronically incapacitated


    Dani.


    "You already knew, didn''t you?" Cooper guessed.


    "Right."


    But she had to admire him for being resourceful. He was based in the US, but he seemed to be up


    to date with all the happenings in H City.


    And he was just as ruthless as his brother, a frightfulbination given the amount of power they


    yielded. They did lie low for the most part, but when they did take action, the repercussions were no


    joke at all. Case in point, Dani Song.


    "Well, I''m sure it''s gettingte over there. A pregnant woman shouldn’t be up at this hour. Go to bed


    already."


    "Yes, yes. I know. Bye."


    Maria ended the call and motioned to Kent. "I need you to do me a favor. I need you and Mike to


    take care of the coffee shop in the next few months."


    "Why? How about you?" Kent asked, visibly confused.


    "I haven''t been feeling goodtely so I decide to go on a trip," she answered off-handedly.


    Kent believed her. Just a few nights ago, she had been in an extremely foul mood back at the bar.


    Maria made all other necessary arrangements for the temporary turnover of the cafe before walking


    out into the night.


    She walked to her car but didn''t get in immediately. Instead, she stood there and took in the


    cityscape around her, her gaze pausing at the high-rise buildings across the street. The HL Group


    building had more or less be a cityndmark over the years, and everyone dreamed ofnding


    a job in one of its offices.


    And standing at the top of its one hundred floors was James, the ultimate dream guy of every


    woman. Maybe she just had an unnatural stroke of luck, having managed to marry him in the past.


    And now, she was once again carrying their child inside her.


    This time, Maria swore that she would definitely protect the baby from any harm.


    On the other side of the road, the ck Harkim screeched to halt at thepany entrance, a


    familiar figure emerging from the ss doors of the HL Group lobby. He was wearing his signature


    tailored dark suit and shiny leather shoes, and as usual, he was nked by two of his assistants.


    Holding herptop with one hand, Summer trotted ahead to open the door to the car''s back seat.


    James paused to unbutton his suit jacket, and as if drawn by an invisible string, he turned to the


    direction where Maria was standing.


    Their gazes met, clear and steady even across the distance.


    And for some reason, Maria''s guilt started to prick in her chest. She instantly turned away and


    opened her car door. Within a matter of seconds, she started the engine and was speeding away


    from the coffee shop.


    James stood in ce and watched her go.


    Meanwhile, Judy was pacing back and forth. She had slowlye to the realization that she


    couldn''t just sit still and wait for Maria to deal her a fatal blow. Given that woman''s renewed


    personality, Judy was sure that she woulde for her. Besides, she couldn''t figure what James


    was thinking either, and what the reasons were for his recent actions.


    She had thought about it over and over, and had finally decided that she couldn''t let Maria have the


    chance to attack first.


    The others had no idea she was out of jail now, but Judy knew all about it. She had even heard that


    Maria had gone looking for James in thepany.


    She had promptly sent her men to investigate the woman''s whereabouts, and they had reported just


    now that Maria often went shopping in HX Street.


    Bit by bit, an idea was forming inside Judy''s mind.