Chapter 1112: Chapter 1112: Matriarch of the Ross Family
Justin Battleson had been intently observing the situation inside, and as he saw that scene unfold, he immediately shielded Charlotte Thompson, casting a menacing look at Raina Richard.
Justin’s gaze was cold as ice, and at its passing glance, Raina felt as if her entire body had dipped into an icehouse.
She involuntarily took a small step backward, and her assertiveness dwindled a few notches in her speech.
"It’s the two of you. You two took away my children! Jack and Chad aren’t your children at all—they are my own flesh and blood! It’s you who are lying, not me. Why am I the one being locked up here?"
Observing the mentally unstable Raina, Justin didn’t want Charlotte to engage with her any further.
However, Charlotte pressed down on Justin’s arm and shook her head at him.
"Of course, I know that Jack and Chad are your biological children, and I also know that they are both your children with Adam Ross."
Charlotte spoke with an air of nonchalance that indeed made Raina pause for a moment.
"If you know that, you should return the children to me!"
"Why should I?"
Yet Charlotte scoffed, cutting off Raina’s words.
"Just because I am blood-related to them!" Raina argued.
But to Charlotte, it sounded like she heard something amusing, as the corners of her mouth kept widening.
She stepped out from behind Justin and slowly approached Raina.
Charlotte’s demeanor was strikingly cool and aloof, exuding a sense of oppression when she remained silent.
Now, as she stood quietly watching Raina, the latter couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable pang of guilt.
In terms of aura, Charlotte had already overpowered Raina.
"Blood relationship? Do you still consider yourself related to Jack and Chad by blood once the word ’surrogacy’ is associated with you?"
At the mention of "surrogacy," Raina’s face turned ashen.
"What are you saying about surrogacy? I don’t understand..." Raina swallowed nervously, her voice trembling.
"Do you think, if I were to expose the fact that you were a surrogate, you would end up with custody of Jack and Chad?"
As expected, Charlotte’s words hit Raina’s weak spot squarely.
"True, Jack and Chad are adopted by me, but the fact is that they were abandoned at the hospital. You, as their birth mother, had already discarded them long ago. I’ve been raising them painstakingly all this while. Why should you demand them back now? Just by virtue of being their birth mother?"
In Charlotte’s eyes, there was sheer coldness as she pressed Raina with her pointed questions.
"You can’t say that..." Raina was so flustered that she didn’t know what to say.
"That’s right, you can also take me to court and fight for the custody of the children, but how likely do you think it is that the court would grant custody to you?"
Raina trembled, no longer able to speak, but Charlotte’s next words delivered the crushing blow.
"Though, that’s also true, what use is the custody to you? What you want is only money. You want to use these children to extort the Ross family. You could take this opportunity to tarnish the Ross family’s reputation, and if you’re successful..."
Charlotte leaned in slightly, with a smile on her face that lacked any trace of friendliness,
"You could potentially become the matriarch of the Ross family in the future, couldn’t you?"
Raina’s lips quivered, scarcely daring to breathe too visibly, her eyes filled with fear as she looked at Charlotte.