Chapter 585: Epilogue (12)

Chapter 585: Chapter 574: Epilogue (12)

“Okay,” Zoe Ellsworth agreed, then asked, “Why didn’t my mom come this morning?”

Herman Hawthorne shook his head. “I don’t know. Your dad brought the soup.”

Zoe thought for a moment. “It must be because my sister-in-law isn’t feeling well. Ugh, I feel awful. It’s like everything is just pouring out of me.”

“You’re wearing an adult diaper, Zoe,” Mrs. Hawthorne said. “You can’t be moving around.”

“An… an adult diaper?” Zoe Ellsworth’s face turned green.

“You’ve just given birth, so there’s a lot of discharge that needs to come out. Don’t move.”

“But, Mom, what about when I need to use the restroom?”

Mrs. Hawthorne pointed under the bed. “You have a catheter in right now.”

Zoe Ellsworth tried to look down, but she couldn’t see it. Herman Hawthorne put the bowl down, walked around the head of the bed, and held up a bottle for her to see. “Behold, the steady stream of high-grade urea you’ve been producing.”

‘A large bottle full of yellow liquid… my own urine…’

“Why can’t I feel anything at all?”

“Of course you can’t. You have a catheter.”

“I thought they’d already taken it out. Honestly, getting this catheter put in fucking hurt. A sharp, stinging pain.”

Herman quickly said, “It’s okay. It’s just this one time in your whole life.”

“Honey, hand me my phone. I want to call my mom.”

Herman immediately handed it to her. The call went through, and Zoe got straight to the point. “Mom, where are you?”

“…”

“I see. It’s okay. Alright, you guys be safe.”

“…”

“Okay, bye.”

After hanging up, Zoe looked at Herman. “My sister-in-law and brother took my mom to Zelkova.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. We don’t know the full situation yet. We’ll find out when they get back.”

As soon as she said that, Zoe pointed to her stomach. “Herman, quick, lift the blanket.”

Herman carefully lifted it. His eyes landed on her stomach, and he chuckled. “Zoe, what’s happening with your stomach?”

Zoe felt her stomach quivering. “They’re uterine contractions. It’s shaking like a leaf.”

“Does it still hurt with the sandbag pressing on your incision?”

Zoe nodded. “A little. It only hurts when I move, not when I’m still.”

“Then don’t move. If you get bored, I can talk to you for a while.”

“Okay.”

**

「When Ethan Ellsworth returned, it was already evening.」

The moment he walked in the door, he said, “Mom, help Chloe up and come with me.”

Mrs. Ellsworth didn’t dare hesitate, helping Chloe Marshall out of the hotel.

They took a car to the base of a very remote mountain. Only after they got out did Mrs. Ellsworth dare to ask, “Ethan, where are we?”

Without turning his head, Ethan answered, “This is the place Young Master Grant found for me through his connections. It took me a long time to locate it myself. It’s incredibly remote.”

“It’s not just remote, it’s also strange. There are two large red lanterns hanging at the main gate.”

“Only an old woman lives here. Young Master Grant told me that hardly anyone knows this place exists. Even those who do wouldn’t dare enter. I have no idea about the old woman’s background, either.”

“How eerie. In all my years, I’ve never been to such a bizarre place.”

The three of them entered the courtyard.

In front of a small, three-room, tile-roofed house, a faint light flickered as if from a candle.

When they reached the door, Ethan put out a hand to stop the two women. He then called out toward the entrance, “Ethan Ellsworth of Fravia, here with my mother and wife, humbly requests the elder’s aid.”

A resonant voice immediately answered from within. “Come in.”

Only then did the three dare to step inside. The room was pitch-black, save for the area around an old woman, which was illuminated by two candles. Everywhere else was shrouded in darkness.

Chloe Marshall and Mrs. Ellsworth held hands. As it was their first time in such a place, it was only natural for them to be deeply unnerved.

“Please, sit.”

The three of them sat down. Ethan began, “Ma’am, my wife is four months pregnant, and her belly is not normal. Last night, I witnessed something unbelievable.”

“Unbelievable in what way?” The old woman opened her eyes.

“My sister gave birth late last night. When I came back from the hospital, I saw my wife sitting on the edge of our balcony, waving her arms. But by the time I reached her, she was standing, and she insisted that she hadn’t been sitting there, much less waving her arms.”

The old woman looked at Chloe Marshall. “Is what your husband says true?”

Chloe Marshall nodded. “I have no memory of doing what he described.”

The old woman nodded. “Were there any signs before you became pregnant?”

Chloe and Ethan exchanged a look, then Ethan said, “Yes.”

Ethan then recounted the dream Chloe had on the airplane.

Upon hearing this, the old woman delivered her verdict. “You are carrying a ghost child.”

Those words made all three of them break out in a cold sweat.

Ethan was terrified. “If I had known, I would’ve had it aborted.”

Hearing this, the old woman said, “It’s fortunate you didn’t.”

Mrs. Ellsworth asked anxiously, “Ma’am, how can this be? Even if there are things science can’t explain… my daughter-in-law dreamed of her own parents. Surely they wouldn’t want to harm her.”

The old woman waved her hand dismissively. “There are things you don’t understand. That dream of hers was a bad omen. It’s a good thing she didn’t have an abortion. If she had, neither mother nor child would have survived.”

Ethan’s lingering fear intensified. “Why?”

“Because she had that dream, her parents wanted her to have a son. Your family is wealthy, powerful, and well-known, are you not?”

Mrs. Ellsworth nodded. “We are.”

“Then that explains it. Her parents believe that prestigious families place great importance on having male heirs. They were afraid their daughter would suffer in your household if she couldn’t give birth to a son, so they picked one out for you from the underworld. It appears their efforts backfired. If her husband had aborted the child, they would have been enraged and made their daughter suffer as well.”

“Her father-in-law and I are very open-minded. A daughter can carry on the family line just as well. We would never treat Chloe poorly over something like this. Even if Chloe only had one daughter and decided to have no more children, I wouldn’t mind at all.”

The old woman slowly rose to her feet. “Fortunately, she is only four months along. It would be much harder to control if she were further along. Follow me.”

The three stood up and followed the old woman toward the pitch-black recesses of the house.

The old woman, holding a candle, placed it on a table beside her bed. “Come and lie down,” she said to Chloe.

Chloe did as she was told, taking off her shoes and lying down on the bed.

Chloe’s shirt was lifted, exposing her stomach. The old woman touched her belly, then turned to Ethan and Mrs. Ellsworth. “You two must go outside. I do not wish to be watched while I perform the rite.”

The mother and son nodded and went outside.

Just then, thunder began to rumble loudly outside. Mrs. Ellsworth quickly pulled Ethan under the eaves of the doorway to avoid being struck by lightning.

“Ethan, do you really think this is going to work?”

Ethan nodded. “Young Master Grant told me about her. It can’t be fake.”

Mrs. Ellsworth was fraught with worry. “This Zelkova… it’s a truly sinister place. I never used to believe in this sort of thing, but now… now I have no choice but to believe.”