Mysterious Little Wife
Chapter 49 The Cruel Story

It all started twenty-one years ago.

Back then, Bailey was merely Maria's bodyguard.

That was right! The Francis family was no less powerful than the Carter family back in those days.

Despite their status, Mr. and Mrs. Francis was kind-hearted and without bravado.

Bailey, a recently retired army officer, caught a thief at the airport one day.

From there, the news attracted Mr. Francis, who had just returned from leave. Immediately, he summoned him as Maria's bodyguard.

Since then, Bailey was assigned the simple task of driving Maria to and from school every day.

Not long after, Maria was framed by a friend and lost her virginity.

A month later, she was discovered to be pregnant.

Mr. and Mrs. Francis were particularly taken aback.

They couldn't believe their obedient daughter was pregnant.

Strikingly, Maria had no idea who the baby's father was.

Mr. Francis had no choice but to advise her to have an abortion.

Otherwise, it would be devastating for her future life.

However, Maria couldn't bear making the choice. She'd been framed before.

She couldn't bear the thought of hurting the baby as well, despite not knowing who the father was.

It was at this point that Bailey stepped up to the plate.

He expressed his willingness to marry Maria and promised to love her forever.

Bailey, who recently retired from the army, seemed to be an attractive candidate regardless of his stance and temperament.

As a result, Mr. and Mrs. Francis agreed to the marriage.

After marriage, Bailey was indeed kind to Maria. He was skilled at sweet-talking her.

Maria had entirely fallen in love with the man in just six months.

Nine months later, she gave birth to twins.

Bailey had always been good to Maria, much to the delight of Mr. and Mrs. Francis.

They even advised Maria to have a child with Bailey once the twins were old enough.

Maria, of course, happily agreed, as she had fallen completely in love with this responsible man.

But everything changed one day. The twins had barely turned two when Mr. and Mrs. Francis died in an accident.

It was the darkest time for Maria.

Fortunately, Bailey stood by her. He slowly took over her father's business.

A year later, the company grew stronger than ever.

Maria believed that maybe her happiness would come soon.

For it was time for the twins to start kindergarten, and she was expecting his child.

But-

"But what?" Lacey's heart rose to her throat.

Roderick's lips began to quiver. With his fist clenched, he continued, "But Bailey turned out to be a jerk. Everything he did was a mask. He tore up your mother's dreams and pushed her to hell with his own hands."

While Maria was preparing to conceive his child, Bailey returned home with a little boy one day.

He also brought home another woman.

And that woman was no other than Madeleine!

Aboveboard, they stepped into the house.

Maria's mind went blank when she was confronted with such a nightmare.

She questioned Bailey on why he had done such a thing to her.

His response, however, was that she had cheated on him.

He claimed that while he was working hard for the Carter family, she cheated on him.

And the man with whom she cheated was-

Roderick Hayes!

"Lacey, there's nothing at all between us." Roderick hastily shook his hand. He was so anxious that tears streamed down his face. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Were you at the Carter's at the time, Uncle Roderick?" Lacey asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Roderick nodded and replied, "My parents died young. I came to South City with a group of villagers from the countryside. I tried to work hard, but I was set up by one of the villagers and sold underground. Later, I managed to escape but fainted on the way. Maria spotted me and came to my rescue. She was like an angel."

Roderick smiled as memories came flooding back. "She saved me. After hearing my story, she even took me back to the Francis family. Your grandfather and grandmother were wary at first but eventually took me in."

Roderick was honest and very capable.

After joining the Francis family, he fought to perform all of the hard, tiring, and dirty work.

In fact, he had fallen in love with Maria the moment she saved his life.

Yet, knowing his humble status, he dared not ask for anything.

Bailey arrived at the Francis family not long after.

Admittedly, Roderick was jealous of him at first. However, it was clear that Maria was happier since Bailey's arrival.

Grad ally, his jealousy turned into a blessing. As long as he stayed by her side and saw her happy, he felt content.

"It was your mother's birthday that night, but he ruined it. The woman Bailey brought back insisted that I had an inappropriate relationship with your mother. She even pulled out pictures and claimed they were proof."

Roderick gritted his teeth. He added, "I had never even seen those pictures before. They were unbearable, but that wasn't us. I'm telling the truth! Maria loved Bailey and was devoted to him. She would never cheat on him!"

Even still, not everyone was convinced.

Meticulous.

Shameless.

Sl*t.

These words crushed Maria alive.

Not only that, but Bailey, who saw the photo, was enraged and began beating Maria.

Although Roderick was a servant, he could not stand seeing Maria beaten. He stepped up to defend her.

Little did he know that he had angered Bailey even more by this action.

"As I previously stated, your mother and I are both innocent. How could he wrongly accuse Maria?" Roderick's voice became agitated. "To prove that your mother and I were innocent, I had to grab a pair of scissors and-"

He couldn't go on.

Roderick's grief-stricken expression said it all.

He was deeply in love with Maria.

To prove her innocence, he even went so far as to slice off his p*nis.

But even so, he was unable to soothe Bailey's rage.

Bailey crushed Roderick's leg later that night in order to get Maria to admit her affair.

To protect Roderick, Maria had no choice but to endure and compromise.

She was willing to get a divorce.

She was also willing to leave the marriage with nothing.

But only on one condition, she was allowed to take the children with her.

But how could Bailey let her take both children away?

What would the world think of him if he lost both of his children?

People would remember him as a cold-blooded man.

He could be characterized as ungrateful.

How could he possibly leave such a bad reputation?

Besides, no one knew the truth.

He had the image of a father figure back then.

"What was more heartbreaking was Maria's constant belief that his mistakes were only temporary and that he'd take her home one day." Roderick clenched his fist in rage. "Maria had put her faith in the wrong guy!"

Lacey stayed silent for a while.

It all dawned on her at this point.

She figured out why Bailey had hit her so harshly.

Everyone knew her features were identical to Lillianna's, his beloved daughter.

Wouldn't he, therefore, feel bad when he hit her?

Ha!

She was too naïve, after all.

Bad?

She wasn't Bailey's child, to begin with!

So how could he possibly feel bad?

Bailey had thrown Maria out of the house and labeled her a sl*t.

Then he took over the assets of the Francis family and custody of Lillianna to deceive the world.

What a heartless man Bailey was!

At this point, Lacey even wondered if Maria's frame-up had anything to do with him!

Furthermore, how could her grandparents have died so suddenly?

There were numerous accidents globally, but most of them occurred in the Francis family.

Wasn't it a bit of a coincidence?

Lacey's phone rang at that very moment.

It was a call from Theo.

"Why don't we leave South City, Lacey?" Roderick suggested, staring Lacey in the eyes.

The ringing continued.

"Lacey?" Roderick called out again.

Lacey returned to her senses. She then tapped the phone's speaker mode.

"Why didn't you come, Lacey? Didn't I invite you to my aunt's birthday party last night?" Theo sounded upset.

Lacey glanced at Roderick and then back to her phone. "I know I've been invited, but my father didn't seem to approve of me going."

"Lacey, it's me, dad. Where are you? I'll have the driver come and get you. Come quickly." Bailey rang over the phone.

"Did you hear that, Lacey? Your father invited you to come here. Tell me where you are, and I'll drive over to pick you up." Theo sounded delightful.

Lacey was slightly stunned.

When had Bailey started hooking up with Theo?

Just this morning, Bailey appeared to want her out of the house.

Yet now, he was speaking to her in a gentle tone, urging her to hurry up and get to the party.

He seemed to be trying to connect her with Theo, the big shot!

Bailey indeed was a master at scheming others!

"Lacey, are you there?" Theo's voice came again.

Roderick shook his head at her, indicating that she should not go.

Lacey, however, turned to Maria's grave. As if made up her mind, she looked back at Roderick.

"I'm at Fallen Cemetery. Come and pick me up," she said, lowering her head.

After that, she hung up the phone.

"Lacey-" Roderick sounded helpless.

"Uncle Roderick, don't you feel angry?" Lacey looked at him." Won't you hate him for ruining my mother?"

Roderick's eyes reddened, and he couldn't help but clench his fists.

Of course, he felt angry!

Lacey sat on the ground and looked away. With a forlorn expression, she added, "Even after my mother died, I'm sure she had no idea that the man he trusted was also the one who killed her. Surely, love

should not be touched!"

"Lacey-" Roderick didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry, Uncle Roderick. I'm not like my mother. I'm not blind enough to fall in love with the wrong person." Lacey chuckled as she lowered her head.

Love?

She would never touch such a thing!

Roderick locked his gaze on Lacey and remained silent. He sobbed uncontrollably. "Do you really have to go, Lacey? If Bailey replaces out you're investigating him, he'll never let you go!"

Lacey smiled and assured him, "Don't worry, Uncle Roderick. I'm not that dumb."

Roderick took her hand in both of his. He said sincerely, "Lacey, I'll stay in South City. Come to me if you need anything. I'll help you even if it means putting my life on the line. Do you hear me?"

Lacey's eyes began to water at this point.

"Okay!"

She only wanted to vent her rage on Maria at first.

But now, she desired to do a thorough investigation into this matter.

She wished to know what exactly happened twenty-one years ago.

She also wanted to retrieve what had belonged to her grandparents!

Bailey didn't deserve any of those possessions!

Lacey's eyes flared with a tinge of cruelty at that very moment. The look in her murderous eyes was startling.

Shortly after, Theo's car arrived.

"Lacey-" Roderick was worried. Lacey took his hand in hers and nodded. "Uncle Roderick, don't worry. My mother will watch over me from heaven. Since Bailey wants me to hold onto Mr. Henderson, I'll show him what it's like to hold on to

something that shouldn't be his!"

Roderick rushed to say, "You have to call me, Lacey. If anything comes up, you must discuss it with me, okay?"

Lacey gave a firm nod. She then moved to Maria's grave.

Kneeling, she caressed the gravestone.

Then she bent down and kissed it.

"Bless me, Mum!" Her tears streamed down onto the gravestone.

Roderick couldn't help but shed a tear too.

With a deep inhale, Lacey looked up again with the most standard broad smile on her face.

"Good luck, Lacey!"

Lacey walked straight down the hill after picking up her spirits.00000