Chapter 111

"Jason?"

I was a bit taken aback. "Do you know where Shirley is hiding Jason?"

Paula kept pleading with me. "Mrs. Jordan, we really need to talk about this in person."

Seeing her so desperate, I had no choice but to nod in agreement and set a time to meet.

Finding Jason was just as important now. The dream I had that day left me uneasy, making me feel that if I didn't find Jason soon, something bad might happen.

So I had to find him as quickly as possible. Any clue, no matter how small, I had to investigate.

After hanging up the phone, Savannah looked at me. "Mrs. Jordan, do you think she might be up to no good?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

So far, I couldn't see through Paula. I didn't know what she was really thinking.

So I didn't dare trust her or believe what she said.

As for what she said about Jason, I had to meet her in person to find out if it was true.

Savannah nodded. "Don't worry, Ms. Sharp. I'll go with you. This time, I won't let you get hurt again."

I smiled at Savannah. "I feel much safer with you around."

After staying in the hospital for two days, Savannah and I went to the café where I had arranged to meet Paula.

To be safe, I didn't let Savannah show up first. Instead, she sat in a booth behind us, ready to step in if there was any danger.

So from Paula's perspective, it looked like I was sitting alone.

She walked over and said, "Mrs. Jordan, you're here."

I nodded and took off my sunglasses. "Say what you need to say quickly. I need to know if it's worth my time to stay and listen."

Paula glanced at me and said, "Mrs. Jordan, Jason is missing..."

I slammed the table and stood up, glaring at Paula. "What do you mean by missing? Didn't you say he was with Shirley?"

Paula's expression became evasive. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jordan. This is all my fault. It's all my fault."

She didn't explain the situation but started apologizing, which made me even more anxious.

I noticed people around us were starting to look our way. This wasn't the place to talk.

I lowered my voice. "Come with me."

I led Paula out the back door of the café and into a dead-end alley. Savannah followed us.

Here, no one could hear us, so I felt more at ease and raised my voice. "What do you mean it's your fault? Is Jason's disappearance related to you?"

"Explain everything to me now!"

Paula's expression became even more panicked. She said, "Mrs. Jordan, please forgive me. I really meant well. I didn't expect things to turn out like this. I didn't mean to mess things up."

I suppressed my anger and said in a low voice, "Explain."

Paula then carefully recounted the whole story.

It turned out that after Paula recorded Shirley and Brandon's conversation for me, Brandon came back a few days later.

This time, Paula overheard the address where Shirley was hiding Jason.

But instead of telling me immediately, she secretly contacted James.

Because Shirley and James were hiding Jason together.

Paula threatened James to hand over the child, but James refused.

However, Paula had kept all the evidence from when James raped her, including the stains on her clothes.

So she used this to threaten him, and James quickly gave in.

Paula told him to take Jason and hide him somewhere else.

But when James returned to where he was hiding the child, he found that Jason was already missing.

Afraid of being exposed, he told Paula that Jason had been taken to a safe place. But no matter how much Paula pressed him, James wouldn't reveal Jason's whereabouts.

Eventually, Paula went to James's house and pressured him again. He finally admitted that Jason was missing.

The place where James hid Jason was known only to him and Shirley. If it wasn't him, then Shirley must have taken the child.

After Paula finished, she looked at me cautiously. "Mrs. Jordan, I really meant well. I didn't expect things to turn out like this."

I frowned at her. "Then why didn't you tell me immediately? If you had told me right away, would we be in this situation now?"

Paula knew she was wrong and trembled. "Mrs. Jordan, I just wanted to handle it first and then tell you. I didn't expect things to turn out like this. I really didn't. I didn't mean to, Mrs. Jordan."

I snorted coldly. "I'm telling you, if anything happens to Jason, I won't let you off."

"Since you say James took Jason, take me to him now. I need to ask him myself!"

But Paula's face became even more hesitant. She looked at me and said, "I think this might not be related to James."

"Because I made another mistake."

I frowned at Paula. "Spit it out!"

Paula said, "Back when there was a heated debate online about whether Jason was Earl's or Brandon's child, Shirley secretly took a strand of Jason's hair and Brandon's hair for a paternity test."

I frowned at her. "And then?"

"Later, I received the paternity test results. It said Jason was Brandon's biological child, so I took it upon myself to change the report to say he wasn't and gave it to Shirley."

I frowned, feeling a sense of foreboding.

"Shirley initially thought Jason wasn't Brandon's child, so when she took him, she didn't plan to harm him. After all, it had nothing to do with Brandon."

"But recently, she found the real paternity report in my room."

"When I got home from work, I found the real paternity report missing, and Shirley started acting very strange. A few days later, Jason went missing, so I suspect..."

I glared at her, furious. "Paula, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to get that child killed?"

Paula, terrified, quickly knelt down. "No, no, Mrs. Jordan. I've always been on your side. I never wanted to harm anyone. I just wanted to get back at Shirley."

I looked at her, breathing heavily. "Then tell me, what's your relationship with Renee? Why did I see you following her at that party?"