Jackson was running away like death itself was chasing him. He almost crashed into the street lamps a few times as he sped through the streets. It was not until he was miles away from the mansion did he stop the car at the roadside, thinking that it was safe. He leaned against his seat, but his limbs were still shivering from fear. His shirt was in shambles, and his skin was filled with lacerations. A while later, he took his phone out with trembling hands and called Kelly.
"So, how's it going, Jackson? Where are you at?" Kelly asked. She sounded delighted even through the phone. Of course she was excited. She could stab Kendall in the back again.
"Kelly, get me a new set of clothes and wait for me at the hospital." The dogs did not bite him, but they did scratch him. He had to have these wounds treated and get a rabies vaccine injection. It was fortunate he had covered his face. The dogs did not manage to scratch it, or his face would have been ruined.
Kelly's smile faded and she asked with concern, "What happened? Why the hospital? Did something happen?"
"I'll explain when we meet. Go to the hospital right now. I'll be there in a few minutes. And cancel the plan tonight. I'll tell my secretary to reschedule."
Kelly was starting to get nervous at this point. She asked, "What happened, Jackson? Tell me! You can't leave me hanging like this."
Jackson took a few deep breaths before responding, "No. It's nothing. I couldn't pick her up, and the Colemans sent their dogs after me. I got scratches all over me, and the dogs tore my clothes apart. I'm almost naked here. The wounds need to be looked at, and I'll have to get a vaccine injection."
"What?" Kelly never expected that to happen, but she did not press for details. She said, "You go to the hospital right now. I'll get a new set of clothes for you. Wait for me. I'll be there soon."
"Alright." They hung up. Two minutes of silence later, Jackson revved his car up again.
…
Kelly had just come out of the clothing store after buying Jackson some new clothes when Charlotte called her. "Hi, Mom." She picked it up as she went to her car.
"Kelly, you need to come back," Charlotte said imperiously. "Now."
"What's wrong, Mom? I'm still working. I'll be back after this," she lied. She wanted Charlotte to think that she was still working overtime.
"I said come back now. Didn't you hear me?" Charlotte hung up after that.
"Mom? Mom!" Kelly called out to her a few times, but she failed to stop Charlotte from hanging up. Charlotte had ordered her to come home without telling her why, and it worried her. Should I go home or go to the hospital? In the end, she called Adam first. After he picked up, she asked, "Dad, are you home? Mom just called me. She wants me home right away. Do you know what happened?"
"I'm still outside. Your mother must have a good reason for calling you home. You should do as she says."
A moment of silence later, she said, "Okay. I'll be going home now."
She could not disobey the Parker couple yet, nor could she get on their bad side. She must not disappoint them, so she had no choice but to abandon Jackson. Before she went back, she told her secretary to come to the business district ASAP. She then handed the clothes to her secretary, telling her to give it to Jackson.
…
"I told her to come back right away, Kendall." Charlotte sat back down on the couch. She was on the phone with Kendall.
"Thanks, Mom."
Charlotte answered lovingly, "Don't mention it. You're my daughter, but I never did my job as a mother for the last twenty-five years. I raised someone else's kid instead. If you girls can't get along, I'll take your side." Charlotte loved Kelly. After all, she had been raising her like her own for the last two decades. She did not want Kelly to return to her family even after she knew Kendall and her were switched at birth. Both of them were her daughters, but of course she loved one more than the other.
Kendall was grateful for her mother's unconditional support. She knew that Jackson would go to the hospital and call Kelly after the ordeal, and that Jackson would be annoyed if Kelly did not show up in time. So, she told her mother to ask Kelly to come home. Kendall did not even give her a reason, but Charlotte still helped her anyway.
"Did you ask Mr. Dylan about working in our company, Kendall? Your father must have gone mad. This is our private affair, so by right, there's no need to ask Mr. Dylan. It's not like he can tell us what to do." Charlotte still could not understand why Adam and Kendall listened to Dylan's every order. "Did he say you can come back? You're my daughter, and I don't want him to order you around like you're his maid. It would break my heart. Honestly, I want to take you home right now."
"Mom, he did not order me around—" Someone took her phone away before she could finish.
Dylan enunciated solemnly, "Kendall is my wife. We're legally married. She is not my maid."
Charlotte's phone almost slipped out of her hand. She froze in shock, and when she snapped out of it, her phone was already on the ground.
"Dylan!" Kendall wanted to take her phone back. She forgot that he was still around. He was so quiet, she thought he had left.
Dylan put the phone back in Kendall's hand. "What? You think you're too good for me? Or do you dislike me now that I'm a cripple? You didn't even tell Mom we got married?" he asked coldly.
"But I thought you didn't want anyone to find out that we're married." You wouldn't even let me call you 'honey'.
Dylan pursed his lips, his eyes still on her, though he looked a bit distant.
"Kendall? Kendall!" Charlotte picked her phone up and called her daughter's name, feeling distraught. "Are you still there, Kendall? What's the meaning of this? Is it true? Does your father know? Wait, you guys hid this from me?" Charlotte was shocked, angry, and in disbelief. No wonder that asshole wanted Kendall to get Dylan's permission to work in the company. No wonder Kendall went straight to the mansion after Dylan called her.
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