Eleven Years All to the Wrong Man novel Chapter 189

Shortly after Emma and Eric got home, Evan's car pulled up.

Mrs. Hayes was just putting the last dish on the table. Seeing her son-in-law walk in, she called out, "You're back, Evan. What took you so long?"

Evan walked in looking completely normal, a polite, slightly apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry, Mrs. Hayes. I had a flat tire on the way, it held me up for a bit."

"A flat tire? Oh my, that would certainly take some time."

Mr. Hayes poured himself a glass of whiskey and gestured naturally for Evan to join him. "Come on, sit next to me. Keep an old man company with a drink tonight."

"Robert!"

Hearing that her husband was planning to drink, Mrs. Hayes frowned in disapproval. She pulled off the apron tied around her waist. "You were just coughing the other day, and now you're drinking again?!"

"Just a little. I won't overdo it."

Mr. Hayes held up his glass and made a tiny gesture with his fingers to his wife.

Emma and Eric both chuckled at the scene. Emma stood up, took the glass from her father's hand, and went to the cabinet. She pulled out an herbal liqueur and placed it on the table. "Dad, since you're not feeling well, just have some of this instead."

Seeing his daughter had swapped his drink, Robert could only sigh and agree. "Fine, I'll have the liqueur, but—"

His tone shifted as he looked at Evan. "Evan is perfectly healthy. He can't be expected to drink this stuff with me."

At that, Eric deftly retrieved the whiskey his sister had put away and handed it back to his father, then turned to Evan. "Evan, this is some special liqueur my dad brewed last year! It's really fragrant and smooth, but it's pretty strong, so take it slow!"

Evan smiled, nodded, and said, "Alright."

After the chicken soup for lunch, Mrs. Hayes had prepared another special chicken soup with herbs for dinner—all ingredients meant to be restorative and nourishing.

Something was very off…

The seed of doubt that had been planted in Emma's mind earlier began to sprout. She couldn't shake the feeling that her parents knew something, but… how could they possibly know?

Unable to figure it out, Emma lowered her head to avoid her mother's gaze and took a small bite of the chicken wing in her bowl.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hayes was busy drinking with Evan.

They went glass for glass. Mr. Hayes had started with the herbal liqueur, but after a while, he decided it wasn't hitting the spot and had Eric secretly switch it back to whiskey.

Mrs. Hayes's attention was entirely focused on her daughter, so she didn't notice what her husband and son were up to.

By the time she looked over again, two bright red patches had appeared on Mr. Hayes's cheeks. His eyes were glazed over, and he stared blankly ahead, unable to speak.