I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 624

"That woman is entirely corrupt and harbors sinister motives, yet you still want her as your daughter-in-law? I still don't understand how she bewitched you into letting her into this house all those years ago. And now you want to ruin Hayden too? Let me tell you right now—Charles isn't dead. He's being held by that poisonous woman."

"Whether he makes it back depends entirely on whether we have what it takes. Otherwise, you can just prepare yourself to collect his corpse."

Nita swayed violently, staring at Grandmother Beatrice in sheer disbelief.

"Mom, are you having an episode?" Nita pushed back so hard the old lady nearly fainted for real.

"Charles's ashes were brought back. You're saying he isn't dead? How is that even possible?"

Grandmother Beatrice glared furiously at Nita. "Ask your precious son."

From the very first day Sienna used Charles to threaten her, she knew there was no way Hayden was entirely in the dark about this.

She had just tested the waters, and Hayden had remained utterly expressionless.

He had known for a long time that his brother was still alive.

Nita looked at Hayden, practically vibrating with excitement. "Is it true? Charles isn't dead? Thank God! Then Sienna, she—"

Nita suddenly remembered Sienna's predicament and began to panic.

If Charles really returned, what would happen to Sienna?

"Sienna ran away. She's not coming back."

Nita was stunned. "What do you mean?"

Grandmother Beatrice cursed herself for her own blindness over the years. The only woman worthy of stepping through the Thorne family's doors in this lifetime was Zoe.

The rest were either stupid or purely malicious.

"What does he mean? He means that little tramp Sienna is rotten to the core. And you! You used Zoe as bait, and now you've lost the bait and the fish. Charles isn't back, and you've alerted the enemy."

"You've played smart for so many years, but the woman has fled, and your son out there is unaccounted for. Let me tell you, the Thorne family has plenty of enemies. If Charles is truly gone, then he's gone."

"I refuse to claim a grandson as stupid as you, getting strung along by a woman and a child. But if Zoe doesn't come back, you can get the hell out too."

The old lady issued her eviction notice, nearly causing Nita to pass out on the spot.

Sienna had run away.

True to her word, Nita dialed Sienna's number.

Sienna answered quite quickly. Maintaining the haughty posture of a wealthy matriarch, Nita couldn't bring herself to fully lower her pride with Sienna.

But Sienna had, after all, given the Thorne family a son—Charles's only posthumous child.

She forced herself to be patient. "Sienna, did something happen?"

On the other end of the line, Sienna immediately choked out a sob. "Nita, I bought a plane ticket to Italy. I left in such a hurry, I didn't even have time to tell you."

Nita was shocked. "What about Holden? Did you take him with you?"

That was the eldest grandson of the Thorne family, Charles's child.

What kind of massive breakdown had happened in Sienna and Hayden's relationship to cause this?

Sienna's sobs grew heavier. "Nita, I'm so sorry. Holden wasn't getting the best treatment domestically, so I had to take him away. He contracted an infection at the hospital here and almost died. I begged Hayden to bring Lily in to give Holden a blood transfusion, but he refused."

"I don't understand. Hayden clearly loved Holden so much. Why did he suddenly change his mind? Not only did he refuse to let Lily give blood, but when Holden was hanging by a thread from using contaminated hospital blood, he still wouldn't let Lily help."