Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid novel Chapter 423

Chapter 423: Chapter 423 Ryan’s Ace

Julia stared at the recorder in Diana’s hand.

She couldn’t believe it.

The recording was unmistakable.

Every word of the conversation between the Robinson and Knight families had been captured clearly.

There was no room left for excuses.

No way to call it a rumour.

No way to claim Rose had misunderstood.

The Robinson family’s intentions were laid bare for everyone to hear.

And somehow, Diana had chosen to stand against them.

She was a Robinson herself, yet she’d done what none of the others had been willing to do.

She’d protected Rose.

She’d brought the truth into the open.

Across the ballroom, Liam’s expression changed the moment he saw Diana.

He had been trying to reach her all morning.

Her phone had been off.

No one knew where she was.

And now she had suddenly appeared looking as though she’d barely escaped something.

Liam immediately stood.

He shrugged off his suit jacket, crossed the room, and climbed onto the stage.

Without a word, he draped the jacket around Diana’s shoulders.

“What happened?”

Diana shook her head.

“I’m fine.”

Her parents weren’t nearly as forgiving.

Her father stood up, his face dark with anger.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Diana looked at him.

“You’ve embarrassed the family enough already,” he continued. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

Her mother looked equally furious.

“Diana, have you forgotten who you are? Standing up there against your own family in front of all these people?”

Diana almost laughed.

She had never expected her parents to suddenly grow a conscience.

They had never exactly treated her like the daughter they were proud of.

So why should she be afraid of disappointing them now?

She straightened.

“The Robinson family is the one in the wrong.”

Her voice carried through the room.

“And I’m not going to stand there and watch you hurt Rose just because she’s inconvenient.”

Julia’s face hardened.

She took a breath before responding.

“Let’s not lose sight of the facts.”

Her eyes swept toward Rose.

“Ariel is legally part of the Robinson family. She carries the Robinson name. Whatever the Robinson family decides to do regarding a child who is legally ours is not Rose’s decision to make.”

Rose’s expression changed.

There it was.

Julia wasn’t backing down.

She was preparing to cut Rose out of Ariel’s life completely.

Rose understood immediately.

If the Robinson family could convince everyone that she had no legal standing as Ariel’s mother, they could try to turn the child into a legal asset of their own.

They were counting on paperwork.

They were counting on power.

And they were willing to use both against her.

Dr. Nathan Hale finally snapped.

He slammed his palm against the table and stood.

“That’s enough.”

His voice thundered across the room.

“You keep talking about Ariel like she’s a piece of property because she carries the Robinson name.”

He pointed toward Julia.

“But who raised her?”

His anger was impossible to hide.

“Was it the Robinson family?”

Julia’s expression tightened.

“Nathan—”

“No.”

Nathan cut her off.

“Rose’s daughter has been cared for by me and my wife. We’ve been there for her. We’ve watched over her, protected her, and raised her.”

He looked around the room.

“So don’t stand there and pretend the only thing that matters is the name on a document.”

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Rose’s strange phone call today morning.

The urgency in her voice.

The way she’d repeatedly told him not to bring Ariel to the wedding.

At the time, Nathan hadn’t understood.

Now he did.

Rose had known this wedding might turn into a public fight.

She hadn’t wanted Ariel anywhere near the cameras.

She hadn’t wanted reporters photographing her daughter or strangers discussing her custody in front of her.

Rose had been trying to shield Ariel from all of it.

Even while everything around her was falling apart, she’d still been thinking about her daughter first.

Julia looked at Nathan coldly.

“Dr. Hale, you’re making emotional claims.”

She gestured toward the recording.

“And if we’re going to discuss legal custody, then let’s discuss it properly.”

Her voice became sharper.

“Words and emotions don’t determine legal rights. Documents do.”

She looked toward Rose.

“If Rose believes she has a legal claim, she can take it to court.”

A cold voice came from behind her.

“Gladly.”

Julia froze.

So did everyone else.

The room seemed to change temperature.

People turned toward the sound.

Ryan was walking toward the stage.

No one had noticed him move.

His expression was calm.

Almost frighteningly calm.

He climbed the steps and walked toward Rose.

His eyes dropped briefly to her hand.

She had been gripping it so tightly that her fingernails had dug crescent-shaped marks into her palm.

Ryan’s gaze darkened.

Without saying anything, he reached into his hand and placed the lighter against her palm.

Rose looked down.

His lighter.

The same one he’d been turning over in his hand all morning.

Some of the small diamonds set into it had already been scratched from the pressure of her grip.

Rose instinctively closed her fingers around it.

Her nails dug into the stones again.

Ryan looked at her for one long second.

Then he turned away.

His gaze landed on Julia.

Then Trevor.

Trevor had been standing close to his mother throughout the confrontation, trying to keep her from making things worse.

Ryan’s voice was quiet.

“Who told you my daughter belongs to the Robinson family?”

The question landed harder than shouting ever could.

Rose looked up sharply.

Trevor’s expression darkened.

Julia frowned.

“Ryan, what exactly are you implying?”

Before she could say anything else, the ballroom doors swung open.

A man’s voice carried across the room.

“The Robinson family is really determined to make this complicated, aren’t they?”

Everyone turned.

James Taylor walked into the ballroom.

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