Chapter: 552

"Yes, of course... I'll call them right away!" Maddie exclaimed, turning to dial.

Jonathan watched her intently before checking his own phone, scrolling through the screen.

Moments later, Maddie returned with a worried expression. "His parents' phones are off. What do we do now?"

As she spoke, Maddie noticed Jonathan's phone, displaying an active call to Nikolas' father.

Jonathan relayed the accident details to Nikolas' father before hanging up and looking at Maddie. "Nikolas' accident is connected to you," he stated flatly.

“How could you say that? Nikolas has always been kind to me! We're friends! I would never harm him!"

"Then why didn't you try to contact his family? You didn't even attempt to call his parents."

If Maddie had tried, she would have found the line busy. Maddie faltered, caught off guard by his scrutiny. "I must have dialed the wrong number in the panic."

"I've already informed the police. They'll want to hear your explanation," Jonathan said, refusing to engage further.

As Maddie moved closer, reaching out as if to explain herself, Jonathan sidestepped her.

Her demeanor shifted, fists clenching before she relaxed and let out a soft, mirthless laugh. "Do you hate me that much? Fine, I'll tell you something! You've been trying to find out whose child that Little boy is, right? Well, I'll tell you. He's my son."

"What?" Jonathan exclaimed in disbelief.

"When I was at the company earlier, Nikolas found out about everything and rushed to tell you. He must not have seen the car, causing the accident. I'm afraid the Bennett family will blame me, so I didn't dare to tell them," Maddie explained urgently.

Jonathan would normally dismiss her words outright, but a fragment of Nikolas’ final sentence echoed in his mind.

It did seem like he was about to say something about Maddie.

But claiming the child was hers seemed absurd.

“Maddie, the only reason I'm not laying a hand on you right now is because of my mother."

Realizing she had no choice, Maddie pressed on, desperation in her voice. "I'm not lying. If you doubt me, we can do a DNA test. This was your parents’ idea. They feared you wouldn't accept me, and that the Bates family wouldn't have an heir, so they secretly used our samples for surrogacy."

With Nikolas incapacitated, few could challenge Maddie's story.

Jonathan furrowed his brow in contemplation, remaining silent as he processed what she was saying.

Seeing his guarded reaction, Maddie felt compelled to push further.

"Do you still think Bethany bore your child? She's moved on with Jayson. She'd never do this for you. It could only have been me. I sacrificed everything for you. Even if your heart isn't with me, I still love you!"

“Enough,” Jonathan cut in sharply. "You need to think about how you'll explain this to the Bennett family."

As he turned away, refusing to engage further, Maddie felt a mix of regret and anxiety wash over her.