Chapter: 572

Given her condition, even the best doctors had been hesitant to promise stability. The thought of what imprisonment might do to her was unthinkable.

“It's just a phase of excessive affection, right?" Francine remarked dismissively.

Maddie exhaled deeply, recalling her discussions with Jonathan to Francine.

"Did he actually say that?" Francine asked.

"Yes, he did. Otherwise, I wouldn't be this frightened. As long as Bethany is in the picture, Jonathan will persist. Even the slightest mention of her could prompt him to unearth old secrets. I feel like I'm teetering on the brink of a precipice!"

“Your fears assume Bethany will reenter my son's life. What if she doesn't?" Francine proposed, her voice now softer, betraying her own apprehensions. “Maddie, don't worry. You and your mother were my saviors. I haven't forgotten that. Jonathan is my son. He owes you."

Francine's reassurances once comforted Maddie, but now they only deepened her unease.

"What plans do you have to ensure Bethany vanishes?"

"Send her to join her mother," Francine stated icily. "I was too lenient before. I should've sent them both away long ago, and we wouldn't be in this mess."

Maddie inhaled sharply, her voice raspy from emotion. "Francine, I've brought so much trouble upon you, yet you hold no grudge against me."

“How could I forget your bravery, getting battered to protect me? Maddie, without you, I wouldn't be alive. You're the only one I acknowledge as my daughter-in-law."

“Francine, when I saved you, I didn't think twice. I just wanted to protect Jonathan's mother because it would have devastated him if anything happened to you," Maddie said.

“For all these years, I've always known you're the person who loves my son the most. I don't even acknowledge Bethany. If those people had actually taken photos of me during the kidnapping and used them to blackmail the Bates family, Bates Group would be at their mercy. Jonathan's father and I-"

“Francine, please stop!" Maddie interrupted urgently. "Let's leave the past where it belongs. I have never regretted saving you, even though things didn't work out with Jonathan."

The more Maddie talked like that, the guiltier Francine became.

Those kidnappers had intended to disgrace Francine and use the photos to blackmail the Bates family. If they had succeeded, Francine couldn't bear to think how she and her husband would have coped, or how the Bates family would have been manipulated.

Maddie had daringly intervened, offering herself in exchange as Jonathan's fiancee.

The kidnappers saw this as a better opportunity and accepted.

To this day, Francine vividly recalled seeing Maddie after the rescue, her body bruised, her clothing torn, and blood between her legs.

She couldn't imagine the barbaric suffering Maddie had gone through in those few hours. Without Maddie, Francine would have endured all of that.

Even though the scandalous photos were intercepted and the incident was kept under wraps by the Bates family, Francine still pushed for Maddie to become her daughter-in-law. The Bates family owed her that much.

"Jonathan will marry you. Just trust me and be patient a bit longer. I will handle everything for you, even Bethany," Francine said.

"Alright."

In Bates Group's conference room, leaders from various departments along with major shareholders gathered for a meeting.