Chapter 195: Stealing a Child

Back at home, the odd look on Amanda Vance’s face still hadn’t faded. She couldn’t help but chuckle when she remembered how the man’s ears had turned beet-red after he called her Megan.

’Who would’ve thought the great President Ford could actually get embarrassed.’

"Mom." Jean Vance saw her just standing by the door, lost in thought, instead of coming inside. He called out to her, a puzzled look on his face. ’What’s wrong with Mom?’

Amanda Vance snapped out of it at the sound of his voice and nodded. "Mm."

She walked to the refrigerator, put away the groceries, and asked, "What do you feel like eating?"

"Anything’s fine."

"Then I’ll decide."

"Okay."

’He prefers vegetables, while the other boy loves meat.’

The thought of Felix Ford inevitably brought Joshua Sawyer’s words to mind.

Besides discussing the case today, she had also asked him what her chances were of winning custody of the boy.

The chances were very low—next to zero. Unless the family was mistreating him, it would be nearly impossible for a judge to award custody to an unmarried woman who had never raised the child.

The best approach was a private settlement, which might offer a slightly better chance of success.

She told Jean about it, shared her thoughts, and then asked, "Jean, you’ve been to Laura’s house. Do you think a private settlement is feasible?"

Instantly understanding what "private settlement" implied, Jean’s expression became indescribably complicated. He barely kept his composure, quickly lowering his head to wash the vegetables and shaking it. "I think it’s still better to go through legal channels."

’At least there’s a sliver of hope that way. This way, there’s none at all.’

’In truth, the legal route would likely yield the same result. It was six of one, half a dozen of the other—both were long shots.’

’To be honest, aside from Samuel Ford being too busy with work to spend much time with Felix Ford, the Fords weren’t bad to him. And a private settlement...’ ’Are the Fords short on cash?’

’It was completely impossible.’

’Thinking about it, he suddenly realized that the method Felix Ford had casually mentioned might actually be the most plausible one.’

After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, "Mom, can you think of a place with a high standard of living, but where there are very few people—or maybe just a handful of people?"

’Few people? And a high standard of living?’

Amanda Vance raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding why he’d suddenly ask such a question, but she still gave it some serious thought before answering. "That would have to be an island. If it’s undeveloped, it would need some work first, but it could be quite nice once it’s set up."

It dawned on Jean. "Mr. Jon has a private island."

He’d been there once; it was really nice. He’d heard Mr. Jon even went surfing there in his free time. But he was too young, and his mom said it was too dangerous, so she wouldn’t let Mr. Jon take him along.

’If we bought an island in the Vastmire Ocean, the chances of the Ford family finding us would be much lower.’

With this idea in mind, he dried his hands after washing the vegetables and ran to his room. He hopped on his computer to do some research, but it wasn’t long before he returned, looking dejected.

’He could afford one, sure. But the developed islands were either already sold or had been turned into tourist spots, so they weren’t exactly deserted. As for undeveloped ones... developing the land, building a house, and handling the renovations would take at least a year, even if they rushed it.’

’By then, Mom would probably already know the truth, so what would be the point of an island?’

He was frustrated with himself. ’Why didn’t I think of an island before?’

’It was mainly because when he visited Mr. Jobs’s island, he’d found it too hard to get to, so the idea never really stuck with him.’

’Ugh, it’s a terrible feeling to have money you can’t even spend.’

He sighed, looked up, and then sighed again.

Seeing him sighing so dramatically, Amanda Vance was amused. "What’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing." Jean Vance shook his head, then gritted his teeth and said, "Mom, why don’t we just snatch our little brother away? Or we could pull a ’golden cicada sheds its shell’ and fake a death or something, then sneak away with him? Ouch—"

He hadn’t even finished speaking when he felt a flick on his forehead. He froze, stunned. This was the first time his mom had ever done that to him. She usually just ruffled his hair affectionately.

Seeing the hurt welling up in her son’s eyes, Amanda Vance felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. She reached out and gently rubbed the spot she’d just flicked. "What are you thinking? No matter what, Laura has been raised by that family for years, and you yourself said they treat him well. If we were to fake his death or something like that... we would know it’s not real, but to them, their child would truly be gone. Imagine how heartbroken they would be."

’She wanted her son back, but not if it meant he’d have to spend his life in hiding. She wanted to be with him openly, without any secrets.’

’Besides, she subconsciously recoiled from the idea of a "faked death." She had already been through that once herself.’

Seeing his mother’s reaction, Jean understood. He mentally kicked himself for suggesting such a terrible idea; he had been so anxious he’d just started spouting nonsense.

He took her hand and said apologetically, "I’m sorry, Mom. I was just talking nonsense. I won’t say anything like that again."

"Mm." Amanda Vance knelt, taking his small hand and meeting his gaze. "Jean, Mom knows you want your brother to be with us. But we have to find a more peaceful way to do this."

’It was a real headache for her. If the family was treating him well, it made things even more difficult. The idea of taking the boy away just because she gave birth to him... even she felt that was completely unreasonable.’

’On what grounds could she possibly do that?’

’She had given birth to him, but she hadn’t raised him. To bring a child into the world and not raise them was even worse than not having them at all.’

’Even if it hadn’t been her choice, the fact that she hadn’t raised the boy was indisputable.’

This was precisely what Jean found so difficult, too.

’If only there were a solution that would make everyone happy.’

’Make everyone happy... For some reason, Jean suddenly pictured the kids at his kindergarten with their moms and dads. If they all became one family, then he could be with Felix Ford without having a huge falling-out with the Ford family.’

’The moment the thought crossed his mind, he froze, completely baffled as to why he would even think of that.’

’Wasn’t he the one who’d been so against his mom having anything to do with the Ford family? If a solution like that was on the table, then what was the point of everything he’d done before?’

’He really was getting muddled from anxiety. Every idea he came up with was worse than the last.’

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jean forced himself to calm down. He nodded in response to his mother. "I understand, Mom."

Amanda Vance gently touched his earlobe. "It’s okay. You’re still little. Leave this to Mom. I’ll go and talk to his family when the time is right."

’She didn’t care who the man was or what he was like, but she wanted her child. At the very least, she needed to be able to see him often.’

’If it proved too difficult, she would even accept having visitation rights, like in a divorced family.’

’Of course, that was just settling for second best.’

’If possible, she still wanted to raise her son herself.’

「The Ford Residence.」

Felix Ford was sitting on the floor playing with his toys. He heard a noise at the entrance and glanced over. ’Oh, Dad’s back.’

He turned away, his face impassive, then snapped his head back around to stare. He wasn’t mistaken. His dad was actually smiling.

’Smiling? His dad?’

’He simply couldn’t connect those two concepts. For a second, he wondered if his dad had been possessed by an alien.’