Chapter 610: Chapter 610: Celia Dawson’s Nightmare

The atmosphere in the conference room was tense.

Renee Jennings saw a familiar little bird land on the windowsill behind Celia Dawson.

She pursed her lips, then rose and walked over to open the window.

Inky immediately chirped a greeting, "Good afternoon, Renee."

"Good afternoon, Inky," Renee Jennings said softly. "I’m in the middle of something, so you’ll have to wait for me."

Inky nodded its little head obediently. "It’s okay, you do your thing. I’m going to play in the director’s office."

Renee Jennings watched it fly toward the floor above, raised an eyebrow, and then closed the window.

When she returned to her seat, she saw that Celia Dawson’s forehead was already beaded with sweat.

’That nervous?’

Henry Stark said calmly, "Ms. Dawson, the person Gregory Dawson attacked was Elijah Brooks’s son, Levi Brooks."

The color drained from Celia Dawson’s face. A look of astonishment filled her eyes, and her voice trembled. "Gregory... attacked... Levi Brooks?"

"Yes." Henry Stark’s tone grew heavier. "Gregory Dawson intended to kill him. If the police hadn’t arrived at the scene in time to rescue Levi Brooks, Gregory Dawson would very likely be a murderer now."

"No, that’s impossible." Celia Dawson shook her head violently. "Gregory would never do that."

Henry Stark pulled up the footage Zephyr recorded last night and turned his phone screen toward her. "This shows Gregory Dawson’s assault on Levi Brooks."

Celia Dawson saw the familiar figure on the screen. Her lips quivered. "How could Gregory..."

"Ms. Dawson, is Gregory Dawson your son with Elijah Brooks, or not?" Henry Stark’s tone was suddenly sharp, his powerful presence demanding an answer.

Celia Dawson pressed her lips together, her expression a mask of tormented indecision.

Renee Jennings’s voice was gentle as she tried to soothe her. "Ms. Dawson, if Elijah Brooks really did get drunk and force himself on you all those years ago, you can tell us. Even after more than twenty years, he can still be held criminally liable."

Celia Dawson took a deep breath, her weary face etched with sorrow. She choked out the words, "Elijah Brooks... he didn’t force me."

Hearing this, Sawyer, who was taking notes, instinctively looked up from her laptop screen at Celia Dawson.

’Is Elijah Brooks really going to betray his son’s trust?’

Celia Dawson let out another long breath, as if she had just summoned all her courage. "Gregory is not Elijah Brooks’s son."

Sawyer’s eyes suddenly widened.

Henry Stark’s dark brows drew together slowly. He inquired, "Then why would Gregory Dawson claim that about Elijah Brooks?"

Celia Dawson lowered her head, her shoulders slumped, and she said listlessly, "It’s my fault."

Levi Brooks’s mother, Melanie Shepherd, was the niece of Celia’s aunt. Back then, Melanie brought her boyfriend, Elijah Brooks, to visit that aunt.

Elijah Brooks was strikingly handsome and debonair, and Celia Dawson was utterly captivated the first time she saw him.

From then on, Celia Dawson was always trying to find ways to see Elijah Brooks.

But he was Melanie Shepherd’s boyfriend. Celia didn’t dare do anything, so she could only admire him from afar.

Celia Dawson always thought she’d hidden her feelings well, that no one would ever discover her secret. But one of Elijah Brooks’s friends, a man called Sixth Brother Brooks, not only found out—he called her out on it directly.

Furious and humiliated, Celia Dawson cursed out Sixth Brother Brooks and ran off.

But then, one day, Sixth Brother Brooks stopped her, saying he was willing to help set her up with Elijah Brooks.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you? That Melanie Shepherd is too prim and proper. I can’t stand the sight of her."

Celia Dawson actually believed him. "Then... then how are you going to help me?"

Sixth Brother Brooks said, "Wear something nice tonight. I’ll arrange for you and Elijah Brooks to have dinner together."

"Okay!" Celia Dawson agreed without hesitation.

That night, Celia Dawson went to the dinner wearing the best dress she owned—a polka-dot one.

Celia Dawson sat in the restaurant for half an hour, but Elijah Brooks still hadn’t shown up. She asked anxiously, "Why isn’t he here yet?"

"Relax," Sixth Brother Brooks said, pouring wine into her glass. "Handsome guys take their time getting ready. If you don’t want to wait, you can always go home."

Of course, Celia Dawson wasn’t going to leave. She didn’t want to miss this chance to get close to the man she had a crush on.

"Listen to me, girl. Drink up." Sixth Brother Brooks was all smiles. "I guarantee things will work out for you two tonight."

"What do you mean?" Celia Dawson asked, confused.

Sixth Brother Brooks waggled his eyebrows at her. "You’re so shy you can barely say a word to Elijah Brooks. Don’t you need a little liquid courage? I can get him to meet you, but I can’t confess your feelings for you."

’That does make sense,’ Celia Dawson thought.

She really was too timid.

Celia Dawson steeled herself, tilted her head back, and downed the drink.

Sixth Brother Brooks kept pouring her one drink after another.

Those were Celia Dawson’s last memories of the night. When she woke up the next day, she found herself lying naked in Sixth Brother Brooks’s arms.

"AHHH—" she screamed. "Bastard!"

Celia Dawson kicked Sixth Brother Brooks off the bed.

Sixth Brother Brooks rubbed his backside as he got up, glaring at Celia Dawson. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Didn’t you say you were going to help me meet Elijah Brooks?" Celia Dawson accused him, tears streaming down her face. "Why did it turn out like this?"

"He didn’t show up. What was I supposed to do?" Sixth Brother Brooks said, completely unapologetic. "Besides, you were the one who came on to me last night."

"You’re lying!" Celia Dawson retorted through her tears. "I don’t even like you, how could I have made a move on you?"

"You were drunk, you must have mistaken me for Elijah Brooks!" Sixth Brother Brooks rolled his eyes. "I’m a red-blooded man. You seduced me like that... you can’t blame me, can you?"

The incident became Celia Dawson’s worst nightmare.

"Later, I found out I was pregnant." Celia Dawson’s fists clenched so tight her knuckles turned white, and her breath grew ragged. "Back then, getting pregnant out of wedlock was a cardinal sin. My family pointed their fingers in my face, calling me shameless..."

"I didn’t know what to do, so I went to find Sixth Brother Brooks."

"But that depraved bastard Sixth Brother Brooks actually denied it!" Celia Dawson slammed her clenched fist on the table. "He asked me how I could prove the child I was carrying was his!"

Celia Dawson’s eyes were bloodshot, her voice thick with resentment. "How could he humiliate me like that? From that day on, I put all the blame on Elijah Brooks!"

’That Elijah Brooks is seriously unlucky,’ Sawyer thought with a frown.

"Then why did you decide to have the baby?" Renee Jennings asked, puzzled.

"I don’t know..." Celia Dawson shook her head, smiling bitterly. "I was out of my mind back then, insistent on having the baby."

"I always imagined bringing the child before Elijah Brooks and making him see it clearly—this was the bitter fruit he had sown."

Sawyer was speechless.

She pursed her lips, but couldn’t stop herself from pointing out, "But Elijah Brooks didn’t do anything wrong."

"I know." Tears streamed down Celia Dawson’s face. "He didn’t do a single thing wrong. I was the one who trapped myself in all this hatred."

Renee Jennings said with a sigh, "You shouldn’t have dragged the next generation into it."

"No, I didn’t! I never told Gregory about any of this." A hint of confusion entered Celia Dawson’s eyes. "How could he possibly know?"

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