After Insisting on Getting Married

Once the call ended, I turned to my mother-in-law.

"Emeline, Norris is your own grandson! How could you just let someone take him away?"

She glanced at me with annoyance.

"Hey, what do you mean 'someone'? Vivien is Norris's aunt. How can she be considered an outsider? With her around, how could anything possibly go wrong?"

I snorted in disbelief. On my way here, I had already called Frederic, and he was on his way back too.

From what Vivien had said, it was clear that Emeline had accepted money from someone.

"What exactly did Vivien take Norris for? Tell me right now!"

Emeline remained silent, which only made me more anxious.

"Sandi! Mom! What's going on? Where's Norris?"

Frederic hurried over, his voice full of worry.

Seeing my husband, I fought back the tears and shot a glance at Emeline.

"Ask your mother!"

As soon as Emeline saw Frederic, her expression instantly became aggrieved.

"Your sister was just trying to help me out, feeling sorry for how hard it is for me to look after Norris every day. She took him with her, and now Sandi is accusing me as if I've done something terrible!"

Frederic patted Emeline's shoulder, trying to soothe her.

"Sandi's just very worried. Norris is our son, your grandson, after all!"

Emeline continued to defend herself stubbornly.

"Well, Vivien is his aunt! How could she possibly harm him?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Frederic and his mother were acting as if I had wronged them all.

My patience was exhausted. I didn't want to argue with them anymore. I only wanted to find my son.

I pulled out my phone and replayed the video I had seen earlier.

Frederic tried to calm me down as he held onto my arm.

"Since we know Vivien has Norris, there's no need to be so anxious. They'll be back by tonight."

I shook him off, my voice trembling with frustration.

"I can't wait until tonight. You saw the video I sent you, and yet you're so calm! How can I have such a careless husband?"

I had already sent a private message to the video account holder under the pretense of being from Vivien's company, asking for the exact location.

Frederic's face went pale, and he stood there, unable to respond.

Emeline looked confused. "Video? What video?"

My phone pinged with a notification. I glanced at it, ignoring the two of them.

I had received the address. The most urgent thing now was to retrieve Norris.

Frederic drove while I navigated from the passenger seat.

The map indicated it would take us fifty minutes to get there.

I glanced at Frederic, my anger bubbling beneath the surface.

The drive was filled with silence.

As we arrived at our destination, I saw a large red balloon arch at the entrance.

It read: [Heartfelt congratulations on the first birthday of our beloved grandson!]

I stepped inside. The place was bustling, an old-style house lively with activity.

Dozens of banquet tables were set up on the lawn.

Nearby, sound equipment from Vivien's wedding planning company was in place.

She had organized our wedding too.

By the sound system sat a young man, engrossed in his phone.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Vivien."

He glanced up, then looked around.

"Vivien isn't here. You might want to check around back."

I thanked him and made my way to the rear of the house.

In the corner, there were three pull-up banners displaying photos of Norris.

Not far off, Vivien was conversing with another woman.

I hurried over and grabbed her by the arm.

"Vivien, where is Norris?"

Vivien looked at Frederic and me in surprise.

"Frederic? Sandi? What are you doing here?"

I tightened my grip on her arm and raised my voice.

"I asked you, where is Norris?!"

She winced, pulling away from me. "Why are you so worked up? You're hurting me!"

She gestured towards the house.

"Norris is inside. He's fine. I just checked on him; he's sound asleep."

Frederic asked quietly, "Vivien, why did you bring Norris here?"

Vivien glanced at me, hesitating before she spoke.