Chapter 107: Chapter 94: Father 3

“Officer, that’s the man.” Jude Dudley pointed at Damian Prescott and said angrily, “He’s been here causing trouble since this morning, driving away business!”

The two officers walked up to Damian Prescott and began to warn him not to cause trouble. Damian was surprisingly compliant. As soon as they spoke, he picked up his megaphone and left.

However, as he walked away, he kept looking back to smile at Jude Dudley and Isla Prescott. “You adulterer, and you, Zoe, just wait. I’ll be back!”

His smile was more sinister than that of a vengeful ghost crawling out of Hell.

Isla Prescott couldn’t suppress a shudder of fear.

After seeing the two officers off, Jude Dudley led Isla Prescott into the building materials store and up to the second floor.

On the second floor of the building materials store, Susan Dudley and Sienna Prescott were standing at the window, watching everything unfold downstairs.

“Mom.” Isla Prescott went to Susan Dudley’s side and took her hand. Just as she’d expected, it was ice-cold. “Don’t be afraid. He’s gone now.”

“He’ll be back. That man is like gum on a shoe—now that he’s found us, we’ll never be able to shake him off.” Susan Dudley clutched her aching chest and looked at Jude Dudley, her expression filled with guilt. “Jude, I’m so sorry. It’s all because of me. I’ve made you a laughingstock in the neighborhood. I think it’s best if I move out. I’ll go right now. If he comes back, just tell him you have nothing to do with me.”

“Move out for what? You think I’m afraid of that bum?!” Jude Dudley’s expression was firm. “I’m not leaving you. Even if he harasses me here for a hundred years, I will never leave you! Let people say what they want, and let them laugh all they want. At my age, do you really think I care about that stuff?”

“But… but when I fled all those years ago, I was in such a hurry… I never actually filed for divorce.” During the years of Damian Prescott’s abuse, Susan Dudley had tried to bring it up, but in that remote mountain village, getting a divorce was next to impossible.

“You’ve been separated for over a decade. You can file for divorce and dissolve the marriage unilaterally.”

“I’m afraid even a divorce won’t do any good. Since he had the means to track us to Meritopia, he’s not going to leave empty-handed with just a divorce decree. Your business has already suffered because of me, and I’m worried this whole affair will affect Leo, too.”

The “Leo” Susan Dudley mentioned was Jude Dudley’s only son, Leo Dudley. He worked for the Meritopia city government and had a bright and promising career, making him his father’s pride and joy.

“I’m not afraid of him affecting me!”

A clear male voice called out from the stairwell.

Everyone turned to see Leo Dudley, who had returned without them noticing.

“Leo, what are you doing back?” Jude Dudley asked.

“Aunt Zane from next door called me. She said some bum was causing trouble at your store and told me to hurry back and see what was going on.” Leo Dudley set down his briefcase and walked over to Susan Dudley. “Aunt Sue, don’t be afraid. A guy like that couldn’t even get through the front door of my office. How could he possibly affect me?”

“Leo, I don’t want to drag you and your dad into this. It’s really for the best if I leave.”

“I’m fine with you going somewhere else to lay low for a bit, but I am not okay with you and my dad separating. Aunt Sue, you have no idea how happy I was the day I found out you and Dad were together.”

Leo Dudley’s mother had passed away early in his life. For more than twenty years, his father, Jude Dudley, had worked from dawn till dusk to support him. Leo grew up in loneliness, right up until Susan Dudley rented a room in their house.

Even though Susan Dudley’s own financial situation was tough back then, whenever she saw Leo Dudley ordering takeout at home by himself, she would call him over to eat with her and Sienna Prescott. If there was a meat dish on the table, she would never take any for herself, always splitting it evenly between him and Sienna.

One time, when Leo Dudley was sick with a fever and his father wasn’t home, it was Susan Dudley who carried him on her back all the way to the clinic. She watched over him as he got an IV drip, staying by his side until Jude Dudley finally returned.

In Leo Dudley’s heart, Susan Dudley was a second mother to him.

“Aunt Sue, we’re a family. And families stick together through thick and thin.”

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