Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 597

Of course, I couldn't just bail on the whole thing.

And what if my absence let Karina spin her tales unchecked, and the court just handed her the win on a silver platter? That would be a disaster.

"I'll call her now and tell her to drop the lawsuit," Neil said, picking up his phone, ready to make the call right in front of me. But I stopped him.

I had a favor to ask, something about Hiram.

If Karina was shameless enough to play the victim here, I was going to make sure she didn't just lose the case - she'd lose custody of her son as well.

I was crystal clear about one thing - Hiram couldn't be left with a woman like Karina. She'd ruin him.

"Are you serious?" Neil squinted at me, a new emotion flickering in his gaze. "What about your own kids?"

"I have two kids, but that won't stop me from taking care of Hiram. I believe he'd want to stay with me," I said, bolstered by a confidence I didn't know I had, convinced by the hopeful look Hiram gave me last time.

Neil smirked, a hint of mockery in his smile. "Irene, you do realize he's Karina's son, right? Even if I help you get custody, it's going to be messy. Are you ready to keep dealing with Karina over a child?"

I hesitated before, scared to commit to keeping Hiram and dealing with the constant drama.

This time, Karina's blatant shamelessness showed me there's no low she wouldn't stoop to. If she took Hiram away after his surgery, he wouldn't just miss out on proper care and education, he'd be used as her pawn again since she wouldn't give up on Neil that easily.

"Okay, I'm in," Neil surprisingly agreed without much fuss.

"Just like that? No conditions?" I was taken aback. Neil wasn't one to miss an opportunity to negotiate a deal. That's just how he operated.

Neil just smirked, avoiding my question, and instead, he said, "To find evidence of Karina's abuse, we'll need to dig into their past, check where they used to live. We should find something within a month."

That made sense. If Karina had been abusive, it wasn't likely to start only after they returned. To understand what Hiram went through, we needed to revisit their past.

I remembered Dylan, the volunteer from an overseas orphanage. He might have some leads for Neil.

After sharing Dylan's details with Neil, our conversation paused as the waitress brought our food, the peculiarly presented dishes striking me with as much force as the first time I saw them.

"Let's eat," I said, picking up a fork and loading it with food, though Neil looked utterly lost at the sight of the dishes before us.

Growing up in luxury, both Neil and I were accustomed to finer dining than the average diner, not out of snobbery, but habit.

Neil had it worse. While I had tasted a slice of ordinary life due to a past incident, Neil's experiences were limited to upscale settings. The sight of these bland dishes visibly killed his appetite.

"Come on, you wanted to eat here, right?" I urged with feigned consideration.

"Not hungry," Neil mumbled, eyeing his plate with resignation.