CHAPTER 242

Madeline knew that Leigh meant well, so she nodded and assured her, "I know." holds © this.

Leigh patted her on the shoulder. "Okay, let's stop talking about this. I'll take a look at the three kids and see if they're injured."

"I'll come with you," Madeline said.

They could see the bruising on their faces, but they did not know if the children had been hurt anywhere else on their bodies. If they were, they needed to tend to the injuries.

The two women brought the three children to a warm room and had them take their clothes off for a thorough inspection.

Joel complied at once.

Quincy had done a good job protecting him, so there was not a single bruise on him.

Quincy and Alex were shy about taking their clothes off, so Madeline and Leigh had to be more forceful in convincing them, prying the clothes off themselves.

There were some bruises on Quincy's arms, legs, chest, and back, while Alex had it a lot worse.

Joel started crying once he saw Quincy's injuries.

Sebastian had stayed outside since it felt a little odd for him to be in the room while the women checked on the children, but once he heard Joel's cries, he came in at once. "What's the matter,

Buddy?"

"Daddy!" Joel fled into Sebastian's arms. "Aldo's hurt!"

Sebastian pulled Joel into a hug as his heart tightened painfully at the sight of the bruises all over Quincy's body.

There were huge spots of blue and black that stood out like a sore thumb against Quincy's soft, fair skin.

The sight of Quincy's injuries, along with the bump on Joel's forehead, was enough for Sebastian to feel his heart breaking. His eyes swirled with anger as a storm began to brew inside him.

"It's okay, Joel. Everything will be alright." Sebastian reined his anger in and gently comforted Joel. "It won't hurt once we take care of it."

"That's right," Leigh added. "Don't cry, Joel. I'll bandage Aldo right up and it won't hurt anymore."

Leigh brought out some ointment from her medical kit and began to tend to the two children's injuries with Madeline's help.

Alex did not have any bruises on his face, but his body was littered with bruises that looked even more horrifying than Quincy's.

Even though Alex was not her child, Madeline felt a pang in her heart to see him wounded to this extent. "How can a bunch of kids do this? How can they be so cruel?"

"And that teacher, too! Why didn't they bring him to the nurse's office?" Leigh fumed. "How irresponsible!"

Sebastian took some of the ointment and spread it over Joel's forehead. He rubbed it in gently and asked, "Does it hurt, darling?"

"No, Daddy!" Joel had stopped crying by now. He hugged Sebastian and looked up at him with admiring eyes. "You're the best, Daddy! Daddy, why did you take so long to come and find us? If we had been together all along, no one would've hurt us!"

Sebastian's hand froze for a second before resuming. "It's my bad. I was too busy with work, so I neglected you and Aldo, but I won't do it ever again, okay? From now on, I'll let your Uncle Lucas do all the work, and spend all my time with you and Aldo, how about that?"

"Okay! That's great!" Joel's eyes were teary, but he had a huge smile on his face. "Daddy, we'll never be apart ever again, right?"

"That's right!" Sebastian nodded firmly.

"Yay!" Joel snuggled into Sebastian's arms. "Daddy, you can't let Uncle Lucas do everything, though. Otherwise, Uncle Lucas won't have any time to find a wife and have children. You can go to work while Aldo and I are in school, Daddy, and spend time with us once we come home from school."

"Find a wife and have children?" Sebastian nudged his nose gently as he said, "Who told you about this, you cheeky little boy?"

"I heard Grandpa saying it!" Joel put on his best attempt at mimicking Philip by pulling a long face and hardening his voice. "Look at you! All day long, you're either cooped up in the office or off gallivanting somewhere! You're surrounded by men all the time, and not a single female in sight, not even a female mosquito! Look at your brother. His sons are already five! When are you going to get a wife?"

Sebastian was speechless.

He had to warn his father to be a little more cautious with his words when speaking around the children. It was one thing to urge Lucas to get married, but why did he bring up a female mosquito?

"Grandpa praised you, Daddy!" Joel exclaimed excitedly. "Grandpa said that you're the most awesome in all of Dusktown because you're already a father to two sons at such a young age. Not only did you give him two wonderful grandsons, but they're also so smart and adorable! This was all thanks to his brilliant decision-making back then, so Grandpa said that's why Uncle Lucas should listen to him. He won't go wrong!"

Sebastian was speechless once again.

Was his father praising him or praising himself?

Brilliant decision-making, huh?

How shameless of his father to say it himself!

"I think Grandpa was wrong about something, though." Joel had a lot to say as he continued chattering, "Mommy is the one who gave birth to Aldo and me, and not you, Daddy, so why did Grandpa say that you gave him us? Only a woman can give birth, and you're a man, Daddy, so you can't give birth!"

Quincy snorted and threw Joel a scornful look. "How silly!"

"Aldo, you can't call me silly," Joel pouted as he glared at Quincy petulantly. "Uncle Lucas told me all about it. He said that I'm not as smart as you because when we were in Mommy's tummy, you took all the nutrients away! You took 90% of Mommy's nutrients and left me with 10%. It was because I liked you, Aldo, so I didn't snatch it away from you, and that's why you're smarter than me!"

Quincy had nothing to say.

Why did the lightning strike him all of a sudden without any warning?

How could he be blamed for Joel's silliness?

"Don't listen to such nonsense from your Uncle Lucas." Sebastian stroked Joel's little head. "You're not silly at all, Joel. You're just innocent. Once you're all grown up, you'll be a hundred times smarter than your Uncle Lucas."

"Really?" Joel looked at him expectantly. "Uncle Lucas is so amazing. He never loses when he plays video games! Will I be as amazing as him when I grow up?"

"...You'll be even more amazing than him!" Sebastian declared.

Quincy pursed his lips. "I've never lost either!"

"Oh, that's right!" Joel nodded. "Aldo is amazing too. He never loses either. When Aldo grows up, he'll definitely be even more amazing than Uncle Lucas!"

Quincy's lips quirked up slightly in satisfaction.

His reaction amused Sebastian.

He realized that Quincy was just someone who did not wear his heart on his sleeve, but instead would try to put up a tough front.

Even though he adored Joel and cared a lot about him, he would still pretend to find Joel annoying.

Apart from Madeline, Quincy was probably the one who loved Joel the most.

Oh, not quite.

There was also him, Philip, and Lucas.

Henceforth, his sons would no longer be starved of any affection. They were the treasures of the entire Hart family and would be blessed with the love of everyone around them, not just Madeline!

As for that woman who caused their suffering today… The sky did not come crashing down yet, but it was about to for her family!