The IVF Secret That Shook a Dynasty novel Chapter 380

After dinner, the adults chatted over coffee while Chaim played with two other children nearby. The atmosphere was warm and cheerful.

Suddenly, a child’s cry shattered the peace. Everyone turned to see Chaim standing with a toy in his hand, pointing at a little boy sitting on the floor. “Don’t you say that about my mommy!” he said, his voice small but fierce.

The boy on the floor, Toby, was a year older than Chaim. After being hit, he scrambled to his feet and shoved Chaim to the ground.

Vivica had been with her son just moments before but had stepped away to use the restroom. Figuring the adults were all nearby, she hadn't specifically asked Joseph to watch him. Joseph, meanwhile, was deep in conversation with a few of the male elders about business and hadn't noticed Vivica leave or that Chaim was alone.

Seeing Chaim fall, Joseph shot up from his seat and rushed over in a few long strides, scooping the boy into his arms. “Chaim, are you okay? Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice filled with concern. Chaim was still undergoing chemotherapy and was only out of the hospital on a special pass from Dr. Warren. His body was fragile, and any injury could be a serious complication.

Toby’s mother, one of Joseph’s cousins who had married young after an unexpected pregnancy, also hurried over. She pulled her son up and saw a red scratch on his head, likely from the toy. “Joseph, kids will be kids. They fight sometimes. If Chaim’s okay, let’s just let it go,” she said, trying to smooth things over.

Some parents, knowing their child had started it, might have agreed. But Joseph knew Chaim. He knew his son wouldn't start a fight for no reason.

“Chaim, tell Daddy what happened,” Joseph said, ignoring his cousin and focusing his gentle gaze on the boy in his arms.

Chaim’s lower lip trembled, and his eyes filled with tears, but he didn’t speak at first. “Daddy knows you must have had a reason to get upset,” Joseph encouraged him.

At those words, the little boy knew his father wasn't going to scold him but understood him. Tears started to roll down his cheeks. “Toby said… he said my mommy was divorced and she’s a bad woman. He said I’m a fatherless brat, and that I’m sick and I’m going to die soon.”

As the child recounted the story, the faces of the relatives around them changed. Toby’s mother grew flustered. “Chaim, you can’t just make things up. You’re only three, what do you know?”

Joseph’s expression turned cold, his eyes even colder. “That’s right, he’s only three. How would he know what any of that means unless he heard it from someone else? Could he have come up with that on his own?”

Toby’s mother was speechless, her face pale with panic. “Joseph, he’s just a child. Kids say things they don’t understand.”

“Which means the adult understands perfectly. The child is just repeating what they heard.”

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