Beyond the Divorce novel Chapter 643

Atlas took out his phone, pulled up his gallery, and placed the phone in my hands. He started to recount the past.

"Take a look. This is the real Annalise!"

I gazed at the young girl in the phone album. She was beautiful, with lively, sparkling eyes and a radiant smile.

"The night after Aunt Hailey passed away, we huddled in that empty room. I'll never forget the loneliness, helplessness, and fear. It made me anxious."

He glanced at me, his eyes filled with bitterness.

"I was scared, but Aunt Hailey told me I was a man and had to take care of Stella. Once lively and bustling with family, that room ended up with just the two of us. It was eerily silent."

A faint, sorrowful twitch appeared at the corner of Atlas's mouth.

Even after so many years, he still recalled those events with a sense of helplessness.

"At the time, all you did was cry in my arms. I wanted to as well, but I didn't dare to cry, let alone sleep. Aunt Hailey's departure haunted me. I just wanted to wait until dawn to take you to Grandma's house!

"But I never expected that dawn marked the moment we would be separated. When Celine arrived, she was there to inspect our house. When she walked in and saw us, she asked her entourage sternly, 'Why are they still here?' Then she signaled for them to send us away.

"I never thought that it meant sending you away. I held onto you, begging them to let me take you to Grandma's house, but no one listened. I watched as they dragged you into that car. You reached out, calling for me, 'I won't go. Atlas... save me! I don't want to be separated from you!'"

As Atlas spoke, his grip on me tightened as his face returned pale.

I leaned into his embrace, and tears rolled down. "Atlas..."

"The Cross family is my father's maternal family. We lost contact with the Pierce family after my biological grandmother died. They could not intervene, so they could only help the Lively family from the sidelines. However, the Lively family's foundation was too weak to do anything.”

My resentment surged. "It seems that Celine has been eyeing the ATL Empire for a long time. It's not a recent development."

"The outside world had various rumors about the Pierce family, especially about the two of us. It caused significant public pressure on them. So, Celine brought in the fake Stella. She thought she could silence everyone with her.

"However, I knew it wasn't you. I was so young back then, not as savvy. I pointed at Celine and said, 'I know how Aunt Hailey died. Give Stella back to me, or I won't let you off!'"

I reached out to gently stroke Atlas's face and choked, "You were really foolish."

"That sentence put a target on my head."