Chapter 3

The moment Hazel stepped out of the car, she rushed straight to Saul and Alex.

Alex ran to her first, his face scrunched up as he complained, "Mom, someone tried to run Dad and me over!"

Saul wrapped an arm around Hazel and shot me an accusing look. "This is all your fault. I don't know what kind of creep you attracted, but he's trying to kill us just to take our place!"

Hazel's expression softened immediately, and she comforted him.

"Don't say nonsense. You and Alex are the only ones I care about. Who bullied you? I'll handle it. Whatever you want, I'll make it happen."

From inside my car, I watched the devoted couple through the window, my chest turning cold.

I pushed the door open and stepped out.

"Hey, Hazel," I said evenly. "They were talking about me. I did that."

Her angry expression froze. The color drained from her face for a split second.

Saul quickly pulled her closer and pointed at me. "It's him! Hazel, you have to stand up for Alex and me. Blacklist him from every industry!"

I stepped forward, locking eyes with her. "Don't you have anything to explain?"

Hazel's lips parted, but no words came out.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Ms. Bishop, this guy claimed he's your husband earlier and even showed a marriage certificate! You can't let people like that ruin your reputation!"

Another voice joined in. "He seriously thinks he has a shot with Ms. Bishop? Just look at how in love she and Mr. Matthews are. The moment she arrived, all her attention was on Mr. Matthews. Like he ever stood a chance. Homewreckers like him are disgusting!"

"Ms. Bishop's got power. Handling a nobody like him is easy. Someone who tries to break up a family deserves consequences!"

The crowd's voices overlapped, louder and louder.

Hazel clenched her jaw.

Saul handed her the family photo pendant. Without hesitation, she threw it to the ground and crushed it under her heel.

She kept grinding until the photo was nothing but torn fragments.

My chest tightened.

Then she spoke quietly, almost professionally.

"Sir, using someone else's image without permission is illegal. I don't know you. Stop spreading false claims about me before my husband and others get the wrong idea."

She paused before continuing.

"As for today, you harassed my husband. I won't let this go. I want you to apologize to him right here, in front of everyone."

A cold smile tugged at my lips.

The woman, who stood where she was today only because of everything I'd given her, was now fiercely protecting her affair partner.

Fine. I would give them exactly what they wanted.

Before I could speak, Charis suddenly jumped out of the car. Her eyes landed on the shattered photo beneath Hazel's shoe.

"Mommy… That was our family picture," she said, voice shaking. "It was my favorite. Why did you ruin it?"

Alex glared at her viciously. "Who are you calling Mommy?"

The crowd looked at us with open disdain.

"Like father, like daughter. Ms. Bishop already said she doesn't know them, and that kid still called her Mommy. She's got no shame at all!"

Charis's eyes were filled with tears, but she refused to back down. "But she is my mommy. Mommy, look at me!"

Hazel finally looked at Charis. Her expression turned cold and distant.

"I don't know you," she said flatly. "Little girl, don't let your father teach you bad habits. Don't call strangers Mommy."

I pulled Charis into my arms and gently patted her back, calming her shaking shoulders.

Then, I looked around the crowd. A few middle-aged women were already livestreaming with their phones raised high.

I smiled faintly and raised my voice. "Everyone here can be my witness. Ms. Bishop just said she doesn't know my daughter or me. Correct?"

The crowd looked confused but nodded anyway.

"This guy's lost it. He was forcing Ms. Bishop to admit she's his wife earlier."

"Yeah, he's definitely crazy."

I kept my gaze fixed on Hazel. "Then I hope you stand by your words. You'd better remember everything you just said."

Hazel let out a cold snort.

Beside her, Saul looked completely triumphant, soaking up the crowd's approval.

The ridicule around me grew louder.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?"

"Maybe he thinks pretending to be crazy will help him avoid responsibility. Everyone in Harborview knows Milton Group's legal team doesn't lose cases."

"Come on, everyone, look here. This is the most shameless homewrecker you'll ever see!"

Mockery rolled through the crowd like waves.

Suddenly, police sirens cut through the noise.

Several patrol cars pulled up.

Officers stepped out and called loudly, "We received a call about a stolen supercar worth ten million dollars. Who made the call?"