Carol lunged wildly, clearly aiming to claw Tessa’s face.Grace’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly signaled Jason to stop her.Jason reacted fast—before anyone could move, he had already pinned Carol down.He turned to Tessa. “Miss Tessa, are you alright?”Tessa sobbed quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks like petals in the rain, but she bit her lip and shook her head, insisting she was fine.She was clearly trying to stay strong, not wanting Grace to worry.Seeing this, Grace clutched her chest, still shaken.She pulled Tessa into her arms, then turned and shouted furiously at Albert and Carol.“This is your idea of a proper conversation?“Don’t forget, we’re the victims here. Not just Tessa, but Aurora too. I’ll make sure every single thing gets settled.”With that, she turned to leave with Tessa. “Jason, we’re going. I’d love to see just how much longer Hayes Enterprises can survive.“If this is what you call sincerity, I have no problem terminating every partnership immedi
She choked on her words as she spoke.At times, she even tried to grab Julianby the sleeve.But he wouldn’t let her touch him.This time, Carol finally understood.“Albert, what’s wrong with our child? Give me a proper explanation.”No matter how much she cried, Julian showed no reaction at all.He just stood there blankly, nervously eyeing Albert’s sleeve, refusing to let Carol get close.That self-protective stance clearly showed he wanted to sever ties with her.Albert hesitated for a long time, unsure how to explain it to his wife.Was he supposed to say that everything was their own child’s fault, and now they even had to cover someone else’s expenses?Otherwise, even the company wouldn’t survive?But what would a housewife like her understand?It was Grace who couldn’t bear watching anymore and finally explained everything to Carol from the beginning.“So, handle your son yourself. Let’s see how you plan to compensate my family.”Grace narrowed her eyes. “Let me warn you, every b
Watching Tessa act so timid and cautious, Jason couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.After all, she was still a Walton.He gave her a reassuring nod. "Don’t worry, Miss Tessa, I’ll protect you both."Tessa offered him a grateful smile in return.But that wasn’t what she was really thinking.Did they all actually believe she was scared?This was nothing more than an act for her mother’s sake.How else was she supposed to win her over?Now that Aurora was back at the company, those old board members surely preferred her even more.She had no leverage left. Her only option now was to take a different route.And that meant using Grace’s sympathy to her advantage.As expected, when Grace saw how gentle and obedient Tessa looked, her eyes turned red with emotion.She patted her daughter’s hand and said soothingly, "Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll make sure you get justice. We’re not swallowing this insult.""Thank you, Mom."Tessa clung tightly to her mother’s arm, unwilling to let
Useless trash.Tessa took a deep breath, disgusted by how terrible her judgment had been.Why had she ever fallen for someone like that?How had she made it through all those years?And how had she tolerated it for so long?Sometimes, she even admired her past self for enduring it all.But now, it was all in the past—there was no point dwelling on it anymore.Her voice…The thought made her lift her hand to touch her throat, sorrow flickering in her eyes.Grace caught the gesture, and her heart twisted painfully.She was only in her twenties.Why did she have to go through all this?Her voice had been perfectly fine.Why did she have to suffer such senseless harm?The ache in Grace’s chest surged.She took a deep breath and turned to Albert. "Well? Your place or mine?"Albert hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let’s go to mine. It’s closer.""I figure you’d prefer to get this over with quickly."For once, Grace didn’t argue.She gave a small nod, which counted as agreement.She was
Albert nodded, acknowledging that Grace had a point.Since she agreed, it meant there was still room to turn things around.The chief, seeing that the two had finally reached a decision, quietly let out a breath of relief.Finally, these two troublemakers were about to be sent on their way.If they stayed any longer, they might just turn his entire station upside down."Alright then."The chief cleared his throat. "But during this period, both Miss Tessa and Mr. Julian must remain under our surveillance, and neither of them is allowed to leave Ravenshore without permission."Otherwise, we’ll be forced to take action, and there won’t be any room left for negotiation."Grace and Albert nodded in agreement.Their families might have powerful businesses, but no matter how successful they were in the corporate world, they still had to play by the government’s rules.Just like in the old days, merchants were always ranked last in the social hierarchy.Both Grace and Albert understood that a
She would definitely be grateful later.But Grace wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Albert’s words. "What, now we judge prison time based on how serious the injuries look?""If fault doesn’t matter, then let’s say you slapped me first and I hit you back—just a little harder. Does that mean I go to jail while you, the one who started it, walk away without consequence?"She stepped closer to Albert and murmured coldly by his ear, "Is that how it works?"Albert was momentarily stunned, unable to come up with a reply.Seeing the two about to clash, the chief quickly stepped in to defuse the tension."Hey, hey, even if you start fighting here, it won’t change anything."Both Grace and Albert turned to look at him, and the chief suddenly felt a bit awkward.Still, he rubbed his nose and said, "Actually, the reason I called both of you here is for something else."As he spoke, he handed them a copy of the case file.He began explaining, "Because of Julian’s current condition, we at the dep