Chapter 8

Once the guests were gone, Henry turned grim.

"What on earth is going on? Robin, find the person who changed Summer's birthday video at once. I don't care what the mastermind's goal is. I'll make whoever it is pay for ruining my precious Summer's 18th birthday party!"

"Yes, Mr. Hartford Senior!" Robin Cohen, a hulking man with a fearsome expression, replied.

Henry had brought Robin back from a human trafficking ring over two decades ago. Apparently, Robin had been trained since childhood to be an assassin, but Henry took him in as a godson.

Having grown up in such a harsh environment, Robin had a rather cold personality. He listened to no one but Henry and was loyal to him alone.

Summer wasn't sure what happened to Robin in the previous lifetime, but had he been alive, he probably wouldn't have allowed anyone to torment Henry to that extent.

Once Robin left, Henry looked over at Summer and saw the sorrowful expression on her face. He instinctively assumed she was worried about Rose.

"Don't be upset, Summer. You have nothing to worry about. I will find those deplorable people who did this to Rose and seek justice on her behalf," Henry assured while stroking Summer's head.

"The world is a dangerous place. From now on, I'll have to assign some bodyguards to accompany you at all times. I'd be too worried otherwise."

Truth be told, Henry felt a deep sense of belated dread. Summer spent all of her time with Rose, and now that something this terrible had happened to Rose…

"Okay," Summer replied, nodding obediently.

"Come on. Let's check on Rose and find out what happened," Henry said, his expression turning grim again.

Just then, a maid came hurrying in with a velvet box in hand and said, "Mr. Hartford Senior, Mason Hunt sent over a present for Ms. Hartford's 18th birthday!"

"What did you say?" Henry boomed. Mason's name set him off. "How can you present such a filthy thing to Summer? How dare he give her a birthday gift? Throw it out!"

On the other hand, Summer was startled. In the previous lifetime, her 18th birthday party was the start of a hellish existence for her. She had no idea Mason had sent over a gift for her.

Meanwhile, Henry's outburst made the maid turn pale from fear, but Summer shot the maid an assuring look and signaled for her to set the box aside. Then, taking Henry's hand, Summer led him away, saying, "Don't get too upset, Grandpa. It's bad for your health."

"Nothing and no one gets on my nerves the way that bastard Mason does!" Henry fumed. "That reminds me. Why is he giving you a gift all of a sudden? Do you think he's behind what happened tonight? Did he do it just to piss me off?"

Henry truly resented Mason. After all, Henry was known for being a cunning businessman himself—a reputation that boosted his ego as well.

Alas, Henry nearly failed to defend against Mason's sudden but aggressive move to buy over Hartford Group. At the time, Mason had only just celebrated his 20th birthday. Guys his age wouldn't have even graduated from college yet.

The incident left a significant impact on Henry, and ever since then, he despised Mason with every fiber of his being.

Summer wasn't sure how to react. She was also curious to know why Mason wanted to buy out Hartford Group.

Soon, Henry and Summer arrived outside Rose's room, and she set aside her thoughts about Mason for the time being.

"You have to believe me, Aunt Kristen! That video was faked!"

As soon as Summer entered the room, she saw Rose crying her heart out in Kristen's arms. She walked up to Rose and said, "Do stop crying, Rose. I've asked them to send the video for further investigation. Once the results are back, I'll share the evidence in public to clear your name."

Rose immediately stopped crying, while Kristen looked over at Summer with a frown.

"No! You can't! Even though it's not me, it's still my face that's in that video! I don't want anyone to see that ever again! Aunt Kristen, didn't you just agree to what I asked for? Don't let anyone else near that video! I'll get someone I trust to look into it!" Rose cried out in a panic.

She knew very well whether or not the video was faked. That was why she immediately got Kristen to promise that she could look for someone to verify the video herself. That way, she could easily create a fake report.

But now, Summer's involvement ruined her plan.

"Oh, no! What should I do? I was in such a rush to help Rose clear her name that I got them to send the video to the IT department at Grandpa's company right away," Summer exclaimed as she looked over at Grandpa with a helpless expression.

It wasn't that hard to pretend to be a clueless, innocent lamb. Anyone could do it.

Rose was filled with resentment as she stared at Summer. Ever since last night, her carefully laid-out plan had taken a strange turn. Summer should've been the one taken away by those thugs, but she ended up falling into their hands instead.

Moreover, it should've been the doctored photos of Summer that were shown at the party, but instead, it became a video of her assault!

And now, just when she was trying her best to salvage the situation, Summer ruined things for her!