Whitney sat and glared coldly at Tina.Tina's face had been an eyesore to her the first they met—she looked too much like that woman!On the other hand, Tina stood motionless, forced to stay silent despite being keen on maintaining her innocence.Among the members of the Barnes family, Whitney despised her the most—it was pointless to reason with her.Tina had expected Henry to at least give her a chance to defend herself too and did not think that he believed Linda and Rory's word at face value, denying her even that.She pursed her lips, fighting back the sense of helplessness inside.There really was nothing she could do against an opponent with so much support.That was when Irene snapped, "My mom told you to kneel!"Glee showed in her eyes, as she despised Tina too.Her mother had been telling her to win over her grandmother when she returned to this manor with her mother. And yet, her grandmother never liked her, instead favoring Tina and siding with her on every occas
Tears silently welled up in Tina's eyes as she nodded. "When did you wake up? When did you come back? Are you alright now?""I'm plenty fine!" Madam Barnes clapped her hand assuringly.-Meanwhile, Rory fell asleep after she cried enough in Henry's room on the third floor while Linda stood by, wiping her tears miserably.That is, until a servant knocked on the door. "Sir? Madam Barnes is asking for you and Ms. Cook downstairs."Hearing that, Henry was on his feet right then, delight showing in his eyes. "Grandma is back?"As he put down Rory and started downstairs, Linda remained behind, struck by terrible panic.If anything, she felt like she had sunk into the abyss upon hearing that Madam Barnes had returned, as she kept wondering why that relic managed to make it back.Was she not already comatose?! And now that she was back, would the truth of what happened five years ago not be exposed?!-As Henry arrived at the drawing room downstairs and saw that it really was Madam B
Taking the phone and watching the footage, Madam Barnes' gaze soon darkened.Then, she looked up and snapped, "Kneel!"Irene had been keeping her head down panicking ever since Tina claimed that she had proof, even ready to apologize.Nonetheless, her eyes lit up at Madam Barnes' sudden outburst, straightening herself confidently once more.She knew it—Tina never had proof, and she had almost believed it for a second!When Rory ran toward Tina, she was standing at the opposite side of the pond and saw everything!Irene was the only one there beside them too, so as long as she insisted it was Tina, Tina would never be able to maintain her innocence!Then, seeing that Tina was still standing there, she glowered and snapped, "Tina Smith! You heard Grandma—kneel!"She even grabbed Tina's arm to make her kneel, only for Madam Barnes to bellow at her, "I'm talking about you!""Me?!" Irene exclaimed in shock but promptly dropped to her knees with a thud when she saw Madam Barnes' f
Madam Barnes was clearly taken aback for a moment, but she could not resist an admiring smile as she glanced at Tina.Her girlie was finally complaining instead of suffering injustice in silence!Well done!Still, her smile soon faded as she leveled a cutting glare at Linda.Linda feared Madam Barnes in the first place, and she was left gritting her teeth when Tina deliberately directed Madam Barnes' attention to herself.But there was nothing she could do about it, aside from quietly tugging on Henry's sleeve and calling out softly, "Henry…"She wanted him to bail her out.However, there was only silence.Then, as she sneakily glanced upward, her heart skipped a beat when she saw Henry's icy glare.As she looked down, her mind raced.When she looked up again, tears were welling up in her eyes as she choked with miserable tears. "I'm so sorry, Tina… I was just so worried about Rory that I didn't know what I was saying. I didn't mean it."There was no telling if she was expla
Even if Madam Barnes did not tell Linda to leave, her words could well be a slap to Linda's face, utterly humiliating her.Indeed, all the pride Linda felt after Whitney and Irene fawned over her had vaporized.Even Henry was silent when he turned toward her, and she knew that Madam Barnes was the one family member that Henry cared for the most.And when she turned toward Whitney, the woman was scowling, not even looking at her.Clenching her hand so hard her nails dug into her palm, her smile faded even as she forced herself to stay polite. "I'll be leaving now, Madam Barnes.""I'll take you and Rory home." Henry stood up as well."Stop!" Madam Barnes snapped and suddenly started coughing violently.Henry's face dropped as he turned, hurrying to Madam Barnes with a look of worry. "Grandma!"Tina's face dropped too as she clapped Madam Barnes on the back while turning to Sam. "Get Dr. Sandler!"Even Whitney hurried to her as well. "Mom…"That was when Tina felt Madam Barnes t
"Get out," Madam Barnes snapped coolly.In the end, Irene was still her granddaughter, so she did not continue to punish Irene.Moreover, she had other things to do.With that, Whitney promptly helped Irene to her feet, and they fled the room. Once the door shut from the outside, Madam Barnes suddenly wheeled on Henry and snapped, "Kneel!"Though Henry did so right away, she kept snapping, "You promised me that you'd take care of Tina! Is this how you go about it?!"Not only did he not do so, but he was conspiring with a bitch like Linda to bully Tina.Linda, Irene, and Whitney might be despicable, but Henry was way worse!"Fetch that spiked whip," Madam Barnes told Sam then."Madam Barnes…" Sam was hesitant but stopped with just a look.Glowering, Madam Barnes growled, "No one defends him."Tina knew that Madam Barnes was saying it for her benefit, in case she would start begging as she could not bear to see Henry hurt.However, there was no way that was the case.Still,
Henry's large hand pulled her by the waist so that their bodies were pressing together intimately, and he bit her lip punishingly.His breath scalded as his fingers caressed her hip, rasping as he felt her shuddering in his arms, "You're teasing me on purpose, aren't you?"Tina pressed her hands feebly against his chest as his masculine hormones shrouded her, distancing herself while retorting stubbornly, "No."She struggled to get off her, pulling his hand off, only for him to pull her down again, this time making her straddle him.Tina could even feel her earlobes burning, whether it was his breath or something else…"No?" Henry leveled his dark gaze at her scarlet earlobes—she always was sensitive, and they were also bewitchingly red like a blossoming flower, luring one to pluck it.Gulping, Henry held the back of her head and kissed her, and she could not stop him tearing through her teeth, pressing in invasively.She wanted to get away, but he held her waist and nape, force
Tina did not stop despite Henry's rage, even pressing, "I'm trying to say that if there had been cameras around that swimming pool, it begs the question if things would have turned out as they did today.""Tina!" Henry snapped, agitated as he pressed hard on her back, any warmth between them vaporizing right then."Guh!" Tina could not help grunting from the pain, and he withdrew his hand.Still, he stood up, looking downward at her as he growled coolly, "Even if you didn't push Rory today, it doesn't mean that Sophie didn't that other day."With that, he turned to leave.Tina slowly sat up as she buttoned her blouse, her eyes cool.She had thought that given the identical scenario, Henry would feel doubts even if he did not trust her.As it turned out, she had simply underestimated the place Rory and Linda had in Henry's heart.-At Whitney's house, Irene sat on the couch, having just taken her medicine but still tearing up from the pain.Looking at the knees that were red f
"Yes, it's ready," Yancy said. "Do I send it now?""Yeah," Henry replied.He had personally arranged for everything Mrs. Smith could possibly need, as he wanted very much to make amends.At the same time, he was fulfilling the promise he made when he was ten—to repay Mama Orange's grace.Now that he realized she was alive, he wanted to give her all that was good in the world, so that she would not have anything to worry about for the rest of her life.As they left prison, Andy took a cab.He arranged for all the presents prepared to be delivered to Tina's apartment, while Henry drove straight to the hospital on his own.-Linda was watching as Henry drove off and promptly alighted.She was never one to sit back and wait to die.The first thing she must do now was to determine if Zach had given Henry the evidence and decide what to do from there.If Zach had, then she just had to come up with another plan.Otherwise, she would never let Henry get his hands on the evidence ag
It was Henry's car.He really came, and he arrived earlier than she did.At that moment, Linda felt a chill creeping up from her toes, extending throughout her body.She was terrified at the idea that Zach would really give Henry the evidence.Without evidence, she could just stubbornly deny anything that Tina accused her of doing, and even Henry could not do anything about that.That meant she would still have a chance to use Rory and turn things around, reclaiming her life of privilege.On the other hand, it would be all over for her if Henry really received the evidence.-Meanwhile, Henry was watching Zach with his dark eyes that seemed to pierce his heart, while speaking quietly, "I'm a man of my word, Zach Foster. That little bit of money is really nothing to me."There was no doubt that his offer was very tempting—right now, all Zach wanted was for his daughter to be healthy.Once he served his term and was freed again, he could spend the rest of his life with her, tak
That was why Zach presumed that Henry would keep granting Rory the same life of privilege he gave her before, not knowing what Henry really meant.After all, sending Rory to the worst boarding school, ensuring that she would not starve to death but otherwise completely neglecting her until Zach left prison, could still count as taking care of her.Doing that much, and getting Zach's evidence in exchange, was assuredly a bargain.Still, Zach's eyes widened, his pupils dilating as Henry mentioned Linda hiring someone for murder.His reaction only made Henry even more certain that he had evidence.Nonetheless, Zach only pursed his lips, not acknowledging right away that he had evidence, and did not take Henry's deal.He lowered his gaze, silently thinking.Since he was behind bars, he had no idea what was going on out there.But judging from the fact that Henry came asking, he must have seen through Linda's true nature and would never believe a word she said ever again.And that
But when Zach returned to Linda's hospital room later, he suddenly claimed that there was never evidence—that Tina had bribed him to slander Linda in the first place.Henry found that very suspicious—why would he suddenly change his mind?Then, he remembered that when he caught Linda with Zach the first time, Linda accused Zach of forcing himself on her.Zach denied it and even exposed Linda for abusing Rory to take Rory away from Linda.He had been crying and begging to separate Rory from Linda, or Linda would keep abusing Rory.Henry saw in his eyes then that he really loved Rory.After he left Tina's apartment earlier today, Henry started to reevaluate all the moments in the past that involve Linda.He knew that Zach had lost all hope in Linda and exposed her to take Rory away.That meant Rory would also be the reason he suddenly changed his mind, even allowing himself to be scapegoated for Linda's crimes.That meant Rory was Zach's weakness.So Henry decided to visit him—
Even if Henry heard Rory, she could cry herself hoarse but he would not change his mind.Meanwhile, the security guards kept Linda toward Rory, who had long since lost her shoes, while her socks were torn as they scraped along the ground.The fake nails that she had gone through lengths to maintain were chipped, while one of her nails was knocked off.She grimaced, turning pale in terrible pain.When she finally recovered enough to talk, the security guards dumped her like trash beside Rory, along with her wheelchair."Stay as far away as you can. If you show up here again, we won't be gentle!"With those words, the security guards left.Rory was sobbing as she dropped to her knees beside Linda, fumbling to help her off the ground.Seeing the marks left around her neck and her bleeding legs, her tears poured with heartache. "Does it hurt, Mommy? I'll blow on it, and it won't hurt anymore…"As Linda straightened her back, she completely ignored Rory's concern and slapped her ac
As Henry strangled Linda, he snarled, "Why would Tina push you in the first place?! You knew she was depressed and tried to drive her to suicide with Sophie's ashes! That's why she snapped and fought back!"It's your comeuppance, and you dare blame it on Tina?! You must want to die so badly!"His hands were very strong, and Linda could not breathe.As the fear of death seized her, she clawed at Henry's hand while gasping through her teeth, "I didn't… Tina's lying… Sophie's ashes are still in her grave… You can't take Tina's words at face value…"She had been prepared for this for two years, but Henry was not buying any of it.She was just humiliating herself even though she tried to maintain her innocence. Over the years, she never needed proof to make him believe her just because she had been Orange in his mind.But now, the same thing applied to Tina—Henry was completely refusing to listen to her and had already decided she was guilty.He absolutely hated her guts, and his h
The security guards had seen how Henry cradled Rory in his arms, smiling at her with more affection than they would with their own daughters.That was why despite what Henry said, they were afraid to get physical, in fear they misjudged their strength and hurt Henry's treasured daughter.Then, after a couple days of when he calmed down, he would be coming for their heads…Still, Henry shot Andy a look just then, and he returned to the security guards as he explained coolly, "Mr. Barnes absolutely loathes these two. You have nothing to worry about."After what Linda and Rory had done, Henry would not stand the sight of them, let alone dote on them.In fact, he only gave a damn before he loved Orange too much and really believed that Linda was Orange, blindly following his feelings instead of being rational. "Yes, Mr. Cox."Andy was Henry's right-hand man, and his words were as good as Henry's words. And Henry's position was clear—Linda and Rory were not allowed to show up here
Rory never realized—or perhaps she never felt like she had been the aggressor, even smartly avoiding the more important issues so that she could elaborate on what would make Henry care all the more.That was when Henry coolly pulled his leg out of Rory's grasp, and she lost her balance, collapsing and sprawled on the floor."Daddy…?" She looked up blankly, confusion starting to show in her eyes.How could Henry be so indifferent to her injuries, even pulling away from her touch?In fact, he did not look like he cared at all as she fell over, let alone reach down to help her out or blow the pain away.However, Henry's opinion of Rory had changed altogether after last night, and he was now further convinced that the apple did not fall far from the tree—that she was beyond saving.If the teachers at the elite school had not contacted him first to probe his reaction, he really would not have known.That Rory, who was always so kind and well-behaved around him, was not just bullying
Rory was unaware of that and was feeling frustrated after Henry walked out on her last night.So when she came to school, she was keen to vent her feelings on one of her classmates.She had her friends drag her next victim to the washroom again, but even as she was ready to dish out a beating, her friends and the next victim suddenly turned on her. Working together, they gave her a beating, repaying her with the pain she had dished out for so long, even shoving her head down the toilet.She begged for mercy, but to no avail.-When Linda arrived outside the principal's office, she ignored the other parents and examined Rory's injuries in silence.Then, she took her hand and led her outside the room."Mommy…?" Rory called out softly.However, Linda continued to steer her wheelchair out of the school before finally telling Rory, "Let's go to your daddy. Do you know what to say?""Yes!" Rory promptly nodded—she really wanted to see Henry too.And with that, they took a taxi to