The old man sat in the seat of honor in the hall. His gaunt, aged face exuded an effortless authority. His clouded eyes locked onto Zoe Lancaster, and the question that slipped from his lips was sharp and urgent.
Zoe endured the piercing pain in her calf. Steadying her voice, she enunciated every word. "I don’t understand what you mean."
At this moment, she wasn’t alone with the old man in the hall. Ken Lowell had returned from the temple and sat in the adjacent seat, her expression equally grim. A major event seemed to have occurred, rendering the atmosphere incredibly tense.
"Grandpa!" Even though Simon Hawthorne was furious about Zoe’s relentless attempts to escape him, his brows furrowed tightly when he saw the old man losing his temper at her. "What’s upsetting you now?"
In his eyes, Zoe had always been cautious and deferential enough in the Hawthorne family. What on earth could have warranted such a massive outburst from the old man?
To Ken Lowell, Simon’s stance was a blatant display of defense. Her expression grew heavier. She knew her own son’s temperament better than anyone. Since childhood, he had been uncharacteristically composed and ruthless—terrifyingly deep. At one point, she had even sent him away for observation, wondering if he had some psychological defect. Yet this innately cold-blooded man was actually losing his temper over this woman, time and time again? Zoe Lancaster was an absolute siren!
"Simon, don’t be in such a rush to defend her. Would we, as her elders, bully her for no reason?" Ken’s tone was unapologetically forceful.
Simon’s dark gaze swept past Ken, fixing solely on the old man in the seat of honor.
The old man leaned against the edge of the table with one hand. Though heavily ill, his imposing aura remained undiminished. He grabbed a stack of photos from the table and threw them into the air. "I know the entire story behind the divorce news now. What I didn’t know was that being a daughter-in-law to the Hawthorne family caused Miss Lancaster such immense grievance! To conspire with those media lapdogs and stab the Hawthorne family in the back—who do you think you’re letting down?"
Zoe lowered her head, having completely lost the desire to defend herself. She had already had enough of the Hawthorne family. Did it even matter how they viewed her anymore?
However, the old man roared in fury, "If it were just marital discord, fine. But you! You actually bit the hand that fed you and got involved with an outsider! No wonder you suddenly acted so high and mighty and demanded a divorce. Someone else gave you the backing to do it!"
Along with his furious roar, Zoe noticed the photos fluttering to her feet. They clearly depicted the scene of her car pulling up to a private residence. In the very next photo, a man appeared at the door... It was Miles Yates! That place was Miles Yates’s private residence!
Zoe’s breath hitched in her chest. She abruptly looked up at Peyton Joyce, who was sitting to the old man’s right. The woman slowly raised her head and met her gaze. Those usually gentle, watery eyes seemed to darken into a bottomless abyss, but the look vanished so quickly it might have just been an illusion.
Simon saw the photos too. After a moment of silence, his tone was as cold as frost. "So what?"
The old man sneered and slammed his hand on the table. "How bold exactly is Zoe Lancaster? She used visiting me as an excuse, only to sneak out and secretly rendezvous with another man! No wonder she was so confident in teaming up with the media to embarrass the Hawthorne family. Turns out she found a higher branch to perch on!"
Didn’t everything make perfect sense now? This woman, who had always been meek and cautious in the Hawthorne family, suddenly wanted out at all costs. She had cost the family billions in losses due to public backlash and caused a blunder in their hundred-billion-dollar overseas project. Wasn’t it all thanks to her?!
Zoe’s face turned pale. She never expected things to escalate to this point. The timing was already incredibly sensitive, and she just so happened to have gone to Miles Yates’s private residence late at night. Regardless of whether they actually met, in the eyes of the Hawthorne family, she was already guilty of a capital offense!
So that was it. Peyton had prepared a backup plan! If she could send Zoe away, great. If not... she would use this method to permanently brand Zoe as a promiscuous, cheating wife. In the eyes of the Hawthorne family, she would never be able to clear her name.
No wonder that car had suddenly stopped there. She had absolutely no idea it was Miles Yates’s private residence!
"President Yates and I have absolutely nothing to do with each other!" Zoe gritted her teeth, chills running down her spine.
"Then what were you doing there? What important business could a lone man and woman have in the dead of night?" Ken questioned with a cold face, her eyes gleaming with absolute certainty.
Zoe clenched her fingers, her nails digging into her palms until they burned with pain. But she refused to shoulder this accusation!
"I never saw President Yates, nor did I know that was his house." Cold sweat beaded on her forehead as her mind raced to analyze the dire situation. The Hawthorne family valued their reputation above all else; they would never allow any scandal to happen. If she was deemed guilty of committing such a shameful act that disgraced the family name, the Hawthorne family would not let her off easily. It would implicate many people—including her sick mother.
Her gaze landed on Peyton. Zoe’s lips parted slightly. "Miss Joyce, shouldn’t you be clearer on this than I am?"
Peyton seemed surprised that Zoe would suddenly address her. She paused for a moment before looking utterly bewildered. "Zoe, this is your private matter. How would I know anything about it? Besides, the relationship between us... isn’t exactly one that allows for intimate conversations."
She denied it. She acted as if she were a mere bystander the entire time, completely spotless and innocent.
Zoe suddenly let out a soft laugh. Only now did she finally understand this woman’s true colors. She was so... terrifying.
"How dare you drag innocent people down with you!" Ken slammed the table and stood up. "The driver who took you there has already been found! He personally confessed that you specifically instructed him to take you there, and he said you were inside that house for nearly half an hour! Zoe Lancaster, you have some nerve!"
BOOM!
The words struck Zoe like a muffled clap of thunder, leaving her completely bewildered. So that was it—one trap interlocked with another! Peyton truly wanted to ruin her for good!
Simon’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists, his eyes a pool of dark gloom. He cast a deep look at Zoe, his Adam’s apple bobbing before he spoke. "Where is the driver?"
Ken looked at him, speaking in an earnest, pleading tone. "What else are you trying to do? Are you planning to interrogate him yourself? This woman is not worth treating like this!"
"Zoe Lancaster."
Zoe snapped out of her daze and looked up. She found Simon already standing in front of her. His face was grim, and his dark eyes were impossibly deep, fixed heavily upon her as he enunciated every word. "I just need one word from you. Is this true or not? I will handle the rest."
He was giving her a chance. It felt as though as long as she shook her head, he would use every method at his disposal to overturn all of this.
But the depths of his eyes were far too complicated. He seemed to be resisting something, forcing himself to believe something. So much so that the aura radiating from him was bone-chillingly harsh, like a double-edged bloodied blade—hurting her, while leaving no way out for himself.
Did he... truly believe her? She couldn’t see through him, nor could she understand.
The old man panted heavily, his face growing even more sickly. "That boy from the Yates family confessed his love to her in public a while ago, and you think there’s nothing going on between them? Walls have ears!
"And twenty minutes ago, the company called. The overseas project was snatched up by Miles Yates! One thing right after another—if this wasn’t done deliberately, what other explanation is there?!"
Wasn’t this an inside job? Conspiring with Miles Yates to backstab the Hawthorne family?!
Simon’s spine stiffened slightly. That project was of monumental significance. The overseas market was massive, and every single step required meticulous calculation and planning. He was originally bound to win it, but the sudden explosion of public backlash had taken a toll. The overseas boss placed a heavy emphasis on family harmony. Simon could have smoothed things over today. Yet, in the end, something still went wrong.
And of all people, it had to be Miles Yates. Why Miles Yates?
Watching Simon fall silent, the very last glimmer of light in Zoe’s heart extinguished. He didn’t... believe her that much after all. She suddenly let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh.
Adding up the entire sequence of events and the loss of the hundred-billion-dollar project, the old man was consumed by absolute fury. He roared, "As long as you are still a member of the Hawthorne family, you must be punished for committing such a scandalous act! Being stubborn won’t save you!
"Butler, bring the family discipline!"