Chapter 261
The moment Gale spotted Emily, he didn’t say a single word, and he just stormed over and raised his hand to strike. Seeing the fury in his eyes, Emily frowned and, without even thinking, sidestepped out of the way.
Gale’s slap missed. He froze for a second, then his anger exploded. “You actually dared to dodge?”
Emily thought that was just plain stupid. ‘What, was I supposed to just stand there and let him slap me?’ she scoffed inwardly.
Back when she’d just gotten out of St. Gabriel Reform Academy, Emily probably wouldn’t have dared to dodge. Because if she did, she’d only get beaten harder for it. But she was out of there, and she’d never let those people shackle her again.
Jackson and the others put their lives on the line to get her out of that place. They didn’t do it so she could spend the rest of her life trapped in the shadow of that hellhole. So, Emily stayed far away from Gale.
But seeing her dodge only pushed Gale over the edge. Without thinking, he ripped off his belt. “You damn brat! Let’s see where you think you can hide now.” With that, he raised the belt and charged straight at Emily.
Gale’s outburst came so fast that Emily didn’t even have time to react, and his belt lashed across her shoulder, the blow vicious and merciless.
The crack of leather on Emily’s shoulder was sharp and jarring, so loud that even through the phone, Austin felt like his own heart had just been whipped.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Austin walked straight out the door. His face was frosted over with coldness, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Every single one of the Bennett family deserves to die!’ he thought.
Emily didn’t make a sound despite the burning pain in her shoulder as she dodged the next swing of the belt.
Based on what Austin had just told her, she had a pretty good idea of what had set Gale off, but she still didn’t know the full
story.
This was the Bennett residence, and Charles was still upstairs. She didn’t want to make a scene.
а
After putting some distance between herself and Gale, she spoke up. “Mr. Gale Bennett, if you’re going to lay a hand on me, shouldn’t you at least tell me why?”
But Gale didn’t say a word. He just kept lashing out with his belt. The hatred in his eyes was so fierce, and it was like he was looking at an enemy.
Gale always cared about his image more than anything. Even Emma, who’d been married to him for decades, had never seen him out of control. Everyone else was just stunned, not knowing what to do.
Only Lydia, standing at the very top of the stairs, couldn’t suppress the sly smile tugging at her lips. Her gaze kept flicking upstairs.
‘Let them fight. Let them make a scene, she thought gleefully. ‘Wake that old fossil up. If he gets so mad he drops dead, that’d be perfect. All my scheming behind the scenes to push Gale over the edge will finally pay off.
Lydia watched eagerly, waiting for the chaos to spiral out of control. But in the next instant, the smile on her lips froze.
Lucas was the first to react. He wasn’t even sure what got into him, but he suddenly rushed forward and threw himself in front of Emily to shield her.
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Chapter 261
Gale’s belt landed squarely on Lucas’s arm with a loud, stinging crack. The burning pain made Lucas’s expression change instantly. He couldn’t help but shout, “Dad, are you crazy?”
In all his years, Lucas had never been hit before. He never realized just how much a belt could hurt.
Seeing Lucas get hit, Emma snapped out of it and rushed over to block Gale. “Honey, let’s talk things over calmly. Please, just cool down first. What on earth happened here?”
Whether it was anger or exhaustion, Gale was breathing heavily, unable to speak for a long moment.
It was Andrew, his face still dark, who broke the silence. He shot Emily a cold glare. “Why don’t you ask her what kind of stupid mess she’s gotten herself into?”
