Chapter 266
Chapter 266
Everyone was stunned by Emily’s actions, even Lydia. Normally, twisted fingers would mean a trip to the hospital, not attempting to fix it themselves. This kind of thing they’d only seen on TV before.
At that moment, everyone had the same thought pop into their heads. ‘Is this really the Emily we know?’ they wondered.
Emily ignored their reactions and went back to her room. She had to quickly reduce the swelling on her face so Charles wouldn’t see it tomorrow and get worried.
The others just stared blankly at her retreating figure, too stunned to even react. Lydia glanced around at everyone, then suddenly gave a little gasp and fainted.
“Lydia,” everyone snapped back to attention, rushing to her side. They hurriedly took her to the hospital. After checks, doctors confirmed she was just shaken with minor bruises. Relieved, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
It was already the middle of the night by the time all this was over. Andrew had to go deal with all the chaos those news reports were causing for Bennett Group, so he didn’t stay at the hospital. Lucas went with him.
On the way back, Andrew noticed Lucas staring off into space, lost in thought. He couldn’t help but ask, “Lucas, what’s going on? You’ve been acting weird all night.”
When Gale was scolding Emily, Lucas stepped in to stop him. And when Lydia was getting bullied, he didn’t step in to help. He barely said two words all night. He was usually the first one to speak up.
Lucas frowned, his brows furrowed as if he was struggling to find the right words. “I…” Lucas paused for a long moment, clearly torn. “Do you think maybe we’ve been wrong about Emily all along?”
Andrew’s concern vanished in an instant, his expression turning cold. “You saw those photos, too. The facts are right in front of us. How could we possibly be wrong about her? Seriously, what’s up with you today?”
Lucas shot back without thinking. “Yeah, I saw the photos, but Emily didn’t take them, and there’s no way she was the one who leaked them. There’s nothing in it for her. And as for her and Grandpa…
“She’s always been like that with Grandpa, ever since she was a kid. Even after Lydia came back these past few years, nothing changed between them. We all know that. Honestly, Emily’s a victim of all this, too.
“But the moment you and Dad got home, you dumped all the blame on her. You didn’t even let her explain before Dad went and hit her. I’ve never seen him lose it like that. It was just totally out of line.”
Lucas didn’t even know why he used those exact words, but honestly, Gale’s reaction really was out of line. Thinking about how Emily had set her own finger and walked upstairs all by herself, Lucas felt his chest tighten with guilt.
He couldn’t help but shoot an accusing glance at Andrew. “Andrew, you shouldn’t have gone as far as to twist Emily’s fingers like that, especially knowing how much she hates pain.”
‘But even though it must have hurt like hell, Emily hadn’t made a single sound the whole time. It was like she was already used to it. But how could anyone ever get used to something that painful?’ Lucas thought.
The thought stabbed Lucas’s heart, making him feel a wave of panic and fear, like he was staring down something he never
wanted to face.
Lucas’ words completely shut Andrew up. It wasn’t just because Lucas had never talked back to him like this before—it was also because Andrew realized he honestly had nothing to say in his own defense.
When he really thought about it, Emily was a victim of all this, too. But instead of actually trying to fix things, he and Gale
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Chapter 266
rushed home just to blame Emily. That was honestly pretty unreasonable.
But Emily could have explained. Gale gave her a chance to speak, but she attacked Lydia instead. Recalling Emily’s frenzy and Lydia’s tearful look, Andrew’s gaze darkened further.
“She shouldn’t have hit Lydia,” he said coldly. “Lydia had nothing to do with any of this, and Emily just went after her out of nowhere. She was definitely trying to either distract us or shift the blame onto Lydia.
“Getting hurt and beaten up, she totally brought that to herself,” Andrew said.
Lucas still felt uneasy about his earlier thoughts, and he honestly had no idea how to answer Andrew. He turned to stare out the car window, unconsciously following Andrew’s line of thinking in his mind.
Why did Emily suddenly lash out at Lydia after she found out what happened?’ Lucas wondered to himself. For some reason, he suddenly remembered seeing Lydia taking pictures with her phone outside the hospital room and outside Charles’s bedroom.
‘But the photos online do seem to have backgrounds from both situations. No, how can I suspect Lydia?’ Lucas shook his head. ‘I need to clear her name and find out who’s behind this,’ he thought.
Once Emily was back in her room, she completely tuned out whatever was happening outside. She patched herself up in a hurry, then planned to get someone to clean up the mess for her.
Those online messages affecting the Bennett Group wouldn’t need her intervention. Andrew would handle them. She just needed to ensure that these rumors didn’t reach Charles and see if she could find something to use against Lydia.
But just as she pulled out her phone, she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t hung up the call with Austin yet. He must have heard everything that just happened. Emily froze, gripping her phone tightly, suddenly too scared to say anything.
She never wanted Austin to see her like this-at her lowest, a mess in front of the Bennett Family. It felt like tearing off her mask and exposing all the rotten, ruined parts inside her. That was the last thing she wanted.
In her mind, aside from Charles, everything about the Bennett Family was her dark, murky past. Austin and that little rental apartment were the new life she was slowly trying to move on to.
She didn’t want those two worlds to ever mix. Maybe picking up on her mood, Austin’s voice came through the phone. “Emily…” He sounded like he was holding back some emotion. His voice, usually so warm and full of sunshine, now sounded low and heavy.
Emily opened her mouth, but the words just wouldn’t come. After a brief silence, Austin finally spoke. “I’m outside the villa complex. Can you come out for a bit, Emily?”
Emily froze, an overwhelming impulse surging within her. Without hanging up, she rushed out in slippers toward the familiar SUV parked by the road, its plain look contrasting with the fancy villas.
To Emily, the ordinary car and the person leaning against the door, watching her from afar, were like a beacon of light in the
endless darkness..
She just stood there, staring blankly at him. Seeing her frozen in place, Austin didn’t call out. Instead, he started walking
toward her.
