Before Holden could finish yelling, Gregory set his cup down on the table with a sharp clack, cutting Holden off.
Just then, a muffled sob rang out. Natalie, her mouth gagged, was dragged out by two burly bodyguards.
“Nat!” Eleanor’s face paled instantly. She tried to rush forward, bi two more guards stepped in to block her path.
“Why the rush? I still have unfinished business.” Gregory’s tone was cold. “I still need to settle the score with Natalie for what she did.
“She pushed my wife down the stairs in front of a whole crowd, causing her to lose our child. I’m making her pay for it. If tenfold isn’t enough, then I’ll make it a hundredfold.”
Anathea looked at Gregory with a conflicted expression.
Natalie shook her head violently.
Eleanor quickly snapped back to her senses. “It was chaotic that day. Who could tell who pushed whom? Nat was the one screaming for help first. It was Anathea who tried to push her and ended up falling herself. What does that have to do with Nat?”
Gregory didn’t argue. He simply replayed the recording, making Natalie’s attempt to frame Anathea undeniable.
Eleanor shot Natalie a look of pure disappointment.
How could she leave evidence like that behind? She was absolutely useless.
“If the recording’s not enough, we’ve still got witnesses.” Gregory said, lifting his hand.
The guards brought in the two men Natalie had hired. Under pressure, they spilled every detail of her plan.
Holden’s face turned ashen. He pointed at Natalie and shouted furiously, “How could you hurt people like that? Are you trying to get Eleanor in trouble?”
Natalie flinched, tears filling her
eyes.
Eleanor took a deep breath. “Even if she hired them, they didn’t actually see her push Anathea, did they?”
A flicker of hope lit up in Natalie’s eyes.
Right. She had sent them away before anything happened. They didn’t see the fall.
“And that recording? All it proves is that Nat wanted Anathea to push her, but it didn’t work. From start to finish, she never had any intention of pushing Anathea herself.”
Natalie nodded vigorously at Eleanor’s words.
“With skills like that, it’s a shame you never went into debate.” Gregory scoffed.
Eleanor straightened her back. Her confidence was growing by the second. “I’m just stating the facts. If neither the evidence nor the witnesses can prove Nat pushed Anathea, then you can’t blame her for the loss of your child.”
“Oh, really?” Gregory’s voice dropped a degree colder. “You certainly have a way with words, Mom.”
A self–satisfied smile tugged at Eleanor’s lips. After all these years of grinding it out with the Sinclair family, if she got rattled that easily, that would’ve been the real joke..
“Sure, Nat may have had bad intentions, but nothing actually happened. And if it weren’t for her, Anathea would’ve fallen into Harvey’s hands. Her fate would’ve been far worse.”
“Are you saying that I should be thanking her now?”
Natalie abducted Anathea, and somehow she wasn’t at fault? Now the victim was supposed to be grateful?
1/2
Chapter 443
+25 BONUS
‘No need to thank her. Just let Nat go. That’s all I ask.” Eleanor’s pression had shifted from panic at the start to calm and composed.
She even threw in a fake show of concern. “Your wife is still in postpartum recovery. As her husband, you should be by her side instead of worrying about other things. Leave the rest to me. I’ll take Nat away.”
When Natalie heard that, the fear in her eyes vanished, and she was about to stand up.
But the next second, Gregory lifted a finger. The bodyguard kicked her hard in the back of the knee, sending her crashing to the ground.
Natalie’s face went pale with pain as she let out a painful whimper
“Gregory!” Eleanor snapped angrily. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“When did I ever say I was going to let her go?” Gregory shot back
PIETRZE STRAINE
Chapter 444
“Mom, your argument was impressive,” Gregory said flatly. His voice was completely devoid of emotion. “The performance’s over. You can go now.”
“Gregory!”
Eleanor’s face flushed red with anger. She hadn’t expected Gregory would just brush her words off like it was some kind of show when she’d said so much. And on top of that, he had no intention of letting Natalie go.
“Even if the evidence isn’t solid, you’re dead set on not letting Nat go, huh?”
“So what if I am?”
Those five words–firm and absolute–completely crushed everything Eleanor had said in Natalie’s defense.
Eleanor staggered, and Holden caught her just in time.
“You brat! How dare you talk back to your mother like that!” Holden swung his fist, ready to teach Gregory a lesson.
But before he could get within three feet of Gregory, a bodyguard swooped in and pinned his hands behind his back without mercy. Holden yelped in pain.
“Let me go!” he shouted. “I’m his father! It’s my right to discipline my son!”
“Mr. Gregory is first and foremost the head of the Sinclair family, then your son,” Martin said coldly.
Holden froze for a moment. At that instant, he finally understood why so many people fought for that position in the Sinclair
family.
It represented absolute power and authority.
“Please escort Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair out.” Gregory waved his hand, and the bodyguards stepped forward, motioning politely but firmly toward Eleanor.
Eleanor clenched her fist. The invitation was just a formality. If she refused to leave, they’d drag her out without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Natalie could only let out anxious whimpers. She hadn’t expected Gregory to have zero interest in reasoning things
out.
Adrian glanced at the scene, then at Anathea, and smirked. Sure enough, whenever Anathea was involved, Gregory was completely beyond reason.
Anathea remained expressionless. Her gaze was cold and detached as she silently watched everything unfold.
“Gregory, if you don’t start being reasonable, we’ll take this to Lennox and let him sort it out!” Eleanor shouted.
“All you’ve got are twisted arguments. No need to waste Grandpa’s time,” Gregory said flatly. “Escort Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair back to their quarters.”
Seeing this, Natalie nearly broke down in tears.
“If you lay a finger on us, I swear I’ll expose you to Lennox. You attacked Harvey, seized all the property along Lakeward Shore, and covered up the Syntherra fire just to cheat your way into the seat of the family head.” Eleanor gritted her teeth. “Let’s see how you explain that to the rest of the family!”
Gregory’s expression darkened. At once, the tension in the room tightened.
Just then, from outside the door, the sound of a child crying pierced through.
Anathea glanced over. Through the decorative screen, she caught sight of Xander wiping tears from his eyes as he sobbed loudly. She frowned.
