དཔའuསུ
Chapter 276
Left behind, Hannah finally steeled herself. “Dad, you brought this on yourself, so don’t blame me.”
With that, she pulled out her phone and dialed. “Uncle, go ahead. Do it.”
On the other end, an impatient voice burst out, “Good girl! You should’ve let me handle this ages ago. Your mom almost lost her mind!”
“Uncle, I was just trying to keep things from blowing up,” Hannah said. Unexpectedly, her father wasn’t having any of it.
52%
281
Since that was how he wanted it, she wasn’t going to stop her uncle from stirring things up anymore. ‘Maybe after Dad gets hit with a harsh reality check, he’ll finally wake up,‘ Hannah thought.
Meanwhile, Hudson had just walked out of the company with Linsey when he saw his private car completely trashed. Even the company’s security guards were lying on the ground, beaten to a pulp.
Hudson was stunned. Leading the charge was none other than Gavin, Belinda’s elder brother.
He strode over, face dark. “Gavin, what do you think you’re doing? Are you here to vent Belinda’s anger or what?”
With a loud clang, the car door caved in. Only then did Gavin, hefting a metal baseball bat over his shoulder, turn back to look at Hudson.
Gavin stood well over 6’3“, his white T–shirt stretched tight over bulging muscles. His face was all rough edges, born to look like a thug- intimidating from the first glance.
With that bat in his hand and a whole gang of thugs behind him, Hudson suddenly realized he must be out of his mind to just walk up like
this.
Looking around, he saw that except for Linsey, there wasn’t a single soul on his side.
Gavin’s voice dropped to a menacing growl. “Hudson, you know my sister’s furious. So why haven’t you come over to our house to apologize and bring her back yet?”
With Linsey staring at him, Hudson did his best to keep his cool. “This is between me and my wife. That’s all I’m going to say.”
“You don’t even have to explain. I can tell–this is the little mistress who pissed my sister off, right? That’s why Belinda ran off.” Gavin shot Linsey a mocking look. “Dressed like some dried–up old spinster, looks even older than my sister. Seriously, is your taste really that poor?”
Hudson didn’t back down. “There’s nothing going on between me and Linsey. If you don’t believe me, go inside and ask any of the staff if I’ve
ever crossed the line with her.”
“Oh, come on, we’re all guys here. Don’t act all innocent. Who’d turn down something handed to them for free?” Gavin said, giving the bat a casual swing. “Just go apologize to my sister and bring her home, and we’ll put this whole thing behind. Got it?”
Hudson stared at that intimidating iron bat. ‘If that thing comes swinging at me, I’ll end up totaled just like this car,’ he thought.
‘Should I just do what Gavin says? After all, I’ve already stood my ground for a while. That counts as progress, right?‘
Just then, Linsey’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Mr. Burke, think about what you’re fighting for.”
Hudson snapped back to his senses. His goal was to stop being afraid of Belinda and letting her and Hannah mess with his head. ‘That’s right. I need to stand up for myself. If I back down now, I’ll just end up right back where I started,’ he thought.
1/3
16:10 Tue, 5 Aug
Chapter 276
Hudson ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair, glanced at his sharp suit, and steeled himself. Facing Gavin, he said, “You beat up my people and smashed my car. How dare you humiliate me? You’re not going anywhere if you can’t make it up.”
+28)
Gavin stared at Hudson, shocked that the man who was always so spineless actually dared to talk back. The surprise quickly turned to fury. “You want an explanation? Alright, I’ll give you one you’ll never forget!”
With that, Gavin snapped his fingers at his men. Two of them immediately unfurled a massive banner.
It read: [Hudson Burke Cheats on His Wife with His Secretary–Total Scumbag!]
The banner stretched nearly thirty feet, bright red with bold lettering. At first glance, it looked like Burke Group was holding a grand opening, and it instantly drew a crowd of onlookers.
Gavin snatched a megaphone from his guy and started yelling to the crowd, “Alright, let me spill the truth about this so–called CEO of Burke Group! He married my sister when he was just 26.
“But he was such a coward, and he almost missed out on inheriting the company. My sister had to pull the whole family together just to help
him beat out his brothers.
“Then she stepped back to take care of the family, and what does he do? Turns around and stabs her in the back, totally ungrateful…”
“Shut up!” Hudson shouted. ‘If he keeps yelling like that, people are actually going to believe it! It’s not even close to what really happened!‘
Hudson, fuming, rushed forward to snatch the megaphone, but Gavin just shoved him aside, knocking him right onto the curb.
“Damn it!” Hudson’s hair was a mess, his suit filthy, and in his rage he slammed his fist against the pavement. “I’m divorcing Belinda!”
Gavin looked at him with utter disdain. “Divorce my sister? That’ll just make it even clearer to everyone that you abandoned your wife!
“So what is it, Hudson? You want me to show up here every single day to remind the world what kind of man you are, or are you coming with me to apologize and bring my sister home? Make up your mind.”
Hudson fell silent. With the crowd pointing and gossiping all around him, he could barely hold himself together.
Just then, Linsey stepped in and helped him up, her tone precise. “Mr. Burke, if you keep arguing, you’ll be late for your meeting.”
Gavin narrowed his eyes. “Men are talking. Stay out of it. Or are you just begging for me to deal with you next?”
Linsey, unfazed, simply handed Hudson a small mirror. “Here, tidy yourself up.”
“Oh, okay.” Hudson took the mirror almost on reflex, carefully fixing his appearance, making sure he looked absolutely perfect.
Seeing how easily Linsey shifted Hudson’s focus, Gavin balled his fist and swung it straight at her.
Just when everyone thought Linsey was about to get wrecked, she grabbed Gavin by the elbow, flipped him over her shoulder, and slammed him to the ground. But she wasn’t finished. She gave him a sharp kick with her high heels, sending him flying like a sandbag.
“Holy shit!” the crowd exploded.
She actually beat up a guy twice of her size.
Some Burke Group employees stared at Linsey’s long legs, suddenly wondering, ‘Why do I kinda want her to step on me with those?‘
After glancing at Gavin, who was rolling on the ground clutching his stomach, Linsey dabbed at the tip of her shoe with a tissue, then turned to Hudson. “Sorry if I startled you just now, Mr. Burke. I was just defending myself.”
2/3
GATUETELE, 5 AUG
Chapter 276
“Oh, it’s fine…” Hudson was at a loss for words.
*.52%
“‘ll let someone else pick you up,” Linsey said, clicking away in her heels. Wherever she went, Gavin’s men scrambled to get out of her way.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and turned back. “Oh, by the way, Mr. Burke.”
“Huh?” Hudson looked at her, still a little out of it.
“Mr. Russell will know about what happened today,” Linsey said.
“What should I do?” Hudson asked.
“Why not handle it yourself? Show him you can take care of things now,” Linsey suggested.
“Yeah, that’ll work,” Hudson replied.
He then told the security guards, who were just getting back on their feet, to tie Gavin up and call the police.
Gavin clutched his stomach, gasping and cursing, “Hudson, if you dare hand me over to the cops… Just you wait!”
Hudson shot back, “You beat my men up, smashed my car, and ruined my reputation. Get ready to rot in jail!”
