Chapter 174: Like Father, Like Son—Both Shameless
Laura shot to her feet. "Why are you picking on a child? He's hurt—it was an accident!"
The sheer audacity of Laura and Nathan left Isabella exasperated.
Who could possibly reason with people like them?
"Maybe he doesn't know better, but what's your excuse? You barged in here blaming us without a second thought. Is this how you people throw your weight around back home?"
Samantha's competitive streak flared instantly. She planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin defiantly at Laura.
Zack, meanwhile, frowned as he studied Nathan.
In that face, he caught glimpses of Isabella's features.
The atmosphere froze awkwardly. Joseph let out a sharp, derisive snort and said to Zack, "That's Olivia's older brother."
They all knew what had happened in Isabella's family. Zack pressed his lips together, his gaze hardening.
Just as the standoff reached a boiling point, William emerged from his room.
The moment he appeared, Laura instinctively looped her arm through his.
"William, they ran into Nathan and refuse to admit it. Now they're demanding we apologize. I said a few words, and they started a fight with me."
A shadow flickered through William's eyes.
"Nathan is just a child. You—" He opened his mouth with the exact same opening line Laura had used.
Isabella cut him off impatiently. "And what about you? Are you really that blind, or are you just pretending?"
Every time, Laura spun the same flimsy lies. Isabella refused to believe William was gullible enough to fall for them.
The truth was simpler: he'd rather trust an outsider like Laura to care for his child than believe Isabella.
Joseph scoffed again. "Isabella, why waste your breath on him?"
"If he won't handle his kid, then I won't hold back."
Laura had just managed to calm Nathan down, but Joseph's words sent the boy into fresh hysterics. He shrank behind Laura, sobbing uncontrollably.
Nathan remembered Joseph fighting with Dad. Dad had been badly hurt—what chance did he have? Nathan was genuinely terrified of Joseph.
William froze as if rooted to the spot, Isabella's words striking him like a physical blow.
Was he really unwilling to believe Isabella? Or had he simply placed too much trust in Laura?
His faith in Laura—built up over these past months—began to crack under the weight of recent events.
Laura's face went pale with alarm.
She could feel it: if Isabella managed to plant seeds of doubt in William's mind, everything she'd schemed and planned would crumble to dust.
She absolutely could not let that happen.
"William, even if I might lie to you, would Nathan lie too?" Laura made a desperate gamble, grabbing Nathan's hand and pushing him forward.
Nathan was still gasping through his tears. Laura's shove brought him face-to-face with William's unfathomable, pond-dark stare. He immediately shrank back, shoulders hunching.
"Y-yes," Nathan said carefully. "Laura's telling the truth."
Laura's expression turned smug in an instant. "They're all Isabella's friends—of course they'll take her side. I've devoted all my energy to Nathan. Why would I ever teach him to lie?"
She'd found plausible explanations for every word, even managing to look wronged.
This was exactly how Laura had slowly pulled William away from Isabella—winning the trust of both father and son.
Just watching from the sidelines, Samantha felt a profound sense of disgust toward this woman.
"Give it a rest," Samantha said with a mocking smile. "You brought Nathan charging out here without watching him, and he crashed into my friend's wheelchair. It's that simple. Must be exhausting, spinning such elaborate lies."
She looked at Laura as if watching a performance, utterly unimpressed.
No wonder Joseph called this man an idiot.
Even she and Zack couldn't stand it anymore.
His passive, enabling attitude would drive anyone to their breaking point.
"Believe what you want," Samantha added at rapid-fire speed. "You and Isabella are getting divorced anyway. Your opinion doesn't matter."
Men like him deserved girlfriends with ulterior motives.
William's gaze bored into Nathan. "Is what they're saying true?"
His voice was heavy, easily shattering Nathan's psychological defenses.
Nathan hung his head in silence—the most damning admission possible.
William's suspicions were confirmed.
Nathan had lied! A wave of fury surged through William's chest.
He grabbed Nathan and delivered a sharp smack to the boy's backside.
Even through the thick winter clothes, the sting registered clearly. Nathan burst into loud wails.
His cries echoed through the entire hallway, drawing curious guests to peek out their doors.
Nathan wrenched himself free from William's grip and bolted toward their room.
Laura stood frozen in shock, withering under William's murderous glare before turning on her heel to chase after Nathan.
Finally free of the persistent nuisances, the group filed into the elevator.
"Won't that hurt the child?" Zack still viewed Nathan as Isabella's son, his voice tinged with concern.
Joseph let out a cold snort.
"Child? That's a little demon! Anyway, both father and son are shameless. Don't worry about them, Zack."
Samantha laughed aloud. "Exactly. One cheating father, one kid who supports his dad's infidelity... If he were my son, I'd have set him straight long ago."
"Hitting children is illegal," Joseph deadpanned, bursting her bubble.
Richard chuckled at their banter, turning to Isabella. "Your team is quite the cast of characters."
"Champions of dry humor, every one of them," Isabella said helplessly. "Zack's the only remotely normal one."
Joseph bristled instantly. "Hey, I'm reliable too! If it weren't for me, would you have agreed to rejoin the team?"
Samantha pushed the wheelchair out of the elevator without looking back. "That's only because you were the one person on the team with nothing better to do. Everyone else was too busy to fly back to Aetheria."
The brief tension dissolved once more.
Resources were scarce here, but their hotel was the finest in town, stocked with ample vegetables and fruit.
The food was prepared in classic traditional style—difficult to categorize as either good or bad.
"After we eat, let's go explore," Isabella suggested.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the snow-blanketed landscape looked stunning.
"Sounds good, though it'll be freezing. Even the locals struggle with the cold here." Samantha covered her mouth as she laughed.
"I'm coming too," Zack said.
The table fell silent for a beat.
"Zack, for you to—" Samantha began regretfully, about to object.
"Don't treat me like I'm disabled," Zack said wearily.