Chapter 121 Reap What You Sow!
Jessica's face changed as she listened, immediately covering her mouth in disgust.
"A pleasure boat? How filthy! Who's Wilder? How did he end up at our house!"
Ethan immediately stood up, looking furious: "I'll go check it out!"
Patrick, afraid things would blow up, quickly explained: "Wilder is Clio's distant relative. He came to stay at the estate a few days ago. Since the main household is going through a rough patch, I didn't tell you all."
Ethan frowned: "Patrick, how could you take in someone like this? He's been hanging around pleasure boats—his character is trash!"
Patrick immediately denied it: "Impossible, it's just rumors. That woman is probably here to scam money, otherwise why would she show up at our door?"
Cressida calmly instructed Emma: "Go get Wilder and bring him to the main hall. We'll find out soon enough."
Patrick glanced at her, hesitating to speak. With so many guards from the King's Guard present, he couldn't say much.
The woman who came looking for Wilder was also led to the main hall.
Cressida accompanied Ethan to receive them, along with Patrick and two colleagues who were close to Ethan.
Lily entered and knelt down: "My name is Lily. I pay my respects to Mr. Hamilton."
Patrick scolded: "How dare you make false claims? Coming to my estate looking for people!"
Lily's expression didn't change, her voice soft: "A few days ago, Mr. Louis stayed at the pleasure boat and left behind a badge when he departed. I came specifically to return it. I only heard he moved into The Hamilton Mansion, but there are so many doors, I couldn't tell which one, so I knocked on this one."
She looked somewhat innocent: "Where is Mr. Louis?"
Just then, Wilder had already rushed to the doorway.
Though he didn't recognize Lily, when he saw the badge in her hand, he froze in shock.
How did it end up there?
Cressida asked calmly: "Mr. Louis, this is yours, isn't it?"
Wilder's face turned pale as he walked in on shaky legs.
"Yes, but I've never been to a pleasure boat. I must have dropped it somewhere, and this bitch stole it! Please, Mr. Hamilton and Ms. Hamilton, don't believe this bitch's nonsense!"
Lily looked surprised: "Mr. Louis, how can you say such things? If I really stole something from you, why would I come to return it? I was worried it might be important to you, so I went through the trouble of finding this place. You're really breaking my heart."
She looked at Patrick: "If Mr. Hamilton doesn't believe me, you can call the pleasure boat owner. Just ask how much money Mr. Louis spent."
Wilder's expression completely froze: "Shut up, shut up!"
Patrick was the one breaking out in cold sweat.
He heard Jessica ask Cressida in a low voice: "How could you have such a relative?"
Cressida shook her head helplessly: "He's a distant relative from mother's side. I'm not really sure either. Wilder insisted on staying at the estate, and father even kept him here to teach Reid's children."
Jessica's expression changed, and looking at Patrick again, she just felt he'd lost his mind.
The nearby guards from the King's Guard also exchanged glances.
Ethan didn't know what to say, only managing: "Now that you've returned the item, leave quickly!"
As Lily bowed to leave, Patrick suddenly stopped her and gave her a money pouch.
"Don't talk about today's events, or you'll regret it!" He glared at her.
Wilder isn't my relative, yet I'm being dragged down and criticized along with him. This is outrageous!
Lily accepted the money, nodded with a smile, and gracefully left.
Patrick felt humiliated. He used to be seen as a dignified, heroic figure in the eyes of the younger generation, but now he felt their eyes were filled with contempt.
They seemed to be saying: How could Patrick, who raised Cameron, have such clueless relatives?
Patrick couldn't sit still. He found an excuse to leave, letting out a heavy cold snort as he passed Wilder.
Jessica urged Wilder to leave.
"You shouldn't stay here anymore! You're Clio's distant relative, not our family's. Don't stay in my house."
Wilder quickly left in disgrace.
That night, Clio called Wilder to her room.
Her expression was grim.
During the day, Patrick had lost his temper with her badly.
He blamed her for finding such a disreputable person as a fiancé for Cressida.
Patrick valued appearances. Even though he wanted Cressida married off quickly, he feared that marrying her to someone like Wilder would damage his reputation.
So Patrick told Clio to send Wilder away quickly, but Clio refused.
Clio had worked so hard to get Patrick to agree. She had to take this opportunity to get Cressida out of the house.
So after Wilder arrived, Clio gave him an ultimatum.
"I'm only giving you three days. If you still can't win over Cressida, pack your things and leave this estate."
"Mrs. Hamilton, I want to, but, but your daughter is too tough. I can't handle her!" The wounds on Wilder's face from Cressida's beating had just scabbed over.
Clio pressed her lips together in frustration at Wilder's incompetence.
Rose, sitting beside her, suddenly said softly: "If you approach her openly, Cressida naturally won't accept you. Wilder, you need to use some tactics."
"Tactics?" Wilder looked confused.
Rose pulled out a packet of powder from her sleeve and handed it over.
"Once you drug her, won't Cressida be at your mercy?"
Wilder looked at the packet but didn't dare take it, feeling scared.
It wasn't that he didn't dare—he was afraid the plan would fail and he'd get beaten again!
"How would I have the chance? Ms. Hamilton has many servants around her."
"Tomorrow, I'll have someone draw them away. You must seize the opportunity. If you fail again, get lost!" Clio said.
Rose played the softer role: "Wilder, the current difficulties are only temporary. Once you marry Cressida, who would dare look down on you?"
Rose and Cressida used both carrot and stick, and Wilder, thinking of the wealthy life ahead, felt it was within reach.
That's right—once a woman's virtue is ruined, she either kills herself or marries the man who ruined her!
Otherwise, she'll be crushed by society's prejudice!
So what if Cressida is tough?
Wilder gripped the packet tightly and left Clio's courtyard.
Little did he know, as soon as he left, someone secretly informed Cressida.
In the dark night, with flickering candlelight on the table, Cressida sat in a chair wearing a dark dress, looking noble and spirited.
Cressida called Ingrid: "Did you talk to Echo?"
Ingrid nodded: "Echo agreed and is willing to take the risk. She has only one request—that Ms. Hamilton must ensure she delivers safely."
Echo wasn't stupid. She knew that once Cressida fell, Clio would immediately turn her knife on Echo. She understood the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold.
Verity came to report: "Ms. Hamilton, tonight Mr. Michael Hamilton lost all of the fifty thousand dollars he just borrowed and flipped the table in anger."
Cressida sneered: "Tell the steward to comfort Michael properly. Remember to remind him that Rose has high-interest loans at the gambling house, and since they're family, he can use that money."
Verity nodded and left.
To hook Michael, Cressida had specifically set up a private gambling house for him.
Each visitor could have a private room to gamble in, so they wouldn't be seen by acquaintances and could play to their heart's content.
Most of the gambling house consisted of people Miguel had arranged for Cressida, just waiting for Michael to sink deeper.
The next day, Clio said early in the morning that she'd dreamed of Patrick's deceased mother, who complained that the younger generation didn't visit her.
So she called the servants around Cressida and Michael to clean the ancestral hall with Nanny, planning to choose a day to worship the ancestors.
Cressida didn't stop them and let Emma and the others go.
At that moment, on Wilder's side, before setting out, he was a bit nervous and drank all his tea.
Mira, seeing him like this, couldn't help saying: "Mr. Louis, maybe we should just leave. This Hamilton Mansion seems like a dangerous place. Even if you do have relations with Cressida, you probably won't get anything good out of it."
Cressida was just too fierce.
But Wilder laughed: "Mira, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity right in front of me. Once I marry Ms. Hamilton, even my father will see me differently. Besides, I've wanted to punish Cressida for a long time!"
Cressida whipped my face with a willow branch—I'm still angry about it!
I'm going to make Cressida submit to me in bed!
Thinking this, Wilder gulped down another mouthful of tea and headed out.
However, the further he walked, the more something felt wrong.
"Strange," he muttered, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
The tea he'd just drunk now felt like a ball of fire burning in his stomach, flowing through his blood to his limbs.
Cressida's cold, beautiful face began appearing before his eyes. He thought of her slender waist when she held the willow branch, her long neck...
"Damn it!" Wilder pinched his thigh hard, trying to stay clear-headed.
This didn't feel right! It was like he'd drunk an aphrodisiac.
But he hadn't given Cressida the aphrodisiac yet!
He now felt only a swelling sensation, as if his desire was surging.
When he stumbled to the courtyard where Cressida lived, the desire in his body was uncontrollable, making his eyes red and his reason completely gone.
In a daze, he seemed to see Cressida sitting by the stone table in the courtyard, her back to him.
Her light purple gauze dress fluttered in the wind, her figure graceful.
"Ms. Hamilton!" Wilder lunged from behind.
Echo let out a scream, turned around and cried out: "Help, someone help!"
She protected her belly but was pressed onto the table by Wilder.
"Help—" Echo's scream had just left her mouth when Wilder covered it.
She stared in terror, watching Wilder with his flushed face and bloodshot eyes tear at her clothes like a wild animal.
"You humiliated me last time!" Wilder panted heavily, his saliva dripping on Echo's face. "Today I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
Just then, a dark figure rushed in like a gust of wind.
Wilder only felt someone kick him hard in the back. He flew sideways, crashed heavily into the wall, raising some dust.
The sharp pain brought him a bit of clarity.
He looked up with difficulty and saw Patrick, Cressida, and a crowd of Hamilton family members standing in the courtyard.
They all stared at Wilder with shocked and angry eyes, especially Patrick.
Wilder sensed something was wrong. If Cressida was standing with Patrick, then the woman he'd just been pressing down was...
Wilder turned around and saw Echo covering her face and crying.
"Mr. Hamilton, you must help me, Mr. Hamilton!"
Wilder fell to his knees with a thud. In his panic, he could only choose to save himself.
He said: "It was this bitch who seduced me!"
However, before he finished speaking, a small portrait fell from his sleeve.
Cressida walked over, picked it up, raised her eyebrows, and handed it to Patrick.
Patrick saw that the portrait was of Echo. His blood pressure spiked immediately, veins bulging.
"Bastard!" His roar seemed to shake the ground.
Clio, supported by Rose, hurried over and saw this scene.
Cressida immediately said: "Mother, you deliberately brought this person here to ruin Echo's reputation, didn't you? How could you do this!"
Clio's breath caught.
This wretched Cressida! She dares to turn the tables!
Just as Clio was about to speak, Michael in the crowd suddenly shouted: "Cressida!"
This shout was completely different from his usual foolish manner.