Chapter 188

Chapter 188

"Daddy, you're really good to me."

"But could you please not let anyone hurt Mom?"

"She made a mistake, but she'll do better next time."

Aaron watched Claire wince in pain. Frederick had been gentle with him, so he immediately begged for mercy on Claire's behalf.

"So between me and Claire, you're choosing Claire—is that right?"

Frederick wasn't disappointed at all. Aaron had never been close to him since childhood, repeatedly helping Claire hide things from him.

Now, even knowing Claire had hurt Sierra, he still chose Claire!

"Yes. I choose Mom."

"Dad, you have Grandma and Grandpa who love you, but Mom only has me."

"No matter what Mom does wrong, I can't leave her."

"She told me that even though she's not my birth mother, she'll always be my only family!"

It was the first time Aaron had ever spoken this much to Frederick on his own.

Frederick touched Aaron's cheek. He could tell the boy truly loved Claire.

"Fine. Since you've chosen Claire, from now on, we're no longer father and son!"

Aaron couldn't bear it.

He wanted Claire, but he didn't want to lose Frederick either.

He reached out to hug Frederick.

"Daddy—"

But when he saw the look in Frederick's eyes, he didn't dare step forward.

Frederick put distance between himself and Aaron, making sure the boy wouldn't come closer.

He dismissed his men and turned his cold gaze on Claire.

"Today, for Aaron's sake, I'll let you go."

"But I'm giving you one last chance—is my mother really not in your hands?"

Seeing that Frederick was willing to let her off, Claire struggled to her feet.

Her hand throbbed.

But she showed no fear.

"No!"

"I got what I wanted and left."

"Frederick, now you're worried? When I called you back then and told you to beg me, you were too proud!"

Frederick's eyes darkened at her words.

Claire flinched at the violence in his gaze and didn't dare provoke him further.

She took a step back and turned her face away.

"I'm not lying. I left right after I called you. When I left, Sierra was still lying on the ground."

Frederick studied Claire, trying to determine if she was lying.

Finally, convinced she truly didn't know, he left with his men.

The moment Frederick was gone, Aaron rushed into Claire's arms.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"Did Dad hurt your hand badly?"

Claire was beyond irritated. She shoved Aaron away.

"Don't call me Mom!"

"I'm not your mother!"

"Aaron, you think just because you saved me I'll love you? A kid as annoying as you—I can't stand the sight of you!"

"I already got the Kennedy family's money by using you. You're worthless to me now. Get out!"

Claire had never loved Aaron.

No matter how genuine his feelings for her were, in her eyes, he was nothing but a tool.

His own birth mother didn't want him—why should she?

"Mom, you're lying!"

"You promised you'd be good to me, that you'd be my family. You've been lying to me all along!"

Aaron hadn't expected Claire to turn on him. He stared at her in fear, and then his frightened expression slowly twisted into something darker.

"Yes, I was lying."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"You're just a brat, and you'll always be nothing but a puppet in my hands!"

Claire had run out of patience. She grabbed Aaron and shoved him out the door.

---

Rosewood City.

Nora's side.

After she filed her lawsuit with the Suncrest City court, Soft Verse Studios received cancellations all day long.

Major clients they'd worked with for five years, scattered small orders—every single one demanded to terminate their contracts.

"Nora, could this be your ex-husband Frederick's doing?"

"You just sued him, and now he's retaliating against us."

"What a scumbag! Even if he doesn't care about your marriage, for Elise's sake, he shouldn't go after you like this!"

Hannah sat in the office, staring at the refund requests and rubbing her temples.

"Sierra's missing!"

"Evelyn's in the hospital too. I don't think Frederick did this."

Nora wasn't defending Frederick—she just thought this wave of mass cancellations was strange.

If someone wanted to come after her, tracking down major clients would be easy enough, but how did they find all these scattered small customers?

"Hannah, Nora, I found out."

"It's Steven!"

"He's using Frederick's exposé and paying off media outlets to smear both Nora and Soft Verse Studios. Customers who don't know the full story have decided Nora's selfish and calculating, and they've lost faith in her."

"As for our business partners—aside from Henry's people—the others are canceling for two reasons. One, they're worried Soft Verse Studios won't survive this and they're covering themselves."

"Two, Claire's CF Group is slashing prices drastically, undercutting us to steal our clients. She doesn't care if she makes a profit or not."

Jasper's brow was deeply furrowed.

Thinking about the mess Soft Verse Studios and Nora were facing, he'd already made up his mind.

But whether to act on that decision—that was Nora's call.

"Hannah, Jasper, what are you both thinking?"

"Should we shut down the company?"

Nora knew that right now, both public opinion and pricing were working against Soft Verse Studios' survival.

Claire was out for blood.

If she kept fighting, they'd both go down.

"Honestly, we've made enough over the past five years. Maybe we should just close it?"

Hannah was sharp.

She knew that under current circumstances, turning things around on her own wouldn't be easy.

Closing the company wouldn't be a huge loss.

"Jasper, what do you think?"

Nora looked at Jasper. She couldn't quite name what she was feeling right now.

Over the past five years, aside from caring for Elise, she'd devoted all her time to Soft Verse Studios.

She'd nurtured Soft Verse Studios like it was her second child!

"Nora, I think closing the company is one option. But if you're not ready to give up, give yourself a few days. You don't have to decide right now."

The three of them left the office, everyone in low spirits.

At Hannah's suggestion, they went to a bar together.

Nora hadn't been to a bar in years.

Back in Suncrest City, Frederick had hounded her constantly, and aside from her roommate Hannah, she'd had no friends.

Shortly after marriage, her leg injury had left her in a wheelchair most of the time.

These past five years, she'd opened her eyes to nothing but work and childcare. If Hannah hadn't brought it up, she'd almost forgotten bars even existed.

The three of them drank, trying to blow off steam.

After a few rounds, Nora caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

Brenda!

But wasn't she pregnant?

What was she doing in a place like this?

Jasper followed Nora's gaze and recognized Brenda too.

He watched her sitting alone in a dim corner booth, downing drink after drink.

The way she was drinking—she definitely wasn't pregnant!

What's more, Brenda had deliberately worn low-key athletic clothes and a baseball cap, clearly not wanting to be recognized.

She was here to drown her sorrows!

"Nora, didn't you tell me Brenda was pregnant?"

"How can she be drinking this much?"

Hannah hadn't caught on at first.

Seeing both Jasper and Nora staring at Brenda in the corner booth, she looked confused.

"Maybe like Claire, Brenda's pregnancy is fake! The baby's fake too!"

"She's not pregnant at all!"

Nora had been wondering how to deal with Claire. Now, seeing Brenda, she had an idea.

She recorded a video of Brenda drinking and sent it straight to Austin.