Chapter 146
"Samuel, call him Grandpa." Michael ruffled Samuel's hair, his voice deep.
In the treatment room, everyone was shocked.
Michael wasn't just asserting his authority. He was telling the Clark family what Samuel meant to him.
Especially Nolan, who knew very well the true nature of Nora and Michael's "marriage."
Nolan spoke with a cold face, "Come out!"
"Grandpa." Samuel timidly called out, but only received Nolan's icy warning glare.
Samuel felt a bit wronged and turned to bury his face in Michael's shoulder, saying softly, "Mr. Smith, Grandpa doesn't seem to like me."
"Call me Dad," Michael spoke again.
Samuel looked at Michael in shock. Was he agreeing to let him call him Dad?
After staring at Michael intently for a while, Samuel hugged Michael tightly and called out timidly, "Dad."
He was so happy.
He liked Michael.
Michael just felt his heart tighten painfully, and his arms around Samuel unconsciously tightened.
He actually liked Samuel this much.
Aria's eyes reddened as she stepped forward to question Michael, "Do you have to humiliate me like this?"
Acknowledging some bastard child as his son? And making that bastard child call him Dad in front of the Clark family!
For Aria, this was an enormous humiliation.
"Humiliate? Where does that come from?" Michael asked calmly.
"Michael, the Smith family has already agreed to the marriage alliance with the Clark family. Now you're making some child of unknown origin call you Dad in front of Aria—what's the meaning of this?" Haven Clark asked coldly, clearly unable to save face, "Nolan, what is Michael planning?"
Nolan looked at Michael warningly, telling him to know what's good for him.
"Dad." Pearl was still sitting on the ground, with Eloise holding her and crying.
"Haven, look at Pearl, look at how they've bullied her—this is too much! This time, no matter what, the Clark family won't let Nora off!" Eloise cried out, "Nora, you've gone too far."
Nora kept her head down, her fingers clenched tightly.
"What does this have to do with Nora? I'm the one who did that to your daughter." Clea greeted Nolan, "Mr. Smith, long time no see."
Only then did Nolan notice that the Williams family was also there.
"Clea? It has been a while." Nolan nodded in acknowledgment.
He still had to show some respect to the Williams family.
After all, Clea now held all the power over the Williams family's import-export trade.
"Mrs. Clark, your daughter lacks manners. If you won't teach her properly at home, someone has to teach her when she's out. No need to thank me too much—I did my best, but she's still so classless." Clea acted like they shouldn't thank her too much.
Haven and Eloise's faces had darkened to the extreme, "This is..."
"The Williams family's daughter, Clea." Nolan quietly introduced her.
"The Williams family?" The Clark family's faces grew even darker, "Treating my daughter like this—isn't the Williams family going too far?"
"Why don't you first ask what your daughter did?" Clea was shocked, "Before coming here, I was thinking maybe the Clark family just had this one classless member, but turns out birds of a feather flock together? Your daughter brought a dozen bodyguards to trash my boyfriend's place and even hurt our child. I haven't settled that score with you yet."
Jasper's head shot up. Clea really could lie without batting an eye.
When did he become her boyfriend?
Nora also looked at Clea in shock, then at Jasper. Was he finally willing to find a girlfriend?
Feeling a bit excited, Nora's eyes reddened.
All these years, because of her and Evelyn, Jasper had been constantly criticized. The slander and defamation he received was no less than hers.
Nora felt sorry for Jasper and hoped there would be a woman who truly loved him and was willing to spend the rest of his life with him.
"Mom, Dad, it hurts, it hurts so much." Pearl cried out in pain, "Dad, I don't care who she is, you must help me teach her a lesson."
Haven said coldly with a dark face, "So you're all ganging up to bully my daughter."
Clea rolled her eyes. Now they were crying thief.
"See, trying to reason with unreasonable people is like playing music to a cow." Clea boldly stepped forward and kicked Pearl right in front of Eloise, "Come on, I'm waiting for you to teach me a lesson. I really want to see today what the Clark family can do to me."
After speaking, Clea dragged over a chair and sat down next to Pearl, "Hurry up, I'm in a rush."
Pearl was terrified and hid behind Eloise, crying.
"What kind of upbringing does the Williams family have, raising a daughter like you who acts like a thug? Someone like you—who would dare marry you? You're just a delinquent girl." Eloise hugged Pearl protectively, so angry that her hands were shaking.
"Girl? Thanks for the compliment. I'm pretty lucky—whoever messes with me, I make them regret it." Clea said brazenly.
These were clearly the insults people used against her online and the gossip that slandered her behind her back in Emerald City circles.
But she could so easily turn them into weapons to strike back at others.
Nora looked at Clea with envy. This was probably the way she envied but could never live.
"This is outrageous!" Eloise said angrily, holding Pearl and moving to the side, "Doctor! Hurry and treat Pearl's wounds, and call the police if necessary."
"I'll call the police too. Your daughter brought bodyguards for illegal detention, disturbing the peace, obstructing medical treatment, harming a child, damaging public property, and isn't she still on bail?" John said calmly, carrying his medical kit to Pearl's side.
Threats aside, he was a doctor and still had to do his duty.
"Mom! I don't want him, I don't want him treating my wounds—he's on their side." Pearl screamed in terror.
John shrugged, "She won't cooperate, so there's nothing I can do."
Eloise's face went pale. Pearl really couldn't afford to get into trouble right now.
"Why didn't you just stay home instead of running out here?" Eloise knew the Williams family wasn't to be trifled with, so she quietly scolded Pearl.
But Pearl was too spoiled and cried and demanded they stand up for her.
"Michael." Here, Aria's eyes reddened, her voice choking, "Pearl is my sister. She did wrong, and I apologize for her. I like Samuel, too, and I feel terrible that Samuel got hurt, but please don't use this to punish me. It's not fair to me. We're about to get engaged. You promised you'd take good care of me. You know I can't handle this."
Aria had always publicly claimed to have severe depression. Michael was stimulating her like this—she definitely couldn't accept it.
Clearly, Aria was much smarter than Pearl.
Her words didn't sound forceful, but every word was telling everyone: I can't handle stimulation. If you stimulate me, I'll commit suicide, and then you'll all be guilty.
Especially Michael.