Chapter 101

Chapter 101

She cried and shouted at the same time, deliberately raising her voice. Soon, the Brown family elders and guests nearby heard the commotion and followed the sound, gathering around the pool. They pointed and whispered about Marcella in the pool and Ophelia by the poolside.

Finnian also came over. Seeing Marcella standing in the pool completely soaked, his expression changed instantly, and he quickly had someone pull Marcella out.

Gwyneth frowned and looked at Ophelia, her tone somewhat probing: "Ophelia, what exactly happened?"

All eyes focused on Ophelia - some curious, some questioning, some just watching the drama unfold. But Ophelia wasn't flustered at all. She stepped out from behind William, raised her hand to show her wrist that had been grabbed so hard it was bright red. The marks were clearly visible, obviously from being squeezed forcefully.

Her tone was calm but clear as she laid out the whole story from beginning to end, without exaggeration or fabrication, just stating the facts.

"Grandma, everyone, Marcella secretly had a servant call me to the poolside. She immediately started insulting me, saying I was too low-born to be William's wife, that I must have used tricks to marry him."

"I was just reasoning with her, and when I hit a nerve, she got angry. When William showed up, she deliberately grabbed my wrist and staged this whole act of being pushed into the water, trying to make everyone think I did it."

As Ophelia spoke, she looked up at Marcella in the pool, her eyes firm and fearless: "Besides, there are cameras all around the pool. Everything that just happened was recorded. Check the footage, and you'll know if I'm telling the truth."

At the mention of "cameras," Marcella's crying suddenly caught in her throat. Her heart jumped, and obvious panic flashed in her eyes. She'd been so focused on scheming against Ophelia that she'd completely forgotten about the pool cameras!

But she still tried to hold her ground, stubbornly defending herself, though her voice had lost its earlier confidence and even sounded a bit shaky.

"You're lying! You're just making excuses! The cameras are so far away, they might not catch the details! You're just trying to weasel out of this!"

Standing by the pool, Finnian looked at Marcella's panicked expression, then at the clear red marks on Ophelia's wrist. He immediately understood - Marcella had staged the whole thing herself. His face looked terrible.

William stood by Ophelia's side the whole time. He gently put his arm around her shoulder, silently comforting her. Looking at the hysterical Marcella in the pool with disgust, he turned to the butler Hawk standing nearby and gave a cold order: "Hawk, go pull up all the pool camera footage right now and play it for everyone to see who's really lying."

Hawk didn't dare delay and immediately responded: "Yes, right away."

With that, Hawk turned and quickly left to get the footage.

Xavier also came over. Already annoyed that the party had been disrupted like this, seeing Marcella still throwing a tantrum made his face darken instantly. He shouted sternly at Marcella in the pool.

"Marcella! Haven't you caused enough trouble!"

"This is the Brown family's gathering with so many guests. You're making a scene in front of everyone, with no regard for your own dignity or the Brown family's reputation!"

"Even if Ophelia really did something wrong, you should have talked to her privately. Making such a big fuss and throwing a tantrum like this - what does it look like! You're making the Brown family a laughingstock!"

Xavier's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Marcella's head. She shuddered at his scolding. Thinking about how the footage would be brought over soon and the truth would come out, her face turned awkward. After falling in the water, her hair was plastered to her face, she was soaking wet, and looked completely disheveled - nothing like a wealthy lady.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something in her defense, but couldn't get a single word out. She could only stand in the pool, letting the cold water soak her, her heart full of panic and fear.

The guests and Brown family elders around them had also figured out what was going on. They pointed at Marcella and whispered among themselves.

"I think this whole thing was staged by Marcella herself. Look how red Ms. Blake's wrist is from being grabbed."

"Exactly. Ms. Blake looks so gentle and refined. How could she push someone? But Marcella, the way she acted just now, you could tell she felt guilty."

"Such a nice party, ruined like this. Marcella is so immature."

Every word of these comments reached Marcella's ears, making her feel even more humiliated. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

Soon, Hawk returned with security staff, holding a tablet. He walked quickly to Xavier and William and spoke respectfully: "Sir, I've pulled up the pool camera footage."

William nodded: "Play it for everyone to see."

"Yes," Hawk responded, tapped the video on the tablet, and held it up so everyone could see clearly.

The camera footage was very clear. From Marcella telling a servant to call Ophelia over, to Ophelia and Marcella talking by the pool, Marcella's insulting words, then Marcella suddenly grabbing Ophelia's wrist, and when she saw William coming, Marcella deliberately letting go and falling backward into the pool - even her intentional scream before falling into the water was captured crystal clear, without missing a single detail.

When the video finished playing, the poolside went completely silent. Everyone looked at Marcella with contempt and disdain. Even those who had some doubts before now understood - Marcella had staged the whole thing herself, deliberately trying to frame Ophelia.

On the other side, Finnian's face had turned red long ago. From the moment Marcella shouted about being pushed, he knew something was off. A suffocating anger rushed to his head.

Unable to hold back anymore, he stepped forward and slapped Marcella hard across the face.

The sharp sound made even the surrounding whispers stop for a moment.

Marcella covered her face, looking at Finnian in disbelief, tears mixed with pool water streaming down: "You hit me? You actually hit me?"

"Who else should I hit!" Finnian's voice was heavy with anger, his chest heaving violently. "Marcella, have you lost your mind! In front of so many elders and guests, you pulled this disgusting staged act! You're not just embarrassing yourself, you're embarrassing the entire Brown family and me!"

He pointed at Marcella's nose, each word burning with anger: "How did Ophelia offend you? Just because you're bitter inside, you target her at every turn, even going so far as to act crazy and frame her. Have you no shame!"

Marcella was stunned by the slap and the scolding. She opened her mouth but couldn't speak for a long time, only able to cover her face and cry softly, no longer daring to shout like before.

After finishing his tirade, Finnian turned to look at Ophelia. The anger on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by deep apology. "Ophelia, I'm sorry. I failed to control Marcella and let you suffer. This is her fault. I apologize on her behalf. Please don't hold it against her."

Ophelia stood there, watching Finnian like this, but felt nothing inside.