Chapter 100

Chapter 100

At the Smith Villa, a loud crash echoed through the hall as the heavy wooden door was violently kicked open, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Inside the room, Gavin and Amara, disheveled and terrified, sprang up, their faces drained of color. Before they could react, several expressionless bodyguards in black suits stormed in.

"What the hell are you doing? Get out!" Gavin shouted, trying to pull his disordered robe tighter around himself.

Amara screamed and hid behind him, clutching the bedsheet so tightly her fingers turned white, her eyes filled with panic and shame.

The lead bodyguard's gaze was cold and emotionless. "Mr. Gavin Smith, Ms. Spencer, Mr. Simon Smith wants to see you."

"I said, get out! I'm injured and need to rest!" Gavin tried to struggle, but the bodyguards were quicker. Two of them grabbed him and Amara, one on each side, and lifted them up.

"Let go of me! You jerks!" Gavin's curses and Amara's cries echoed down the hallway, sounding particularly harsh and pitiful.

They were practically dragged through the long corridor and finally shoved into the brightly lit hall of the Smith Villa.

The atmosphere in the hall was heavy. Almost all the members of the Smith family were present, sitting upright with varied expressions.

At the head of the room, Simon's face was dark, his cane striking the floor heavily. Beside him, Richard sat in a wheelchair, his head bowed, seemingly indifferent to everything around him. His fingers unconsciously fiddled with the edge of his clothes.

Catherine stood quietly to the side, her head slightly lowered. Her long eyelashes hidden the emotions in her eyes, as if she were just an uninformed observer.

Gavin and Amara were pushed to the center of the hall, their disheveled appearance exposed to the scrutinizing eyes of everyone, making them feel utterly humiliated.

"Idiots!" Simon roared, smashing the teacup in his hand onto the floor, shards flying everywhere. "Speak! What were you two doing in the room just now?!"

Gavin tried to remain calm, stiffening his neck as he lied, "Grandpa, I… I was injured yesterday, and Amara was just taking care of me!"

"Taking care?" Simon sneered. "Does taking care require you to be naked? You've disgraced the Smith family!"

Richard, who had been silent, suddenly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Gavin, his voice clear and unlike his usual self. "Gavin, didn't you say… the signal was bad in the back hills and you couldn't contact anyone?"

Gavin's heart sank, realizing trouble was brewing.

Sure enough, Richard continued, his speech slow but clear. "I just received news that yesterday afternoon, someone saw you deploying people to block all the paths leading out of the back hills. You said it was… a drill?"

He paused, his gaze shifting to Catherine, then back to Gavin, with a calmness that seemed to see through everything. "At that time, Catherine happened to be in the back hills. Why did you block the hills?"

The hall erupted in chaos.

Block the back hills? A drill? Considering Catherine's near accident yesterday and looking at the two in front of them, everyone's eyes on Gavin were instantly filled with suspicion and disdain.

Gavin's face turned pale, and cold sweat dripped down. "I… I didn't! That was… that was a routine security arrangement! It has nothing to do with me!" He hurriedly looked at Amara. "Amara, tell them, we were just…"

Amara was already scared out of her wits, only able to cry.

"Enough."

Richard's voice rang out.

He stood up from the wheelchair.

Everyone stared at the wheelchair in shock. What was going on? Was Richard's leg healed?

Richard's gaze swept over Gavin coldly, with an undeniable authority. "Gavin, you plotted to harm my wife, intending to kill her in the back hills, and then engaged in an affair with Amara here, disgracing the family. Do you admit to these actions or not?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried immense weight, making Gavin's heart tremble.

The shock of seeing Richard standing and walking left the Smith family members almost unable to think. The "fool" Richard, whom they had mocked, pitied, and ignored for years, was now declaring his return in such a powerful manner!

Richard ignored the shock of the others. He walked over to Catherine, his gaze softening for a moment, and then turned back to the crowd.

His tone was firm and decisive. "From today on, my wife is under my protection. Anyone who dares to harm her will be my enemy, and the enemy of the entire Smith family!"

He looked around the room, his gaze meeting no resistance.

"As for those who dared to harm her," his eyes finally landed on the pale-faced Gavin and Amara, "the Smith family rules will not tolerate it!"

Just as Gavin was about to collapse, Amara, who had been crying and cowering, suddenly raised her head. Her face was still streaked with tears, but her eyes flashed with a hint of malice and calculation.

She pointed sharply at Catherine, her voice shrill. "It was her! She hit me! Grandpa, Richard, you've all been deceived by her!"

Everyone was stunned, their eyes turning to Catherine.

Seeing this, Amara seemed to grasp at a lifeline, crying out. "Yesterday in the back hills, Catherine and I were playing. She lost her necklace, and I found it. I wanted to return it to her, but she… she attacked me without warning!"

She tried to lift her sleeve, revealing faint red marks on her arm, speaking with conviction, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

The atmosphere in the hall became strange again.

A person just exposed for attempted murder and a woman caught in an affair, accusing the seemingly innocent victim of violence?

Everyone's eyes shifted between Catherine, Amara, and Richard, filled with confusion and curiosity.

Catherine remained silent, only her eyelashes fluttering slightly when Amara pointed at her, her lips curving into a faint, cold smile, so quick it seemed like an illusion.

"A lie repeated a thousand times doesn't become the truth." Richard's gaze was icy, staring directly at the pale-faced Amara. "Your story is full of holes."

Richard's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.

Amara's heart skipped a beat, trying to stay calm. "Richard, what do you mean? I'm telling the truth!"

"Really?" Richard's lips curved into a faint, cold smile, devoid of warmth.

Before Richard could speak again, Catherine suddenly stepped forward, her gaze sharp as a knife, piercing Amara. "Amara, since you claim it was an accident, do you dare to swear?"

Amara instinctively stepped back, her eyes flickering. "Swear what?"

"Swear that if there's any falsehood in your words today, you…" Catherine paused, each word clear, "You will die a horrible death and fall into hell. Do you dare?"