Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Catherine walked in slowly.
She wore a simple, elegant dress. Her face was free of makeup, her expression calm and indifferent, and her eyes clear and sharp. There was no trace of the usual dazed and foolish look.
She walked straight to Richard's side and nodded slightly, "Grandpa."
Oliver and Clara's faces darkened.
It seemed Catherine was done pretending.
Simon watched their discomfort coldly, his voice steady and authoritative, "So, Mr. Oliver Spencer and Mrs. Clara Spencer, you get it now?"
He paused, his tone growing more serious, "Catherine is Richard's wife. I let your past mistreatment slide out of respect for our families' ties. But now, she's part of the Smith family. Anyone who dares to harm her will be challenging me and the entire Smith family!"
"As for Amara," Simon's gaze swept over the frozen image of Amara's panicked face on the screen, "plotting to harm Richard's wife—how does the Spencer family plan to account for this?"
Oliver's body went limp, nearly sliding off the couch, cold sweat soaking his back. He knew the Smith family meant business this time. With Simon personally involved and the evidence irrefutable, Amara was finished, and the entire Spencer family might be implicated.
"Mercy, please!" Clara finally reacted, falling to her knees with a thud, crying out, "Amara was just confused for a moment. Please, Mr. Smith, spare her this once for her youth! We will discipline her properly, we promise!"
Simon remained expressionless, unmoved.
At this moment, Richard, who had been silent, spoke. He didn't look at Clara kneeling on the ground but turned his head to Catherine beside him.
His gaze was deep, carrying a hint of inquiry and a sense of delegation. "You're the one who got hurt here."
He slightly raised his chin, gesturing towards Oliver, Clara, and the screen showing Amara, his tone calm yet undeniably powerful:
"How you want to handle it is up to you."
The bustling banquet hall seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, all eyes focused on Catherine.
She stood there, her figure seemingly fragile, but her voice carried a penetrating force, clearly reaching every corner.
"Dad, do you remember? When I was six, you and Ms. Jones sent me to the countryside under the pretext of 'needing rest due to poor health.'"
Catherine's gaze locked onto Oliver, her calm tone hiding turbulent undercurrents.
Clara's face changed slightly, forcing a smile. "Catherine, what are you saying? We did it for your own good..."
"For my good?" Catherine interrupted, her voice rising, tinged with a barely perceptible tremor, more like suppressed anger.
"For my good, you left me to be raised by my grandmother alone?"
Oliver's face turned very unpleasant.
Seeing this, Catherine let out a cold laugh, her gaze shifting to Amara hiding behind Clara, "Amara, why don't you tell us why you secretly went to the countryside years ago and pushed me into that dry well?"
"You're lying! I didn't!" Amara screamed, her face turning pale instantly, "When did I ever go to the countryside! Dad! Mom! She's slandering me!"
"You never went?" Catherine pressed on.
"If someone hadn't seen it, I would have died in there. You tried to kill me to silence me, and the person who saved me had to move away from the countryside."
"Kill to silence" was like a thunderclap, rendering the room silent.
Catherine's gaze shot towards Clara like a sharp blade, her voice icy, "Ms. Jones, was my mother's mysterious car accident and Ms. Scott's strange disappearance really just accidents?"
"You... you're slandering us!" Clara was thoroughly panicked, her voice trembling, her finger pointing at Catherine, shaking, "Oliver! Listen to her! She's crazy! How could we do such things!"
Oliver's face had turned extremely grim. He looked at the frantic Clara, the trembling Amara, and the sharp-eyed Catherine, his heart in turmoil.
At this moment, Richard, who had been silently observing, subtly raised his hand, signaling his assistant.
The assistant understood, quietly walking to Oliver's side, whispering a few words and discreetly showing him the phone screen.
The screen seemed to display some ordinary old news headlines and dates, but Oliver's pupils contracted suddenly. Those dates vaguely matched certain blurred events in his memory, making his heart skip a beat.
What did Richard mean? What did he know?
Richard's gaze swept over Clara, carrying a subtle pressure, silently indicating: he had evidence.
This invisible pressure became the final blow to Oliver's mental defenses. Clara felt the oppressive gaze, her inner fear growing like wild vines.
Catherine caught the fleeting doubt and wavering in Oliver's eyes, knowing the time had come.
She slightly turned, her gaze shifting between Oliver and Clara, her tone carrying a near-cruel mockery:
"Dad, you always valued the Spencer family's reputation. But I wonder, as for the people you trust and protect wholeheartedly, are they equally loyal to you?"