Bella was stunned after hearing her mother's words, followed by an overwhelming anger.
"How could Lance... How could he do this?!"
She clenched her fists, gritting her teeth as rage surged within her. But she knew that being angry wouldn't solve anything.
Her mother's furious voice echoed in her ears, "That Lance has already ruined you, and now he wants to finish us off. Meanwhile, that wretched woman is untouched. It's inhumane! If only we had evidence, I'd like to see how arrogant Lance would be then!"
Bella's eyes darkened as she listened, and suddenly, she felt a surge of impulse.
"I'm going to find Lance!" She said and strode out.
Kelly was stunned for a moment before quickly chasing after her. "Bella, stop right there."
However, Bella seemed not to hear and quickly reached the stairs, descending rapidly.
Kelly had no choice but to quicken her pace to catch up. Then, an accident happened.
Kelly's foot twisted in her slippers, and with a cry of surprise, she fell forward.
Hearing the noise, Bella turned around to see her mother falling towards her.
Before she could react, they both tumbled down the stairs together.
Jeffery heard the commotion and immediately stood up from the sofa. He saw his wife and daughter at the bottom of the stairs and walked over with a frown. "What are you doing?"
Kelly didn't answer immediately; instead, she tightly grasped Bella's wrist and spoke urgently.
"Listen to me. Don't go to Lance. He's already ruined you. Even if you beg him on your knees, he won't spare our Cody family!" She pleaded earnestly.
Bella bit her lip hard, feeling deflated because she knew her mother was right.
Even if she knelt before Lance, that man wouldn't spare her a glance or show any mercy.
Jeffery also understood what had happened and his face darkened immediately.
"Haven't I warned you to stay home? Why are you going to see Lance? Do you want to embarrass yourself even more? Do you think this isn't big enough already?!"
He scolded Bella angrily.
But it didn't end there.
Perhaps due to long-suppressed emotions, he exploded at that moment.
"How could I have such a foolish daughter? I told you to win over Lance, not to commit heinous acts. Yet you did it anyway and weren't ruthless enough, leaving trouble for yourself and implicating the family!"
"Do you know that because of you, our Cody family's efforts of nearly a century have gone down the drain!"
Hearing these accusations, Bella bit her lower lip hard and clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh.
Yet she seemed oblivious to the pain, keeping her head down.
If someone had made her look up at that moment, they would have seen her eyes filled with tears.
...
For the next two days, Jeffery was constantly on the move.
With less than two days left until Lance's deadline, he needed to handle some of the Cody family's real estate and business projects urgently.
Even Old Cody, who had been in seclusion, came out to help Jeffery manage affairs smoothly.
Two days later came the day for the Cody family to leave Cloudmere.
The sky was clear, but for the Cody family members, it was still gloomy.
Bella pushed her suitcase out of the villa where she had lived since childhood. She looked back reluctantly with mixed feelings.
At that moment, her mother's voice called out urgently from behind. "Bella, what are you standing there for? Get in the car quickly before those reporters arrive."
Kelly and Jeffery didn't want reporters capturing their disgraceful departure and urged Bella to hurry up.
Despite their efforts, they were surrounded by reporters upon arriving at the airport.
"Mr. Cody, now that you're leaving Cloudmere's business circle, do you plan to return in the future?"
"Are you admitting defeat by leaving with your entire family?"
"The Cody family used to be close with the Mercer family. What do you think is the main reason for this fallout?"
The reporters bombarded Jeffery with tricky questions, shoving microphones in his face.
Seeing these reporters made Bella's already thin face turn pale as she recalled an incident from a month ago-her greatest shame.
She tried to hide behind her mother but was spotted by a reporter who immediately began asking hurtful questions.
"Miss Cody, a month ago you were involved with four men but accused Mr. Mercer of framing you. Aren't you afraid such high-profile behavior will affect your future marriage prospects?"
"Miss Cody, have you considered how your future husband would feel about your pre-marital behavior?"
"Miss Cody..."
Hearing these malicious remarks fueled Bella's anger further. She felt like a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment.