Chapter 74 Screw You!
Quinley froze. She hadn't expected the fire to spread to her.
"Joe, what are you standing there for? Get this woman out of here!" Emily shrieked.
Joe had already gotten up from the ground, his eyes bloodshot, rage settling across his weathered face as he strode toward Quinley, pointing toward the courtyard gate.
"Please leave. You're not welcome here."
"Mrs. Jennings, my condolences!" Quinley knew when she wasn't wanted. If they didn't want her here, she'd go.
"She's with me. You have no right to order her around."
Just as she was about to leave, Zachary pulled her protectively behind him. He grabbed her wrist, his large hand burning hot, his fingers strong and sure.
Emily went rigid. In an instant, tears poured down her face like broken pearls.
"William just passed, and you're already disrespecting his memory? Zachary, don't forget—you still have Jennings blood running through your veins!" She positioned herself on the moral high ground, applying pressure to Zachary.
At that moment, Quinley assumed the Jennings Manor residents resented her because her role as Sylvia's pawn had been exposed.
It wasn't exactly honorable, and she'd brought it on herself. Besides, Emily and Sylvia were sworn enemies—it made perfect sense that Emily wouldn't want her around.
"Mr. Jennings, you should go see your father. I'll leave now." Quinley was a sensible woman who didn't want to put Zachary in a difficult position.
She tried to pry his large hand away, but he refused to let go.
"Today, you're not going anywhere. You're staying right by my side. I'd like to see who dares to make you leave."
He took Quinley's hand and strode toward the main hall entrance.
"Mr. Jennings, please don't do this. The dead deserve respect—your father wouldn't want you acting this way either. It's not appropriate for me to stay here. Please just let me go, okay?"
Quinley spoke patiently, her words gentle as she tried to soothe the fury burning in Zachary's heart. But he suddenly stopped and looked down at her, roaring, "Can't you show a little backbone? They're humiliating you, and you think backing down will make them leave you alone?"
Before Zachary finished speaking, applause suddenly echoed through the hall. Quinley looked up to see Landon Jennings emerge from inside, dressed entirely in black.
He was tall and lean—Quinley had never seen a man who seemed so pristine. He carried an aura of dangerous charm as he stopped at the hall entrance.
"Zach, you're finally back. I thought you'd disappeared! Dad had some last words for you before he died, but unfortunately, you missed your chance to hear them!"
"Move!"
Zachary ignored Landon's gloating. He tried to walk inside with Quinley, but Landon blocked half the doorway with his body.
"You can go in, but she can't." He pointed at Quinley.
"Move!" Zachary roared again.
"I already said—you can, she can't." Landon raised his voice too.
The atmosphere became explosive, a fierce battle about to erupt.
"Lucas, what are you waiting for?"
Zachary gave the order. Once he decided to do something, no one could stop him. Lucas sprinted forward, but before he could get close, eight bodyguards emerged from behind Landon.
Each one was built like a tank, dressed in black suits, descending like a crushing low-pressure system as they surrounded Lucas.
"What do you think you're doing? Fighting? William's body is barely cold, and you want to brawl here? What's next—haven't you embarrassed the Jennings family enough?"
Emily shouted harshly. Landon smiled contemptuously.
"Some people are so desperate they'll take any slut who spreads her legs for anyone. As a member of the Jennings family, I absolutely cannot let such a person insult Dad's spirit in heaven. If she wants to enter, she'll have to step over my dead body!"
"Bang!"
Before Landon finished speaking, Zachary's fist connected with his face.
"Apologize!" His voice boomed like thunder.
"Apologize? You want me to apologize to this whore?"
Landon wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, pulled a stack of photos from his pocket, and hurled them at Zachary's face.
"You say she's not a whore? Then what are these?"
Photos scattered everywhere, fluttering to the ground. One landed right in front of Quinley.
In the photo, she was half-naked, entangled with an obese man. The image was utterly obscene.
Every scattered photo was similar—salacious, intimate, degrading...
Quinley stood with her hands at her sides, her face deathly pale, her fingers trembling slightly. That wasn't her. She'd never done those filthy things.
But what were these photos about?
"What a dirty slut..."
Mocking voices rose from the crowd as they pinned Quinley to a pillar of shame with their contemptuous stares.
Lucas bent down, frantically gathering the photos from the ground one by one.
"My dear brother, take a good look—is the woman in these photos her or not?"
Landon fanned the flames with malicious glee. Zachary's face turned iron-gray, but from beginning to end, he never let go of Quinley's hand.
"You must not know—Dad died of rage after seeing these photos. I mean, if you want to play around, what kind of woman couldn't you find? Why did you have to pick a whore?"
Landon's words were sharp and cutting, like knives stabbing straight into Zachary's heart.
"Screw you!"
Zachary exploded with profanity, lunging forward and swinging his fist viciously at Landon's monkey face. The two quickly became locked in combat.
Zachary was brutal, every punch thrown with vicious force. Landon couldn't take it. Seeing her son losing ground, Emily rushed over to protect him.
"Zachary, what gives you the right to hit people? You're the one who's been reckless, messing around with these trashy women outside. Zhendong is already dead because of your behavior—what now? You want our mother and son to die with him too?"
"Since you're so eager to die, I don't mind sending you to join him."
Zachary's warning was ruthless. Emily didn't dare go head-to-head with Zachary—she was afraid that if she pushed him too far, he really would kill them.
She plopped down on the ground, cradling Landon's head as she wailed heartbreakingly.
"Landon, you can't have anything happen to you! Your father left so suddenly, leaving me all alone—how am I supposed to live?"
She was a natural actress, performing this tragic scene of a helpless widow and orphan with stunning authenticity. Everyone present was moved—everyone except Zachary, who was immune to her act.
His gaze fell on Quinley. Such a small figure caught in the crowd, enduring so much humiliation without shedding a single tear.
Seeing Zachary look at her, Quinley forced a bitter smile, trying to sound casual as she said, "I'm fine. You should go see your father."
She was so considerate, always thinking of him first, never wanting to become his burden. But he couldn't bear to see her suffer.
His heart ached as he took Quinley's hand and strode toward the exit.
"We're going home."