Chapter 29 She Loves All Children, Except Herself
Violette's eyes widened with urgency as she heard Eli's words.
She stepped in front of Emily, blocking her path. "You touch Emily, you gotta deal with me first!"
Even though she wasn't super close to Eli, they were still family, and Hayden was younger. Starting a fight would only bring shame to the Johnson family.
Eli's face was cold and unyielding. "Move aside, or I'm not helping."
Violette stood her ground, her neck stiffened in defiance.
Bianca's eyes flickered with a plan as she stepped forward and took Violette's hand. "Violette, aren't you making things tough for my dad and Hayden? Emily's your niece, but we're family too, right?"
She tried to pull Violette away as she spoke.
Violette attempted to break free, but Bianca's pained expression made her hesitate.
She cared deeply for Emily and didn’t want to hurt Bianca either.
"Bianca, please, talk to your dad and Hayden. Emily's your sister after all..."
"Violette, I've tried, but Emily might not listen to me," Bianca said, feigning concern.
She twisted Violette's words, shifting the blame onto Emily.
Emily wasn’t surprised by Bianca's actions.
She glared at Hayden. "Are you gonna make a move or not? If not, I'm taking Violette with me."
"Stubborn fool! You're asking for it, don't blame us for being ruthless!"
Hayden couldn’t believe that even without Violette's protection, Emily still dared to be so defiant.
Hayden and Eli exchanged glances, and Eli nodded.
"Stop!"
Bianca finally shouted as Hayden started to make his move.
Violette seized the moment when Bianca loosened her grip and tried to rush forward, but Eli blocked her path.
It was too late for her to save Emily.
Just when everyone thought Emily was about to get hurt, a cry of pain echoed through the room. It was Hayden.
Everyone turned to see Hayden clutching his leg, writhing on the ground in agony.
"Hayden..."
"Hayden!"
Bianca and Cleo, who had just come downstairs, hurried over in concern.
Eli remained calm and immediately called for the family doctor.
His sharp gaze turned to Emily, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity and loss of control.
"When did you learn to fight?"
He hadn’t even seen Emily make a move, yet Hayden was already down. Such speed wasn’t possible for someone with no combat skills.
Emily’s expression was innocent. "What are you talking about? I don’t get it. I was just defending myself. Growing up scavenging, I had to fend off people trying to steal from me, so I built up some strength."
She would never admit the truth.
In her past life, after being thrown into the lake by a thug while trying to save Bianca, she had vowed to learn to fight. She believed that if she knew how to defend herself, she could protect herself and truly help Bianca.
Now, those skills had become her means of self-defense. Ironically, she was using them against the Johnson family.
It was a bitter twist of fate.
The ones who truly hurt her were the Johnson family.
"You're lying. There's no way you could beat Hayden without proper training," Eli scoffed.
As they spoke, no one expected Cleo to suddenly step forward and slap Emily.
"How dare you? That's Hayden! How could you be so vicious? I used to think you learned some survival skills out of necessity, but now I see you're rotten to the core."
Cleo's voice was filled with fury as she shouted at Emily.
Emily’s expression remained cold as she met Cleo's gaze.
Inside, her emotions churned.
For Bianca, for Hayden, and maybe for any other child, Cleo showed her motherly love.
But for Emily, she never truly cared.
"Yeah, rotten to the core," Emily muttered sarcastically.
The Johnson family was rotten to the core. She should have never had any hope.
Violette saw the sorrow in Emily's eyes and pushed Eli aside.
She stood in front of Emily, facing Cleo coldly. "If it weren't for your favoritism, Emily wouldn't be in this situation. And her suffering after being kidnapped and living a hard life—isn't that your fault? How dare you blame her? It was Hayden who threatened to break Emily's leg first."
Cleo's face turned ugly at Violette's words.
Ignoring Cleo, Violette grabbed Emily's hand tenderly. "If they don't care about you, I do. Come with me."
Eli sneered at Violette's words. "Your family is barely able to take care of themselves. How can you help her? If your family finds out you didn't get my help today and still brought her back, what do you think will happen?"
Emily's eyes turned cold as she looked at Eli.
Though his words were vague, she understood.
So he knew about the abuse Violette endured at the Moore Villa, yet he did nothing in her past life, allowing Violette to suffer.
"Why are you glaring? Violette's suffering is all because of you!" Eli mocked.
Violette comforted Emily. "It's not your fault."
Emily held Violette's hand tightly. "Violette, do you trust me?"
Violette nodded without hesitation.
Emily felt a bit of her wounded heart heal with Violette's unconditional trust.
She stood tall and faced Eli and the others. "Are you going to stop us? If not, we're leaving."
Eli gestured to call for security, but Cleo suddenly shouted, "Let her go! I want to see how she survives without the Johnson family. Let's see how she helps Violette."
Without hesitation, Emily pulled Violette and left.
Eli kicked a nearby trash can in anger. "This is infuriating!"
His authority as the head of the family was shattered, and he was furious.
Bianca quickly tried to calm him. "Dad, Emily is just being stubborn. Don't let it affect your health. Without the Johnson family's support, Emily will regret it. Violette is asking for a lot of money. Without our help, Emily will be back working at the pharmacy. She won't have the money to help Violette, and Violette will regret it."
Eli gradually calmed down, looking at Bianca's sensible demeanor. "Without the Johnson family, she would still be scavenging for food. She has no money. I'm just waiting for her to come back and beg. No one is to give her any money, understand?"
Hayden, who had just been treated by the family doctor, was filled with hatred towards Emily.
"Who would give her money? I'm waiting to see her beg. Then I'll deal with her."
He laughed maniacally, looking almost insane.
He didn't consider that he was the one who initially threatened to hurt Emily. She had merely defended herself, and she hadn't even gone all out, or he would be crippled.
The Johnson family seemed to have forgotten about Byron's mysterious pain.
Eli remembered something else. "Bianca, when will you give me the designs for the Johnson Group? We have a chance to collaborate with the Green Group, and the designs are crucial."
Bianca's eyes filled with panic.
She had no design skills. In the past, she had always relied on Emily's work. Now that Emily no longer lived at the Johnson Villa, where would she get new designs?