Chapter 348: Chapter 348: Where Did This Child Come From?
Before the car even stopped, Ann Vaughn impatiently pushed the door open and got out, confirming with the guard at the villa about Laura Quinn’s movements.
She was informed that Laura had come with several direct members of the Hawthorne Family, and there were no children among them!
Ann’s heart was in chaos, and she hurriedly walked towards the inside of the villa.
"...Dad, this time it’s not that I want to make things difficult for Ann Vaughn, but the evidence and witnesses are all here; I can’t help but think more!" Laura Quinn’s voice, a few degrees higher, came through from the living room, abruptly halting Ann’s hurried steps.
From where she stood, she could see the people sitting in the living room. Besides Laura and Old Master Hawthorne, Cyrus Hawthorne’s uncle Harold, his eldest aunt Clara, and his youngest aunt Charlotte were all there!
"Look at these photos; this time I’m not slandering her!" Laura exclaimed in anger, forcefully placing the photos on the table, "I’ve thoroughly investigated, Ann Vaughn spent years abroad with this man! Who would believe they weren’t involved?"
"Even though she and Cian divorced, thus having nothing more to do with marriage, if she were content, that would be fine. But she just couldn’t remain lonely—one man wasn’t enough for her; she had to provoke Cian, clearly intending to embarrass our Hawthorne Family!"
Sitting at the head of the table, Old Master Hawthorne, though his expression was calm, frowned upon hearing these words and picked up the photos to glance at them.
No one knows where Laura got these photos of Ann and Sutton Jennings, but the angles were captured perfectly. A normal interaction was photographed to seem ambiguously suggestive.
Before Old Master Hawthorne could speak, Charlotte let out a cold laugh, "This woman has quite the appetite, straddling two boats without fearing she’ll end up capsizing!"
"No wonder the sister-in-law didn’t like this Ann Vaughn before; even I can’t stand a daughter-in-law who only attracts trouble and offers no help to her husband’s career." Clara pushed her glasses up, her rigid face showing no expression.
Only Harold smiled affably, not voicing his opinion.
Hearing Clara and Charlotte support her, Laura felt much more at ease, increasingly convinced that what Cyrus had said to her a few days ago was all because he’d lost his mind.
Since her words were ineffective, let the Old Master take charge!
"These photos are quite well taken," Old Master Hawthorne flipped through the photos with interest, his sharp eyes glancing at Laura, "though they don’t seem to match the issue at hand."
"Dad!" Laura grew anxious upon seeing his disbelief in the content of the photos, "If there weren’t any evidence, would I have come all this way to disturb you in peace? It’s because of the chi—"
Before she could finish, Ann walked in, smiling sweetly as she greeted Old Master Hawthorne, "Grandpa, you look very well."
Laura hadn’t expected Ann to find her way here so soon, which only confirmed from another angle the significant connection with that child!
Old Master Hawthorne was visibly pleased to see Ann and waved her over to sit, "It’s all thanks to the remedy you prescribed, having taken it for a few days, I feel entirely invigorated."
"As long as it’s working for you. Drink it for another half month, and I’ll prescribe a new remedy for gradual treatment." Ann calmly walked over to a couch and sat down.
She casually glanced at the pile of ambiguously angled photos on the table, her sweaty palms clenching lightly.
"Oh, this daughter-in-law is really full of herself, seeing elders without even greeting them," Charlotte remarked with sarcasm to Laura, quite dissatisfied.
"I’m not so fortunate to afford such a daughter-in-law." Laura coldly laughed at those words, quickly disassociating herself.
Ann was not affected by their sneers and quickly scanned the photos to find there were none of Kenny’s, easing her tense heart slightly.
She then said, "If Mrs. Hawthorne wants to know anything, she could directly ask me rather than resort to such petty actions. It’s lacking in taste."
"Where do you get off lecturing me on decorum?" Laura’s eyes flashed with disdain, "Alright then, let me ask you, do you dare to admit in front of Old Master and us, the elders, that you have no entanglements with this man?"
"The honest fear no rumors; if I didn’t do it, then why wouldn’t I dare?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Laura suddenly stood up from the sofa, taking a stack of photos from a paper bag nearby and harshly slammed them onto Ann’s face!
Ann didn’t expect Laura to be so brazen even in front of Old Master Hawthorne. Caught unprepared, the edges of the photos scratched her, causing a sharp sting on her skin.
Immediately, Laura’s voice, filled with anger, exploded above her head!
"You say you have nothing to do with this man; then tell me, how did this child come to be? If you dare to utter a single lie, that child will be struck by divine retribution. Dare you even say it?"
The last sentence cut into Ann’s heart like a sharp blade, drawing out crimson blood, leaving her looking terrifyingly pallid.
No matter how Laura slandered or cursed her, Ann could disregard it entirely, treating her words as farts!
Yet, as soon as Kenny was involved, Ann completely lost her ability to control herself, her limbs grew cold, blood felt as though it had frozen in place, and her entire body turned numb.
Everyone present was startled by Laura’s words, hastily leaning forward to pick up the photos and take a look.
"Ha, it’s laughable, wondering where you got the nerve to think of our Hawthorne Family Head as a placeholder, trying to marry back into the Hawthorne Family with a tag-along kid? A big ambition for someone without fortune!"
Charlotte tossed the photos in her hand as if discarding garbage, clicking her tongue in disgust.
Even Harold, who had maintained a harmonious expression without participating in the discussion, sighed, "Annie, you and Cyrus are already over. Since you have someone new, why humiliate yourself with such disgraceful acts?"
"Being capable of hiding the birth of a child and constantly clinging to Cian proves she has long lost her dignity. Where could she find any shame? She was already unworthy of Cian before; now, as a wilted lily, she dares to aspire for more."
As the saying goes, wicked words cut like knives; Ann personally experienced what it meant to be ill-intentioned.
Without even a chance to explain, these people had already judged her guilty.
At this moment, she ironically felt relieved that Kenny was not born or raised in the Hawthorne Family.
Just as Ann was about to speak, Laura continued speaking to Old Master Hawthorne, "Dad, such a woman must not be allowed to get close to Cian again, to ruin our Hawthorne Family Head of this generation!"
"Sending her to Mordane to reunite with her parents, that would already be our utmost benevolence to her!"
Mordane!?
Ann’s pupils shrank slightly; so this was the plan Laura had in mind.