Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Artemis appeared unaffected by the scandal. He was only worried the rushing crowd would hurt the little girl next to him, so he bent over and picked Susan up, carrying her in his arms.
It didn't matter if Susan was Simon's daughter. So long as she was Bailey's child, he would protect her.
When Felicity saw he was unmoved by the mess around him and only cared if Susan was injured, she got mad and howled at him. “I'm talking to you, Artemis!”
He sighed, turned his face slightly toward the crazy crowd, and said, “If we were to make any move now, the attention will turn to us. If we make a stand, we'll only be putting ourselves in the same boat as the Jeffersons, and get bombarded by the media. If Rhonda is innocent, we can always speak up for her later when things die down. Of course, if she's doing it out of her own free will, then she'll have to face the consequences herself.”
Yoel nodded in agreement and said, “I agree with Artemis. Something is fishy about this matter, Felicity. It could be a setup, so we'd better not act rashly. Let's find out more before we act. Otherwise, we may make the wrong move, and it'll backfire on us.”
Felicity was an intelligent woman. She frowned after listening to her brother's analysis and said, “You mean there's more to this than meets the eyes?”
Gwendolyn couldn't help but chip in. “We're at the Jefferson residence. I don't see how anyone can force Ms. Rhonda to sleep with Mr. Laurence in her own home. I can see two possibilities. It is either she's doing so willingly, or she tries to frame someone, but it backfires on her instead.”
Felicity's face fell. She turned to look at Artemis and solemnly asked, “So what should we do now? Are we going to sit and watch our family's reputation go down the drain because of that stupid Laurence?”
Artemis looked at the girl in his arms, and he could see Susan was worried about Bailey.
“Don't worry. She's more formidable than we think!” He tried to console the little girl.
Susan looked up at him and pouted. “Why would I worry about her? She already managed to put that scheming woman on a live show for all to see!”
Artemis was dumbfounded by Susan's reply, so he turned to his mother and said, “Let's go and take a look then. The Jefferson will take care of their daughter, but we'll also have to deal with our own family member who's involved in this disgraceful act.”
With that, he started walking toward the house with Susan in his arms.
Felicity and the Chiverses looked at one another, then decided to follow suit.
As they stepped out of the party venue, Susan suddenly struggled and tried to get out of Artemis' arms.
“Put me down! I don't want to watch such obscene scenes!” she cried out.
The main reason for her sudden change in attitude was that she received a message from Edmund telling her that he was about to reach the Jefferson residence.
She wasn't interested in what was happening at the house. She had seen more interesting confrontations between her mom and her opponents when they were abroad.
To be honest, she felt Rhonda was too weak and was not a worthy opponent of Bailey, who was in a league of her own.
It would be a waste of time to watch her mother fight against Rhonda.
Artemis was worried she would get injured from the violent struggle, so he put her down on the ground and said, “Fine. Then be a good girl and stay put here. Please don't wander around. I'll come for you and send you home after I settle the matter.”
Susan waved him off as if she was getting rid of a fly and said, “Go ahead, go ahead! I'll wait here, and I'll be fine.”
Artemis lovingly gave her a pat on the head before heading to the house.
Not long after he left, Edmund arrived.
Susan was elated to see him, and she skipped and ran toward him.
She was infatuated with the gentle and kind man. Unfortunately for her, he was already taken by her mom. Otherwise, she would want to marry him when she grew up.
Edmund saw the silly little girl staring besottedly at him, and he was amused. “Stop daydreaming and clean that drool from your mouth!” he teased.
Susan subconsciously wiped her mouth and realized she was not drooling at all. She whined and chided, “You are so mean! How could you tease me?”
Edmund laughed and picked her up in his arms. He looked around and frowned puzzledly. “Where are all the guests? I only see a few housekeepers around. Is the party over?”
Susan pouted and complained, “That scheming woman tried to frame Mommy and ruin her reputation. Alas, her plan backfired!”
Edmund raised an eyebrow. He could more or less guess what had happened, so he did not probe further. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, “Are you hungry? Should we go get a nice meal?”
Susan narrowed her eyes and pulled a face. “I told you the scheming woman tried to frame Mommy. Aren't you worried for her, Daddy Eddy?” she questioned.
Edmund gave her a big smile, playfully rubbed her head, and said, “Your mommy is a tough nut, so who can beat her? Those women are only capable of a handful of unscrupulous ideas, none of which your mommy can't handle, so why worry? Moreover, I called your brother earlier, and he's with her.”
“I was wondering where that guy went. So he was secretly giving Mommy a hand. Okay, then I don't have to worry about them! Let's go for a good meal. It'll be on me!” Susan chirped.
Edmund was greatly amused by her offer.
At the house, an adult and two kids were huddling together in the attic.
Bailey was trying to cool herself down in the chilly evening breeze. She was thankful that Beatrice administered the drug via air, so it was diluted and not as powerful. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to sit there waiting for the show to begin.
“Are you okay, Mommy?” Maxton asked.
Bailey opened her eyes, looked at him, and nonchalantly said, “Don't worry, I won't turn into a beast. Even if I do, I won't do anything to you. Actually, even if I wish to throw myself at you, you're not equipped to handle me.”
Eh... What's with this crazy woman and her off-color jokes?
Zayron was busy working on the laptop. However, when he heard Bailey's conversation with Maxton, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
“Bailey, those two women are really evil. They actually linked the camera to the big screen at the party venue, and wanted to broadcast your raunchy show to all the guests!”
“So what happened?”
“I cut off the connection to their control system, so they won't be able to turn off the projector from their end. They'll have to come here in order to end this erotic show! Hahaha, all the guests will be heading this way. Rhonda is done for. She's doomed!”
Bailey gave him a side eye with a small smile, and said, “At least you didn't waste all the efforts I put into teaching and grooming you.”
Bailey heard footsteps coming toward the house, so she quickly grabbed the two boys, jumped down from the attic, and hid in a secluded corner.
Bailey and the boys had removed the fallen bodyguards who were at the entrance, so the path was clear for all the reporters and paparazzi to enter.
“Stop there! All of you, stop!” Beatrice shouted as she tried to stop them from swarming into the house.
Oh no! Ronni is really done for this time! She's doomed!
If news of the scandal leaked out, Rhonda could forget about marrying into the Luther family. She would stand no chance of becoming the mistress of the most prominent family.
“Hurry up, Clarence! Stop them!”