Chapter 48
The voice was hoarse, lacking hysteria, yet it struck them like a heavy hammer.
Nathan, however, didn’t even flinch. He dismissed it casually. “It’s just a minor injury. It’s not going to kill anyone, so why all the fuss?”
Silence.
A silence as deep as the grave.
Claire’s hands gripped the table fiercely, her fingers whitening from the pressure, as if ready to flip the dining table once again.
Recalling the previous incident where she had indeed flipped the table, Nathan was alarmed. He quickly placed his hands firmly on the table, watching her every move intently.
Adah, Ethan, and Vanessa also remembered the scene of her losing control and hurried to hold the table down.
Adah’s hands trembled, her eyes filled with tension and unease. “Claire, please calm down. Your dad didn’t mean it that way. He actually… he cares about you….” Even she felt the excuse she was making for Nathan was flimsy and couldn’t continue.
Claire looked at Adah, her gaze piercing, as if it could see right into her soul. Adah blushed under her scrutiny, her gaze evasive, unable to mheet Claire’s eyes.
The atmosphere in the dining room was tense to the point of breaking.
Blood still trickled down Claire’s forehead, leaving stark red stains on the table, as shocking as her shattered heart.
“Care about me?” Her words came out through gritted teeth, “What a way to show concern! Mr. Linwood, Mrs. Linwood, I thank you for your care.”
With that, Claire turned and left, giving the Linwood family no chance to explain.
Ethan felt nothing but imitation, losing his appetite for breakfast. “Mom, Dad, I’m heading to the office,” he said, and followed Claire out.
豐
Once in the car, Ethan’s gaze fell on the blood–soaked bandage in his hand.
A wave of pain spread from deep within, wrenching his heart.8
Leaning back in his seat, his mind involuntarily replayed the scene when Claire left home the previous morning.
She had been fine then, yet returned with her head bandaged.E
What had she gone through all day yesterday? Was someone bullying her?
Claire was his sister. No one had the right to bully her, no matter her past mistakes.
Ethan’s hands clenched tightly, then slowly released.!!
He picked up his phone and made a call!!
“Brian,” Ethan demanded through clenched teeth, “did you hit Claire on the head?”
“You called just to ask that?” The man’s voice on the other end was calm, devoid of any emotion.
“Tm warning you, no matter what Claire did in the past, she’s paid for it. She’s my sister, not someone you can just hurt at will…”
“Beep… beep beep… Before Ethan could finish, the call was disconnected.
Ethan slammed his phone onto the passenger seat in frustration. “Damn it!”
It took him a while to calm his tangled emotions, exhaling heavily before starting the car to head to work.
Once at the office, he found himself unable to concentrate, his mind repeatedly filled with the image of Claire’s bloodied face, leaving
him restless.
After an hour of struggle, he couldn’t hold back any longer. Picking up his phone, he called May. “May, how’s Claire? Has she… has her
forehead been treated?”
