Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex's 'Uncle' Chapter 23: Retreat to Advance

The crowd stopped in their tracks.

Jas’s expression froze. He had already noticed that Ethan and Alice would glance at this man before speaking, which suggested that this man’s status surpassed that of the Drake Family. He couldn’t afford to offend him.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Jas’s temple. "I don’t quite understand what you an."

"Don’t understand?" Ethan glanced at Logan’s face, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"Didn’t Mr. Clark just insist that Miss Clark and Mr. Perez were entangled in so inappropriate relationship, and that Miss Clark needed to be taught a lesson?"

"I..."

Ethan didn’t give Jas a chance to speak. "And why is Mr. Clark so sure it was Mr. Perez in the room? If we hadn’t been here today, wouldn’t Miss Clark have been falsely accused?"

Jas instinctively looked toward Katie, and the crowd swiftly turned to follow his gaze.

Katie’s face froze as she theatrically burst into tears. "I... I didn’t an to doubt Selina. It was all that assistant’s fault for misleading us!"

Jas stamred and nodded. "Y-Yes, it wasn’t our fault. We were deceived by lies..."

Ethan nodded slightly. "Oh, I see. It seems Mr. Clark doesn’t trust his own daughter. A mistress whispers sothing, and you believe it. A few words of provocation, and you’re ready to cut ties with the eldest daughter of the Clark Family."

"Even though her mother is gone, she’s still the eldest daughter of the Clark Family. How could you let anyone and everyone bully her?"

Selina lowered her head, feigning ekness. "Mr. Drake, Father trusts Aunt Bryant and my sister the most. I’ve gotten used to it."

Katie and Natalia covered their mouths and began sobbing, as if the world owed them sothing.

Jas’s mind buzzed. "No! That’s not it. I was just tricked by Mr. Perez’s assistant. I was furious in the mont! How could I ever cut ties with my daughter?"

Selina slowly asked, "I have no grievances with Mr. Perez’s assistant. Why would he deliberately fra ?"

Natalia shook her head, holding back tears. "Sister, are you suspecting ? I know you don’t like and think my mom and I took your place, but I’ve always sincerely thought of you as my sister. How could I ever deliberately set you up?"

Katie cried loudly, "Exactly, it’s all a misunderstanding! Selina, you even let Mr. Drake question us. Do you even see us as family? Everyone knows how worried I was about you just now. How could you..."

Jas’s heart softened at Katie’s tears, and in his frustration, he roared.

"Selina, what nonsense are you spouting? Katie and Natalia have always said you’re still young and told not to hold grudges against you. And this is how you repay them—with false accusations? You’ve really let down!"

Selina coldly replied, "Have I really let you down, or does Father already know the truth?"

Jas suddenly felt an ominous sense of foreboding.

"Last night, Mr. Perez did visit my room," Selina said, raising her eyes to et his. "Mr. Perez told that Father had sold to him for fifty million."

Jas nearly choked on his breath!

The crowd exchanged uneasy glances, unsure whether Selina was telling the truth.

Mr. Perez really ca? And fifty million... wasn’t that the exact amount Perez Group invested in Clark Group?

Selina continued, her tone unhurried. "Mr. Perez drugged , and if it weren’t for Mr. Drake and his friends arriving in ti, I would’ve..." She paused, her eyes piercing Jas. "Father, care to explain what’s going on?"

Jas noticed the way everyone was looking at him, their gazes suddenly laden with suspicion. His face flushed red as he raised his voice in an attempt to cover his guilt.

"No, no! How could you believe Mr. Perez’s nonsense? You’re my daughter, my own flesh and blood. Why would I sell you for a little money? If Mr. Perez targeted you, it’s because you weren’t careful enough! How could you bla others?"

Selina’s eyes darted quickly, and she suddenly lowered her head, choking back a sob.

"Oh, really? Even now, Father, you’re pushing all the bla onto ? But why don’t you ntion that I originally didn’t want to et Mr. Perez? It was Mrs. Bryant who forced to toast him!"

"Yes, it’s all my fault, entirely my fault. My very existence dood Mrs. Bryant to forever be the mistress. I’ve accepted Father’s favoritism, but I’m also your daughter. Must you destroy my life just to pave the way for your illegitimate child?!"

The crowd shuddered. It was true—Selina had no one to rely on in this family, forced to endure life under the mistress’s thumb.

Ethan spoke up as well. "Last night, Miss Clark was drugged. As a doctor, I can tell the drug was colorless and odorless, applied to the skin. Yesterday, only Mrs. Bryant touched Miss Clark’s hand. Mr. Clark, don’t you know who might have done this?"

Jas was truly panicking now, his body stiffening. "N-No, no, that’s not true..."

Katie’s face turned pale. She raised her voice, crying out in distress.

"Selina! I only helped you because you were drunk. You... you can’t push the bla on just because you’ve been wronged! Everyone says it’s hard to be a stepmother, but what did I ever do wrong?"

Selina nodded slightly. "You’re right. I shouldn’t bla others for my suffering. But..."

She deliberately paused for two seconds, eting Katie’s anxious and terrified gaze, and suddenly smiled.

"But, Mrs. Bryant, I have evidence that you bribed Mr. Perez’s assistant to spread those rumors."

Katie’s breath caught abruptly.

"Mr. Perez invested fifty million in Clark Group, I was drugged, you bribed the assistant, and then you all stord in to catch red-handed... Mrs. Bryant, doesn’t that sound rather interesting?"

Katie’s face turned ashen, her body trembling uncontrollably. "I don’t know. I don’t know anything—it’s all just a coincidence!"

Selina let out a mocking laugh. "If it’s a coincidence, then why did you bribe Mr. Perez’s assistant?"

"If you can’t explain that, I’ll have to suspect that you deliberately handed over to Mr. Perez to drive out of the Clark Family!"

Ethan humd in agreent and added, "After all, first Natalia steals Miss Clark’s fiancé, and then this huge incident happens to Miss Clark. It does seem highly suspicious that you two are behind it."

"I-I..." Katie stamred, her panic so intense she looked on the verge of fainting.

What kind of accusation was this? If word got out, how could she and Natalia show their faces in society again?

"Enough!"

After a full minute, Jas finally couldn’t hold back anymore. He pointed at Selina and roared,

"Nothing happened to you, did it? We’re all family—what’s the point of holding a grudge? Shut your mouth!"

Selina curled her lips into a mocking smile. "Oh, I see. As long as I’m not dead, it doesn’t matter what Katie does to —I should just endure it. How naive of to think Father would stand up for ."

"Father doesn’t even love his first wife; why would he care about his first wife’s daughter? Since Father wants to shut up, I’ll shut up. Mrs. Bryant, Sister, I’m sorry. This is all my fault."

Jas and Katie’s throats tightened, leaving them speechless: "..."

Selina’s pitiful, wronged deanor—what was she up to?!

From across the room, Logan’s eyebrow quirked upward.

His wife was retreating to advance. She claid she wouldn’t pursue the matter further, yet in doing so, she had successfully pushed Katie and Natalia into the center of the storm.