At his words, Charles Reed and Autumn Linton both froze.

Charles Reed fixed his gaze on Walker Grant, his expression darkening. "What do you mean by that?"

Walker Grant’s gaze remained on Chloe Reed’s face, where the distinct print of five fingers was now starkly visible against her fair skin. A dark current churned in his eyes, and his tone grew even harder.

"My grandmother needs to rest."

He turned his head, his gaze heavy as he looked at them. "You should all go home for now."

He was kicking them out!

They had rushed here the moment they heard Madam Grant was hospitalized, and now they were being kicked out!

Charles Reed’s expression darkened further. With a flick of his wrist, he let out a cold snort and stormed off.

Autumn Linton stepped forward, looking at Chloe Reed with pity. "Chloe, you should find some ice for your face. Your father is just angry. Once he calms down, he’ll surely regret hitting you."

Chloe Reed kept her eyes downcast, her long lashes trembling. Then, before anyone could react, she lunged at Sunny Reed and slapped her hard across the face.

"Ah!"

Sunny Reed cried out, clutching her face.

"Mama!"

Seeing this, Noah Grant cried out and charged at Chloe Reed.

"You hit my mama! You’re a bad woman, a bad woman!"

A three-year-old didn’t have much strength, and his impact was more of a harmless bump, but Chloe Reed had no desire to be touched by him, so she instinctively took a step back.

And so, Noah Grant tumbled to the ground and immediately burst into tears.

"Waaah! Bad woman! You hit Mama, and you hit me! Waaah, bad woman!"

Everything happened so fast that by the time anyone could process it, the hospital room had descended into chaos.

Autumn Linton immediately shoved Chloe Reed, her tone full of reproach. "What do you think you’re doing? Why did you hit your sister?"

Then, she rushed to Sunny Reed’s side and asked with deep concern, "Sunny, does it hurt? Come on, I’ll take you to find a doctor and get some ice."

Tears streamed down Sunny Reed’s face. She looked pitifully wronged as she said, "Mom, it doesn’t hurt. I’m fine. My sister is just upset, I understand. If hitting me helps her feel better, then I have no complaints."

This made Autumn Linton’s heart ache even more for her. She shot Chloe Reed a disapproving glare. "Chloe, apologize to your sister!"

Sunny Reed cried in Autumn Linton’s arms while Noah Grant, now held by Walker Grant, wailed and pointed an accusatory finger at Chloe.

Chloe Reed stood off to the side, a clear line drawn between her and the rest of them.

She watched the ridiculous scene unfold. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

She kept backing away, her eyes welling with anguish and bitterness. Her cheek throbbed with a fiery pain.

But it was the pain in her heart that made her entire body tremble.

Just then, Walker Grant spoke again. "Why did you hit her?"

Chloe Reed wiped a hand across her face, her eyes flashing as she glared at him. "Have you forgotten? I told you. For every day you refuse to divorce me, I’ll make her suffer every single time I see her."

Her gaze then fell upon Noah Grant. "If you keep crying, I’ll kidnap you. You’ll never see your mama or your uncle ever again."

"Waaah!"

Noah Grant cried even harder.

"Take her back and lock her in the old house!" Charles Reed’s roar echoed from down the hall.

Bodyguards immediately stepped forward and seized Chloe Reed.

Walker Grant started forward to intervene, but Noah Grant clung to his neck. "Uncle, don’t go! Waaah... don’t leave me... please don’t go..."

His path blocked, he could only watch as Chloe Reed was quickly dragged away.