Hannah’s crying was exceptionally loud, and in just this moment, tears had already started falling.

Evelyn’s lips curled awkwardly; with Hannah’s level of acting, she probably deserves a "little gold man" award!

Feeling the cold gaze from Caden, Evelyn dared not look up, even wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

Caden walked to Evelyn’s side, glanced at her, then at Hannah, and asked coldly, "What happened?"

"Mr. Lockwood, you’re not going to favor your own family, are you?" Hannah asked tearfully, "It was just a minor friction between Mrs. Lockwood and me, easily resolvable, but she... actually ordered a cake maker to hit me!"

"Hannah! What’s wrong? Were you bullied?" Mr. Clayton hurriedly arrived.

Seeing the red handprint on his daughter’s face, Mr. Clayton’s heart ached immediately.

"Dad." A hint of smugness flashed in Hannah’s eyes, "Waah! You’ve never had the heart to hit me since I was little, but... waah waah waah—"

Mr. Clayton glared at Evelyn, but with Caden present, it wasn’t easy for him to get angry.

"Mr. Lockwood." Mr. Clayton suppressed his temper with great effort, "Shouldn’t you give me a reasonable explanation?"

Evelyn became even more flustered and hurriedly said, "I started this, you should be asking me for an explanation!"

"Dad! Look at her, she’s still so arrogant! She doesn’t even intend to apologize to me!" Hannah said weakly.

Evelyn was speechless; was she being arrogant?

This Hannah is even harder to deal with than Eleanor Keaton!

"Our Mrs. Lockwood has always been gentle and serene; she couldn’t possibly cause trouble." Shannon Dunn’s voice suddenly sounded, "Mr. Clayton, I think there might be a misunderstanding here?"

Evelyn held her breath as she saw Shannon standing opposite her, exuding a dominant aura, her brows calm and composed, looking very self-assured.

Evelyn couldn’t help but feel dispirited.

She had caused trouble, and Shannon was helping her sort it out?

How strange!

Wouldn’t Shannon quietly enjoy the drama at this moment?

But then again, it makes sense!

Shannon stepping in to help her at this time would definitely make both the chairman and Caden grateful to her for protecting the Lockwood Family’s reputation!

Thinking about this, Evelyn’s entire expression turned dismal.

"What kind of misunderstanding could there be?" Mr. Clayton’s tone was not friendly, "Right now, it’s my daughter who was bullied!"

"Your daughter said our Mrs. Lockwood ordered someone to hit her. Do you have evidence?" Shannon asked.

Before Mr. Clayton and Hannah could speak, Shannon continued to ask the cake lady, "Did Mrs. Lockwood instruct you?"

"No." The cake lady softly replied, "I did it on my own accord."

"Auntie!" Evelyn became anxious and quickly said, "It was because Hannah was verbally disrespectful to us, so..."

"Did my daughter hit you?" Mr. Clayton’s face turned with anger, "If it was just a verbal dispute, what right do you have to hit someone?"

"It wasn’t our Mrs. Lockwood who hit her." Shannon’s tone was very light and slow, "Mr. Clayton, if you don’t have evidence that Mrs. Lockwood ordered it, yet falsely accuse her and the Lockwood Family, I think this is detrimental to the relationship between the Lockwood and Clayton families."

Listening to Shannon’s words, a hint of guilt flashed in Mr. Clayton’s eyes.

He certainly didn’t want to offend the Lockwood Family.

However, his daughter being hit at a banquet was tantamount to slapping the Lockwood Family’s reputation, which would make them a laughingstock, wouldn’t it?

Mr. Clayton glared at the cake lady, venting all his anger on her.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you be so rude to my daughter? Today, if I don’t teach you a lesson, I don’t deserve to be her father!"

As soon as Mr. Clayton finished speaking, he raised his hand, ready to strike the cake lady’s face.

Evelyn immediately jumped in front of the cake lady. Seeing that slap about to land, she didn’t have time to dodge and instinctively closed her eyes tightly.

[PS: Wishing everyone a happy, joyful, safe, and prosperous New Year’s Eve! That’s all for today’s update. By the way, it’s New Year’s Eve; any baby donors? Hahaha~ Mommy Mumu wants red envelopes! Mwah!]