Bruce hurriedly chased after Arthur as he wiped the beads of cold sweat from his face. "Mr. Austin, please hear me out. This really is just a misunderstanding. I really don't know why this happened!"

Arthur's face was pale with anger as he ignored Bruce. Instead, he supported Owen as they left the hall.

With the Austins gone, the guests turned their attention back to Lola.

"Tsk, tsk. How shameless. She actually tried to insist some other man's child is Ethan's just because she wants to marry into the Austins. Look at what has happened. What a joke. Who would dare marry her in the future?"

"This is nothing. You didn't see how Mrs. Lawson would let a man take advantage of her stepdaughter. We're lucky a disaster didn't happen then. Otherwise, they would have ruined a decent girl."

"This family will do anything to achieve their goals. They're crazy."

Lola was sobbing in distress. She kept yelling and insisting that the child was Ethan's. However, no one was willing to believe her.

The report had written it out in black and white. She had only been pregnant for two weeks, which did not match the date of conception she mentioned.

Everyone knew full well who the liar was.

Sophie stood stupidly in place for a long time. How can this be? I've planned everything out. Nothing should have gone wrong.

The reporters fervently crowded around Lola, snapping pictures at her, when someone cleverly asked a question.

"Miss Lawson, if the child you bear doesn't bear the Austins' blood, then whose is it?"

"I'm telling you, it's Ethan's! Stop asking me!"

Lola covered her ears as she kept sobbing.

Sophie was in no mood to bother with Lola. She pulled out her phone and called the doctors she bribed. No one answered.

As Freya listened to the chatter, she smiled. Now that the show was nearly over, she should be leaving as well.

Just as she turned around, she heard Sophie shouting at her, "Freya, stop right there!"

Sophie then stomped over and raised a hand to slap Freya across the face. "You did this, didn't you?"

Bradley was about to help Freya when Freya abruptly crouched down in mock fear with her arms over her head, which allowed her to avoid the slap.

"Sophie, what did I do wrong? W-Why are you hitting me?"

Sophie gritted her teeth. "Stop pretending. You hurt my daughter, you little bitch! Just you wait!"

"I was upstairs the whole time. I did nothing! Don't hit me, please."

The guests were shocked by what they saw.

They had heard that the Lawson family did not like Freya, but now they had seen the rumors were true. Some of the guests could not bear to do nothing and began to mockingly comment on the situation.

"Mrs. Lawson, the child may be dumb, but you can't push the blame to her whenever your plans backfire. Aren't you afraid her late mother will visit you at night?"

"That's right. Even if she's just a stepdaughter, she is still a daughter. How can you lay a hand on your own daughter?"

Sophie's mouth twisted in anger as she listened to the group of high-class ladies defend Freya. How she regretted letting Freya live back then. Now, Freya was a thorn in her side.

Bruce had been seething because of the lost contract. When he saw Sophie upsetting the crowd, he strode over, grabbed her by the hair, and slapped her several times across the face.

"You stupid woman! Who gave you the nerve to do this?"

Everything that happened in that evening was Sophie's plan. First, she failed in her scheme against Freya. Now, she caused the Austins to become their enemy by trying to frame the Austins for a pregnancy. How was he meant to go on in this city?

Not only that, but his birthday banquet had also been turned into a joke. How was he meant to look at other people in the eye in the future?

Sophie's cheeks were swollen from the slaps. There was blood on the corners of her mouth as she kneeled before Bruce and hugged his legs.

"Bruce, I don't know why this happened either. I was only did it for you and Lola!" she said with a sob.

"For me? Sophie, you've ruined me. Don't think you'll ever have a good life now."

With that said, Bruce kicked her hard, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Bruce, it hurts!"

Her face suddenly turned stark white. Even her cries of pain had turned weak.

Everyone watched as blood dripped from between her legs.

What was going on?

Was Mrs. Lawson pregnant again?

Bruce was about to leave when he heard Sophie cry out, "Bruce, our child…"

Boom!

Bruce's legs suddenly felt like they were filled with lead as he could not move no matter how hard he tried.

Child? What child?

He turned around to find a pool of blood growing under Sophie. When he realized what had happened, he shouted in a panic, "Someone, call for a doctor!"

Freya coldly looked at Sophie. I didn't think she would be pregnant too.

Still, there was no way to be sure that the baby was Bruce's.

After all, Sophie had been cheating on Bruce. The child might be Wilson's instead.

Soon, the doctors who had examined Lola walked over and brought her upstairs.

Due to the sudden turn of events, the guests lost interest in hanging around and soon left, except for the group of journalists who kept taking photos.

Everything that happened on that day was even more sensational than the last. They would be rich with these stories!

Freya was in no mood to watch the whole thing go down as the people she was after were punished. It was time for her to leave too.

After that night, the relationship between the Lawson family and the Austins would completely deteriorate with the Lawson family left with no choice except to hide like cowards.

However, what happened that day was just interest. Once she had gathered enough evidence, Freya was determined to make Sophie and her daughter pay the price and force them to kneel before her mother's grave in apology.

As she walked out of the mansion, a cold breeze blew past, causing her to shiver. She tugged her clothes tighter around her.

At that moment, she felt a warmth enveloping her along with a pleasant male scent. She turned to find that Adams had taken off his suit jacket and draped it over her.

Freya smiled at him. "Thank you, Mr. Adams."

"No need to thank me. Remember, my help is conditional." As he smirked, his cold eyes gleamed with a peculiar light. Dressed in a black outfit that blended in with the darkness of the night, he looked particularly mysterious and enigmatic.

Freya pursed her lips. "Your conditions had better not exceed the limits of our agreement or I won't agree to anything!"

Bradley's lips curved up in a smile, but he did not speak.

She had agreed to one favor, and he did not plan on asking her to do anything just yet. Of course, it would not be too late for her to fulfill her promise once his identity was revealed.

After a long moment of silence, he smiled once more. "I'll escort you home."