Ha!

Rats?

Deep down, Freya coldly chuckled. How evil of Jinny. She actually used that lie.

There were no rats at all. The snakes were put in there as a trap for her.

When Owen heard that, he turned to coldly look at Jinny. "Ridiculous! How could there be rats in the mansion?"

"Old Mr. Austin, we have camera footage of what happened inside the cabin. Please take a look." Frederick handed a phone to Owen that was playing a video recording of when Jinny led Freya into the cabin before locking Freya inside.

Jinny was panicking now. Shoot! It's all over.

Arthur and Lydia broke out in cold sweat as well. They had not expected Bradley to have a video of the incident. If he kept on pursuing this matter, Jinny would have to face the consequences.

After watching the video, Owen tapped his cane on the ground. "Jinny, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Grandpa!"

Jinny's face was white from terror. "The video is faked. I only brought Aunt Freya into the gardens. I didn't lock her up."

"The evidence and witnesses are all here. Are you still going to keep lying?"

Owen angrily swung his cane at Jinny, causing her to scream in pain.

Lydia hurriedly nudged Arthur upon seeing Jinny in pain. "Protect your daughter! Dad is ruthless. Don't let him hurt her."

Arthur hurriedly grabbed the cane before it could strike again. "Dad, Jinny is a girl. You can't punish her like this."

"How should we punish her then? She thinks too lightly of other people's lives. If anything happened to Freya, Jinny would have to be imprisoned!"

Owen then angrily summoned a few servants. "Lock Jinny up in the ancestral hall for repentance. She can come out whenever she realizes what she has done."

"Grandpa, I know I was wrong. I don't want to be in that hall. I don't…"

Jinny was terrified. The ancestral hall was filled with dead people. She had always been terrified of going into that eerie place. Now, Owen wanted to lock her up in there.

"Why weren't you afraid when you sought to hurt others? You did something wrong, so you must be punished."

Owen was very insistent. Since Jinny could not be given a beating because she was a girl, then she would be locked up for repentance.

He had finally invited Bradley over, yet Arthur's family kept scheming and actually tried to hurt Freya. If he did not punish Jinny, she might actually end up a murderer in the future.

Jinny was sobbing hard. "Mom, Dad, save me! I don't want to go to the ancestral hall."

Lydia hurriedly started pleading. "Dad, Jinny knows she was wrong. Please spare her."

"Yes, Dad. She has always been pampered and sheltered. She will not be able to bear this kind of punishment," Arthur said.

Their pleas only increased Owen's anger. "If she can't bear it, does this mean Freya can just suffer for nothing?"

He then looked at the servants and sternly ordered, "Take her away!"

"No!"

Jinny was dragged away. Even when she was far away, her cries could still be heard.

Lydia was beside herself with anxiety. She was about to say something but something in Arthur's eyes made her stop.

Owen was still angry. Anyone who tried to defend Jinny would be punished as well.

After punishing Jinny, Owen looked at Arthur and Lydia and said in a disappointed tone, "The two of you, get out as well. I don't want to see you."

"Dad, you have heart issues. You can't be too agitated."

In an attempt to please Owen, Arthur said that in a concerned tone before leading Lydia away.

Now, Bradley and Freya were the only ones left in the living room.

Owen guiltily said, "I'm sorry for what you have endured, Freya."

"It's fine, Dad. I didn't endure anything, "Freya swiftly replied. Those snakes were nothing to her. However, she had not thought Owen would actually protect her and even lock Jinny away in the ancestral hall.

He's quite a good man who's just and worthy of respect, Freya thought to herself.

"It's good that you're okay." Owen let out a huge sigh before turning to Bradley. "Take Freya up to rest, Bradley. Have a doctor checker her over to see if she's hurt anywhere else."

"Okay. Thanks, Dad."

Without hesitation, Bradley grabbed Freya's hand and pulled her onto his lap.

Freya blushed. Owen was still in the room, after all.

"I can walk."

Bradley smiled and leaned in to whisper to her, "You were bitten by snakes, and you're still in pain. Let me carry you."

His warm breath brushed against the curve of her ear, causing her blush to spread all the way down to her collarbone.

He did that on purpose! Shouldn't he be more reserved in front of his father?

Why is he acting even more uninhibited?

Owen contentedly smiled when he saw how affectionate they were. "Bradley, give me a grandchild soon. I'm counting on you and Freya."

Children?

No way. Her plans did not include Bradley, and she did not want to spend the rest of her life with him, let alone give birth to his children.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure Freya's pregnant soon enough."

Bradley carried Freya into the elevator before heading to the second-floor bedroom.

Arthur's tricks only made him look like a clown in Bradley's eyes.

Bradley used to let Arthur have his way, but Bradley was no longer a pushover.

If he did not want to torment that family, Bradley would have killed Arthur already.

The moment Jinny led Freya away, Frederick had reported to Bradley. He had Frederick film the entire process of Jinny's scheme while also editing out the scene of Freya single-handedly killing all the snakes with her bare hands.

If Owen saw how strong Freya was, he would be shocked.

After putting Freya down on the couch, Bradley softly asked beside her ear, "Tell me, how did you escape from all those snakes?"

Freya looked at him. She had been thinking about how she should explain this.

Her clear and bright eyes observed him. While he was not handsome, she did not dislike his looks.

His narrow eyes were dark and piercing, like they could see through her. It made her guiltily look away.

"I was sent to the countryside at 12. Every day, I have to collect firewood. I often encounter snakes in the mountains, so I know how to deal with them."

That was the truth, but Bradley knew she was still hiding something.

"You could have called me. I would have sent someone for you."

His long and calloused fingers grabbed her by the chin as his eyes shone darkly.

Freya pouted. "I didn't think of that."

Even if she did think of that, she did not have the time to call him as those snakes were already attacking her. She did not even have the chance to catch her breath.

Bradley tapped her on the nose and chuckled. "Show me your wounds."

While the snakes were all killed, she still had multiple snake bites on the back of her hands. As he disinfected the wounds, his eyes drifted up to her delicate collarbone.

When she looked up, she was met with his burned face. She looked down and immediately blushed before hurriedly buttoning her shirt up.

The dress she wore had buttons on the front. In the midst of the chaos, she had moved so much that one of the buttons had popped off. From Bradley's point of view, he could look right into her dress.