Chapter 184 Slapping
The ambulance had just pulled away with Mabel inside, sirens still wailing in the distance, when Gordon stormed out of the house, his face dark with fury. But the moment he spotted Caroline standing outside, her expression tense with worry, his stride faltered. He looked like he was about to speak when a trembling, tearful voice called out behind him.
“Paige, please don’t cry… no one wanted this to happen…”
Caroline didn’t even look at the woman behind him. Her gaze stayed locked on Gordon’s, voice flat and even as she asked, “Grandma fainted again. Was it because of her?”
Gordon met her icy stare and felt a chill ripple through him, the kind that didn’t care whether mountains fell or the sky collapsed. Even he, who had once stared down corporate titans, flinched. “Carol…”
But she didn’t wait for his response. She stepped past him and walked straight toward the house.
Right then, Paige appeared in the doorway, leaning on Giselle’s arm for support. The moment she saw Caroline, her face twisted with rage. “Caroline! Look at the kind of man you’ve brought home! If anything happens to my mother, you’ll spend he rest of your life drowning in guilt—”
Her tirade was cut off by a sharp crack. The slap landed hard
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Chapter 184 Slapping
and fast, a sharp crack slicing through the air.
Meanwhile, Giselle shrieked in shock.
(***) 19 min left
Caroline hadn’t held back in the slightest. Five vivid red welts bloomed across Paige’s once–pristine, carefully–maintained cheek.
She didn’t so much as glance at her stinging palm. Her eyes stayed locked on Paige’s stunned face, her own porcelain features darkened by something vicious, something just shy of feral. “Paige Reed,” she said, voice like glass, “I’m warning you! My family is where I draw the line!”
Paige blinked in disbelief. Slowly, she turned her face back to center, glaring at Caroline like she’d just been jolted out of a coma. Her eyes rolled a little and then finally landed on Gordon, who had stepped up behind Caroline.
She let out a choked, guttural cry. “Gordon! Did you see that? Did you hear what she just said? This is your precious little daughter!”
Gordon didn’t move. He stood with his back to her, like he hadn’t heard a thing. Without a word, he turned and walked off.
He didn’t look back. Just headed straight for his car and drove to the hospital.
Paige stood frozen, her face ghost–pale.
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Chapter 184 Slapping
19 min left
Caroline turned her cold gaze to Giselle. The woman jumped, releasing Paige’s arm like it burned her, and took a step back. Her wide eyes trembled with fear, but Caroline just gave her a mocking smile and walked away.
But Paige wasn’t done. Her voice dripped venom as she called after her, “Keep choosing men like that, and you’ll end up six feet under too.”
Caroline turned back around.
Paige, with half her face swollen, glared at her without blinking, her voice low and bitter. “You’re just like your mother. No one ever liked either of you. I should’ve destroyed you for good years ago.”
There came another slap.
Giselle screamed and covered her face in horror.
This woman is out of control. She’s insane!
Paige stumbled backward, her face burning with humiliation. She was used to being feared and obeyed, not hit—and definitely not twice. The problem was… she’d made a mistake. She forgot that Caroline was no longer the girl she could shove aside without consequence.
That little girl had grown up.
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Chapter 184 Slapping
(**) 19 min left
And now, face–to–face, Paige couldn’t hold her ground. She was being crushed.
“How dare you!” she shrieked.
But no one cared.
The entire Ashbourne Manor was silent, as if her rage echoed off empty walls. All she could hear was her own ragged breathing.
Eventually, Giselle crept up to her. “Don’t be mad. Someone bring ice—quickly!”
She yelled toward the house, but the only reply was the rustling of leaves overhead.
Nearly twenty staff worked in Ashbourne Manor, but right now it was like they had all vanished, choosing to stand back and watch rather than get involved.
Mabel had always treated them kindly, never harshly unless someone crossed a serious line. Everyone respected her. And even though Paige had once been an Ashbourne too, she’d pushed Mabel into the hospital too many times. They didn’t feel the need to respect her anymore.
In fact, those two slaps Caroline delivered? They were cathartic. A release of all the frustration they had never dare o act on.
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Chapter 184 Slapping
19 min left
The fact that Gordon hadn’t reprimanded Caroline only proved it. He was furious. And in his eyes, Paige had it coming.
Alban had gone with Mabel in the ambulance. So had Alistair.
He needed to confirm, with his own eyes, that Mabel was truly out of danger.
The system had never failed him before. It always delivered. But this was different. He couldn’t relax until he saw the results.
This is what happens when one cares.
Gordon arrived at the hospital first. When he saw Alistair, his worried face faltered for a split second.
Alistair said, “Mr. Gordon Ashbourne, she’s going to be fine. You don’t have to worry.”
Standing beside them, Alban twitched at the formal “Mr. Gordon Ashbourne.” But after a second, he got it. Alistair hadn’t done anything wrong. Gordon had never once acknowledged him as family. Why make a fool of himself pretending otherwise?
With Caroline behind him, he no longer had to tread carefully around Gordon, and he sure as hell didn’t have to act like he owed the man anything.
Gordon gave him a silent nod. He looked surprised to see
–
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Chapter 184 Slapping
Alistair there, but not that surprised.
(19 min left
After a moment, he asked, “You went to Ashbourne Manor with Caroline?”
Alistair gave a short nod. “Yeah.”
He didn’t go out of his way to act friendly. Caroline once told him he didn’t need to pretend Gordon was anyone important to him, and he didn’t. His manners kept him civil, but he wasn’t going to grovel.
Gordon said nothing more. His eyes stayed fixed on the emergency room doors, his brow creased in deep thought.
Alistair could guess what was on his mind. He must know about Mabel’s condition now.
Soon after, Caroline rushed into the hospital.
And right behind her… came Paige and Giselle.
Paige’s face was a mess–swollen and bruised, barely
recognizable. Caroline hadn’t held back. If not for the urgency Mabel’s condition, she probably would’ve finished her off.
of
Paige had put on sunglasses just to leave the house.
Normally, with an injury like that, she’d be screaming about injustice, threatening lawsuits, and crying in public. But today?
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Chapter 184 Slapping
Who was even left to cry to?
19 min left
Her son, Leo, had been off the grid for two days. Her husband was swamped with work. Her mother was still unconscious from the stress she had caused. And her brother?
Gordon hadn’t said a word when Caroline slapped her. He just turned and walked away like she didn’t exist.
Paige’s stomach dropped.
She snuck a glance at Gordon, only to find his eyes glued to the ER doors. He looked like he believed that if he stared hard enough, nothing bad would happen.
Paige pressed her lips together and quietly stepped back, not daring to speak.
Their father had been gone for years. And with Mabel already pulling away, if Gordon did the same… she’d have lost her side of the family. And once that was gone, there was nothing left to fall back on.
All she could do was pray that Mabel would pull through.
B
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