Facing Leo’s relentless questioning, the old Mrs. Henley wore a grim expression and remained silent.
Leo’s words had Bruno seething with anger, and he retorted, “Leo, have you gone mad? You dare to bite people in front of our grandmother!?”
Fanny quickly joined in, denying Leo’s accusations, “Leo, you’re nothing but a freeloading loser, resorting to baseless accusations. Do you think our grandmother will believe you? Do you even realize the consequences of falsely accusing someone without evidence?”
“You want evidence?” Leo sneered, “Noah and Ken have already confessed everything. Bruno paid them a million to kidnap Sophia, trying to manipulate me!”
“You crazy dog! All this talk about Noah and Ken, a million dollars, it’s all fabricated! Grandma, please don’t fall for this madman’s slander!” Bruno implored Teresa anxiously.
“Grandma, all of this is a play orchestrated by Leo, the purpose being to cover up his theft of the money. Please, do not be deceived by him,” Fanny chimed in, now firmly aligned with Bruno.
Sophia couldn’t take it any longer. She stepped forward, glaring at Bruno and Fanny, and shouted, “Bruno, Fanny, you jerks! I bet you never dreamt I’d come back alive, did you?”
“Sophia, what do you take us for? We’re your cousins, your blood relatives. Do you really think we’d harm you? Leo is nothing but a loser. Why do you believe him?” Bruno angrily defended himself.
With disdain, Sophia retorted, “Blood relatives? Bruno, I know exactly what you are. If you don’t give me an explanation for today, I won’t let you off the hook!”
Even Jessica, despite her slow reaction, understood what was happening. She jumped in, furiously pointing at Bruno and Fanny, “You two heartless bastards! Sophia is your sister, and you treated her like this? Have you lost all sense of conscience?”
“Mom, no matter what, you have to hold Bruno and Fanny accountable for this. Give us justice for Sophia!” Jessica bravely confronted the old Mrs. Henley for the sake of her daughter.
The old Mrs. Henley completely disregarded Jessica’s gaze and, after briefly looking at Sophia and Leo, sternly said, “Jessica, who do you think you are to speak up and boss around in front of me?”
Regardless of Jessica’s fiery personality back in their own family, in the presence of the old Mrs. Henley-Teresa-she held no weight.
“For now, we can’t rush to conclusions about what happened today. We need to investigate further before passing judgment. You all need to stay calm,” the old Mrs. Henley declared, rising from her armchair and casting an authoritative glance at everyone in the living room.
“Please, Grandma, please make a fair decision. Leo is just trying to frame me and Fanny!” Bruno implored Teresa urgently.
“Grandma, Bruno and I have grown up under your care. We’re absolutely loyal to the family and would never do anything to harm it. We couldn’t have possibly planned to steal the money, especially not before fully knowing who sent it,” Fanny added.
“Someone, after stealing the dowry, wanted to cover up his own wrongdoing by falsely accusing me and Bruno. Grandma, please do stand up for us,” pleaded Bruno.
Leo continued to glare at the them. The fact that Teresa favored Bruno was widely known, and after such a significant event today, Leo was curious to see just how far her bias would go.
“Sophia,” the old Mrs. Henley spoke, “Leo claims you were kidnapped, but all I see now is you standing here unharmed. So, the truth of this matter is still pending investigation.”
She continued, “Furthermore, I will have the theft thoroughly investigated. I won’t wrongly accuse the innocent or let the guilty go free. Today’s matter ends here; all of you may go.”
Leo was seething with anger at the old Mrs. Henley’s words. He had anticipated her favoritism towards them, but he couldn’t have predicted her absurd statements.
Burning with anger, Leo took a step forward and, with a condescending demeanor, glared at Teresa. Then, he grabbed her collar, shouting, “Old woman, is your brain malfunctioning? You’re distorting the truth and confusing right and wrong. Do you really think I won’t dare to touch you?”
This sudden turn of events left everyone stunned, especially Bruno and Fanny. They never expected Leo to act so audaciously, let alone lay a hand on the old Mrs. Henley.
“Leo, are you out of your mind? You’re actually laying your hands on Grandma!” Bruno yelled, preparing to attack Leo.
Leo released his grip on Teresa’s collar and threw a punch at Bruno’s face.
Bruno screamed, blood flowing from his nose.
“Bruno, do you really think the old woman’s protection is going to shield you from my wrath?” Leo’s icy gaze pierced Bruno. “I’ve said it before, anyone who dares to harm Sophia, even if they were the king of heaven, I will never forgive them.”
The old Mrs. Henley hadn’t expected Leo to physically confront someone in her presence. She started coughing violently, angered by his audacity. “Leo, do you want to rebel? Don’t forget your place!”
“My place?” Leo’s arrogant laughter filled the room. “I’m the son-in-law of the Henley family, am I not? I have no standing before you, isn’t that right? Today, I’ll show you just what my position is.”
As Leo’s anger threatened to overpower him and he seemed ready to confront the old Mrs. Henley, Sophia urgently shouted, “Leo, stop!”
Sophia grabbed his hand, calming him down. “Leo, she’s an elder. You can’t be disrespectful to her.”
Leo finally realized that no matter how biased Teresa was in favor of Bruno, she would always be Sophia’s grandmother, and that blood tie couldn’t be severed. If he did anything to harm Teresa, it would inevitably cause unpleasantness when he and Sophia were together.
With that in mind, Leo made a conscious effort to suppress his anger.
“Leo, no matter what, I’m fine now. Let’s put an end to this matter, alright?”
Leo then turned to the old Mrs. Henley and spoke firmly, “Today’s incident, for Sophia’s sake, I won’t pursue it any further. But remember this, if you continue to unconditionally favor and indulge Bruno, there will come a day when he’ll end up in jail.”
With that statement, filled with frustration and anger, Leo left the living room. Sophia shot a fierce warning look at Bruno and Fanny, saying, “Bruno, you better remember this. This incident won’t set a precedent, but if you ever dare to provoke me or Leo again, you’ll have to face the consequences!”