Cutting off her pants would leave her exposed.
This was too much!
Just imagining the scene made her eyes burn.
She screamed, waving her hands, “No, I don’t want that!”
“Sorry, but there’s no other way to save you,” the staff said as they continued sawing.
The buzzing of the electric saw mixed with Madam Virginia’s screams, finally stopping after a few minutes.
Madam Virginia was drenched in sweat, looking as if she had just been pulled out of water.
It was unclear whether it was due to anger or embarrassment.
Her vision blurred, and she fainted to Cassandra’s cries.
“Mom! Mom!”
“Help my mom!”
“My mom has fainted!” Cassandra rushed to Madam Virginia, ignoring her own exposure, and held her in her arms.
She looked helplessly at the guests surrounding them, shouting, “Are you all blind? Can’t you see my mom has fainted? Help!”
Her frantic tone made some guests who wanted to help hesitate and pull back.
“We should call an ambulance.”
“Yes, we’re not doctors.”
“Right, call an ambulance.”
Someone called for an ambulance, but no one dared to approach Madam Virginia.
“I heard that Miss Andrews from the Hipps family is a doctor.”
“Really? But given how the Sweeney family treated her, she probably won’t help.”
“Only a fool would help.”
Sylvia glanced at Madam Virginia. It was just a fainting spell from anger; she’d wake up soon enough. There was no real issue, so she wouldn’t get involved.
Mollie whispered to Sylvia, “Isn’t she too fragile? Fainting over this?”
“Can you blame her? In such a big event like Fashion Week, this scandal will definitely make headlines. They’ve embarrassed themselves and the Sweeney family. The Sweeney family won’t let them off easily,” Sylvia said with a hint of mockery on her pretty face.
What goes around comes around.
But…
Something seemed off about this whole situation.
The ambulance arrived quickly. After loading Madam Virginia onto the vehicle, Cassandra climbed in with her dress trailing behind.
The farce was coming to an end.
Maritza and the others were called to a quiet corner by Sylvia. “Can any of you tell me what happened?”
Seeing Sylvia’s serious expression, Maritza swallowed nervously.
Sylvia’s strong presence made it hard for her to breathe.
After exchanging glances, Jaelynn explained, “Here’s what happened. We noticed that mother and daughter were targeting us, so we decided to turn the tables. We put the glue they intended for our seats onto theirs.”
“Oh?” Sylvia looked at her nonchalantly. “Didn’t expect you three to be so bold.”
“We were angry. If we had been glued to our seats, it would have been us and the Hipps family who were embarrassed,” Annika said angrily. “They were too despicable.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? You were too impulsive. What if they caught you?” Sylvia frowned. “Did you think about the consequences?”
“We… we just wanted to save you some trouble,” Maritza said quietly. “You’re always standing up for us…”
Her voice trailed off. “Sylvia, I was wrong before. Don’t take it to heart. I did wrong by the Hipps family…”
Suddenly, a delicate hand rested on her shoulder. Sylvia’s voice was as melodious as falling pearls. “The past is the past. We’re family. If something like this happens again, call your aunt and me. We’ll face it together. You did well today!”
The three were shocked by Sylvia’s unexpected praise and approval.
“You… you mean?”
“You’re not mad at us?”
“We thought we’d caused big trouble… offended the Sweeney family…”
“That mother and daughter needed a lesson,” Sylvia smiled at them. “Alright, let’s enjoy the show and ignore them.”
Mollie grinned, “After today’s show, there’s a party. Let’s go to the party before heading home.”
“Sure, we’ll do whatever Aunt says.”
In the hospital, Madam Virginia slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the white ceiling. She heard Cassandra’s anxious voice, “Mom, you’re awake?”
She turned her head to see Cassandra’s tear-streaked face. “Cassandra…”
“Mom, you scared me.” Cassandra held her hand excitedly. “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“Where am I?” Madam Virginia asked as she sat up, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.
“You fainted, so I brought you to the hospital. Mom, it’s all Sylvia’s fault!” Cassandra said angrily.
With her daughter’s reminder, Madam Virginia recalled the humiliation she had suffered and felt a surge of anger and embarrassment.
Her eyes widened in fury as she cursed towards the door, “That wretch! I’ll make her pay!”
“Who are you going to make pay?” A stern voice came from the doorway.
Cassandra turned sharply to see her father, John Sweeney. She rushed over to him, saying tearfully, “Dad… Mom and I…”
Before she could finish, John slapped her hard across the face. He glared at her with a dark expression. “Look at what you’ve done! You’re all over the headlines with your disgraceful behavior!”
Old Mr. Sweeney had already found out and scolded him harshly.
John was furious and needed an outlet for his anger. He stormed into the hospital to vent on his wife and daughter.
He slapped Cassandra again before turning to Madam Virginia and hitting her as well.
The newly conscious Madam Virginia felt even more dizzy from the blows. “You! How dare you hit me! You hit our daughter and now me!”
John slapped her again. “I’m hitting you because you’re useless! You can’t even bear a son.”
“You disgraceful trash! Dad scolded me for half an hour because of you! How dare you question why I’m hitting you? Today I’ll beat you until I’m satisfied!”
John continued to slap Madam Virginia until her face was swollen and bleeding.
Cassandra was too scared to intervene and could only cry out helplessly, “Dad, it’s all because of the Hipps family! It’s all Sylvia’s fault! She’s the one who embarrassed us… Dad… please stop hitting Mom.”
“Sylvia? The Hipps family?” John paused mid-slap. “The newly recognized daughter of the Hipps family?”
He narrowed his eyes with a sinister look. “Sylvia, is it? Just wait.”
“Dad, you have to avenge us!” Cassandra clung to John’s arm. “She humiliated us so badly. X Brand has another show tomorrow; she’s their designer… Dad, do something.”
John sneered. “A show? I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen!”
With that, he shook off Cassandra’s hand and stormed out without looking back at his battered wife.
Madam Virginia clutched her swollen face and cried out in pain. “That bastard! How dare he treat me like this!”
Cassandra tried to comfort her. “Mom, as long as Dad takes action, we’ll get our revenge. This pain is nothing; it’s just superficial wounds. I’ll call a doctor to treat you and get some ice for your face to reduce the swelling.”
Hearing her daughter’s words, Madam Virginia nodded. “You’re right; this pain is nothing compared to seeing Sylvia’s downfall!”
Early the next morning, Sylvia had just woken up and hadn’t even washed up when she received a call from X Brand’s operations director. “Designer X, something terrible has happened!”
Sylvia yawned delicately and looked at the sunlight outside as she opened the window. Fresh air rushed in. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
The director sounded on the verge of tears. “You’ll know when you get here! It’s a disaster! Please come quickly!”
“Alright, I’ll be there soon.” Sylvia hung up and hurriedly washed up, grabbing an outfit from her wardrobe and putting it on before heading downstairs.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Old Mrs. Hipps called out as she prepared breakfast.
“Grandma, I can’t eat breakfast now; I have to go to the show venue.” Sylvia grabbed a carton of milk and a piece of bread from the table. “I’m heading out.”
“But-drinking milk isn’t enough!” Old Mrs. Hipps called after her, but Sylvia was already gone.
Clare reassured her mother, “Mom, I’ll bring some food for Sylvia later; don’t worry.”
“Alright then… This child…” Old Mrs. Hipps shook her head.
Sylvia went straight to the garage and drove her BMW towards the show venue.
Speeding along the road, she had an uneasy feeling in her heart.