Joe heard everything. He stood out to explain instantly, “Betty, Tylor, you guys accused Candace wrongly. She really didn’t say anything to me. I sent messages to inform your parents because lying was wrong. Did you guys really step on Candace’s tomatoes yesterday? You shouldn’t have done that.” The young man looked at all the parents, “This is my fault. I should’ve dealt with this better.”
He knew he would be held accountable after what had happened earlier.
“What? You sent our parents messages?” Betty’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Yes. And you need to remember that Candace can talk. She just doesn’t want to. You can’t call her ‘mute.’ Do you understand?”
Betty just didn’t like Candace. She looked away, smirking. Candace didn’t know what jealousy was. She only thought Betty hated her, and it was probably her fault.
Candace sniffed and hooked her arms around Linford’s neck.
“This is not over! You two said my Mom is a bad woman and a peasant!” Cody was still so pissed off as he mentioned that, his face plum, “Hear this out! My Mom never wants to marry a rich man. She’s the best woman in the world. She raised my sister and me for so many years and was strong enough to face struggles. She doesn’t care about money! She also doesn’t want to be Mrs. Bradley! Don’t you badmouth her again, or I’ll still push you two into that pond if I hear those nasty words again!”
Tylor wanted to retaliate, but his dad had been covering his mouth, and he could only get mad.
Betty was a spoiled girl. Marcos didn’t want to cover his daughter’s mouth, and suddenly Betty screamed, “I also heard you and Candace are not even your dad’s children! You two are little bastards that your Mom mom gave birth to after she slept with a random man!”
Bastards?
Linford’s face fell, his eyes cold, “Who told you that?”
The office fell deadly silent. Mrs. Weston didn’t even dare to meddle anymore. She had known Linford since he was just a boy. What the kid just said probably truly offended Linford.
Their parents would definitely pay for that.
“I…” Marcos shot his hands out and covered his daughter’s mouth, his back covered in a cold sweat, “Mr. Bradley. Mr. Bradley! She was making things up. No one has ever told her that. They’re just kids. You shouldn’t believe what they said, should you?”
“Bastards? Is this all you can say? Candace and I are Mom’s children! We’re not bastards!” Cody had been called that way so many times, and it finally got on his last straw of patience. He dashed forward, trying to bump Betty with his head, but Betty’s dad was faster. He took the little girl and dodged.
Cody bumped his head against the wall. The sound was loud as Cody hit his head. It must hurt him like hell.
Linford dashed forward, checking out Cody nervously, “Let me take a look. Are you alright?”
Cody pushed his hand away, holding back his tears, “It’s none of your business.”
“Mr. Bradley! I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I really didn’t mean to…” Marcos was sweating and couldn’t find the right words to say.
Linford stood up, staring at him coldly, “You should say sorry to my son.”
Marcos could only apologize to the boy because he didn’t want his family business to get destroyed by this man, “Cody, I’m so sorry. Please forgive us.”
Cody didn’t even want to look at him as he grabbed his sister’s hand, “Come on, Candace. Let’s go find Mom.”
Candace wiped her face with the back of her hand and followed her brother. She suddenly missed her Mom so much.
Before they could leave, however, they ran into Franco.
They didn’t know when their Pop came. A young man was following him. And this young man was the one who saved Betty and Tylor from that pond.
The office fell silent. Mrs. Weston had known the old Bradley since she was young. She went forth, “What brought you here, sir?”
Franco didn’t move as he crouched down before the kids and held the babies in his arms, “Come on. Stop crying. You’re breaking Pop’s heart.”
“Sir Franco! We…. We didn’t mean to…” Marcos and Tim were desperate as they saw the old man. They went forth instantly, “Betty and Tylor are just babies. They didn’t even know anything. Please forgive them. We know you’re the kindest man.”
Franco shook his head. He was too old for this drama. He barely knew these people.
Why was Pop here? Linford frowned a little as his eyes fell on the young man who was following his grandpa.
And who was this guy?
Peter didn’t stir under Linford’s gaze, only giving the handsome man a polite smile.
Linford arched an eyebrow. He didn’t like this man. He looked dangerous.
“Pop, we need to go. We still have to find Mom. No one likes us here except Mom,” Cody’s eyes were tearful. He didn’t want to be with these people anymore.
Franco smiled at the boy, “Pop knows you guys have been bullied. I swear I will solve this fairly. Will you stay? It’s okay. After we solve this chaos, we’ll bring you two to your Mom.”
Candace cast Cody a glance. Cody said unhappily, “Can we solve this matter as fast as we can?” He was so tired of facing these people.
Linford ignored Cody’s protest and held him in his arms. Cody couldn’t struggle away. He huffed and gave up.
“I pretty much heard everything before walking. Do your kids hold some misunderstandings between our house? Or do the adults in your houses hold some wrong ideas about my family?” Franco was smiling, but both Tim and Marcos started to sweat.
Tim took a step forward, “Sir, they are just kids, and they were only having a small fight. Please don’t take it too seriously.”
The Wayne house has been a mess lately. And it couldn’t take more blows.
Linford sneered, “Don’t shift the blame onto the children! If the adults in your house didn’t say anything, they would never learn vicious words like that. Cody, what do you think? You’re the victim. How should we deal with this?”