News that Livia had regained her ability to speak had spread among the relatives and the people working under Quinton Corporation. Even so, they still looked down on Livia because of her weakness. In their eyes, it made no difference whether Livia was mute or not. She was still a useless loser.
However, what Livia said to them now, and the way she said it, left them completely stunned. The room fell silent for a while before angry voices rang out again.
“What did you just say? That we’re a bunch of idiots?”
“Livia, watch your mouth! How dare a traitor like you say something like that to us!”
Seeing the anger on the faces before her, Livia wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. Instead, she laughed mockingly and said, “Why should I watch my words when I’m talking to you? You don’t respect me, so why should I respect you?”
Emma finally couldn’t take it anymore and rose from her seat. Pointing at Livia with hatred, she shouted, “Livia! Know your place! If you don’t apologize right now, I’ll make sure you have a hard time in prison.”
Of course, Bella wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip by. While the atmosphere was still heated, she intended to add fuel to the fire and make it explode. Livia had hurt her yesterday, and now it was time for her revenge. Even if she hurt Livia, she was certain no one would blame her.
Bella stood up, took Emma’s hand to calm her down, then turned to face Livia.
“Livia, it seems you’ve become arrogant now that you can speak again. How can you behave like this in front of all the guests?” As Bella spoke, she once again put on the appearance of a fragile young woman.
Livia was completely sick of the entire disgusting scene. She rolled her eyes in boredom, with no intention of responding, and turned to leave.
Just then, a young woman rushed forward and grabbed Livia’s hand, stopping her from leaving.
The woman was the daughter of Dimitri’s female cousin. Since her father worked at Quinton Corporation and she was close to Bella, she had come with her mother to attend Emma’s invitation. She had a hot temper and was easily provoked. In the past, she wouldn’t have hesitated to hurt Livia if the woman bothered Bella. To her, Bella was a kind and gentle woman, so she preferred getting close to Bella rather than to a foolish mute like Livia. Besides, she was sure she would gain more benefits from Bella.
“We’re still talking to you. Who said you could leave?” Zoe tightened her grip as she spoke, making Livia feel pain in her wrist.
Instinctively, Livia pulled her hand back to free herself.
‘This woman… How dare she resist me!’ Zoe thought, feeling somewhat awkward because she had failed to intimidate Livia.
Therefore, she reached out again to grab Livia’s hand. But Livia dodged quickly. With light steps, Livia moved three steps backward.
“Stay away from me. I might catch a skin disease if you touch me,” Livia said coldly.
Zoe’s anger intensified. Of course, she couldn’t accept being mocked by that foolish woman. Eyes bulging, Zoe lunged forward to shove Livia. But just before she could reach her, her target had already moved.
Livia shifted to the side again, causing Zoe’s hand to swipe through the air before she fell facedown onto the floor.
The pain she felt was nothing much. But the humiliation she had suffered made her furious. Just as she got up from the floor to attack Livia, the firm sound of footsteps came from the staircase.
Looking up, they all saw Ethan coming downstairs with the triplets following behind him.
Ethan gave a cold look to Zoe, who appeared disheveled. After analyzing what had happened, he said, “You’ll only embarrass yourselves if you keep causing a scene. It’s a peaceful morning. Don’t ruin the atmosphere at the Quincy family residence.”
Ethan spoke politely, but his words sounded like absolute orders. Everyone immediately fell silent.
Ethan glanced at Livia, who looked relaxed, before turning his gaze to Bella.
“Are you hurt?” Ethan asked in a flat tone as he looked at the bruise on Bella’s jaw.
Bella had come to the Quincy family residence early that morning intending to make everyone blame Livia. When she heard Ethan ask about her injury, her face immediately lit up.
“It’s nothing. Just a minor injury,” Bella said shyly.
Emma immediately cut in. “How can you say it’s nothing? You’re too kind, so I’ll tell Ethan what really happened.” Emma looked at Ethan and continued, “Livia hit Bella and injured her. She’s gone too far, Ethan. We can’t let her stay here any longer. Send her to prison immediately.”
Ethan’s gaze turned even colder. He stepped down from the last stair and said, “There’s no need to rush. The investigation is still ongoing.”
“What more investigation do you need? All the evidence is already there,” Emma protested.
Ethan didn’t respond. Instead, he approached Livia and stood beside her for a while before saying, “Don’t pressure me about things like this. I will punish anyone who betrays the Quincy family.” After saying that, Ethan walked straight toward the dining table.
Emma no longer dared to pressure Ethan, so she simply fell silent.
Bella saw the triplets coming down the stairs. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with the children, but when she saw Mr. and Mrs. Quincy approaching, she hurried over to the triplets to take them to the dining table. However, the three children avoided her and went straight to Livia.
“Mommy, let’s have breakfast.” Sofia took Livia’s hand and pulled her toward the dining table.
It was the first time the three children had ignored her, leaving Bella stunned. Her eyes fixed on Livia’s retreating back, hatred surfacing in their depths.
‘Damn it! She’s starting to gain the children’s support. I can’t let this happen. Before she completely turns the situation around, I have to get rid of her!’
In the side yard of the Quincy family residence, Bella was speaking with two servants. She held two brown envelopes and handed one to each of the servants in front of her.
“Good work. Here’s the rest of your payment. Remember, don’t tell anyone that I asked you to spread rumors about Livia hitting me,” Bella said.
The two young female servants’ faces lit up when they accepted the money from Bella.
“Of course, ma’am. You can trust us.”
“We’ll always be loyal to you.”
Bella smiled in satisfaction. To get Livia out of the Quincy family residence, she needed people to help her. The members of the Quincy family couldn’t discover her true nature, so she could only bribe the servants to act as her spies and assist her.
“Now, I want you to resume your old task.” As Bella spoke, she took a glass bottle from her pocket.
The two servants had worked for Bella for a long time, so they were already familiar with the bottle. They immediately understood what Bella wanted.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Bella. We’ll do it as smoothly as usual.”
“Good. Be careful and don’t leave a trace.” Bella handed the glass bottle filled with liquid to the two servants before walking away.
As soon as she turned the corner to enter the house through the front door, she saw Ethan walking out toward his car.
She hadn’t interacted much with Ethan yesterday, so she had to speak with him. Besides, Ethan had asked about her injury earlier. Perhaps he had heard what the servants said. If so, she could appear weak in front of Ethan and make him sympathize with her even more.
She quickened her pace and called out to Ethan in a gentle voice once she was standing behind him.
“Ethan….”
Ethan had just been about to get into his car when Bella called him. He pulled his foot back and turned around.
Bella walked closer. She tucked her hair behind her ear and lowered her head shyly. Then she said carefully, “Something happened yesterday, so I went home early.” Bella explained, thinking Ethan might have been looking for her yesterday.
However, Ethan said nothing in response. Seeing him remain silent, Bella worked up the courage to approach him and take his arm.
“Ethan, don’t be angry with Livia. She didn’t do it on purpose. I was helping the children change their clothes. As their mother, she may have felt jealous. It’s only natural for her to get angry. Please don’t be mad at her. I’m fine. This injury isn’t that bad. It’ll heal in a few days.”
Bella’s voice was gentle. She deliberately brought up the matter. She wanted to make Ethan hate Livia even more by reminding him that Livia had attacked the woman who had cared for his children for years. She knew Ethan relied on her to look after the children.
In reality, Bella had never taken care of the children. She only acted sweetly in front of others. Whenever no one was around, she would lose her temper and tell the children to take care of themselves.
Unexpectedly, Ethan brushed her hand away. His face was even cold.
“Ethan….” Bella had only just begun when Ethan’s cold voice cut her off.
“I’ll forgive you this time, considering how you’ve taken care of the children all these years. But I won’t tolerate you lying to me again.”
Bella frowned. It took her a moment to realize that Ethan seemed angry. Suddenly, she grew nervous, and her hands began to tremble slightly.
“Ethan… what do you mean? I’ve never lied to you.” Bella continued to deny it, causing Ethan’s expression to darken.
“Sofia told me what happened. You were the one who started the fight with Livia. If you hadn’t thrown the music box at her, I’m sure Livia wouldn’t have hit you.”
Ethan had been deeply troubled after watching the CCTV footage, so he questioned Sofia when he saw the little girl sneak out of her room and enter Livia’s room last night.
Although he was curious about the conflict that had sparked their fight because Sofia refused to tell him, he secretly felt pleased.
All this time, he had watched Livia being ostracized. Yet he had remained silent and taken no action unless it was absolutely necessary. It wasn’t because he didn’t care. He simply didn’t want Livia to remain afraid all the time. He wanted her to face her own fears.
Bella’s body suddenly froze. She didn’t know what to say. By the time she came to her senses, Ethan’s car had already driven out through the gate.
Inside the car, James was driving. He glanced at the rearview mirror and asked, “Mr. Ethan, Ms. Bella has always acted so gentle. Is there something between her and Ms. Livia that caused them to become enemies? Also, regarding the poison Ms. Livia drank, could that have something to do with Ms. Bella as well?”
Ethan narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t a fool. He knew Bella had a hidden motive when she volunteered to care for his children as Livia’s condition worsened. However, he hadn’t thought the gentle woman would be capable of killing Livia. Besides, Bella had no motive to get involved with Quinton Corporation.
Anyone who had tried to kill Livia was clearly attempting to eliminate her to cover up a case.
‘Livia may know something about the culprit. If the culprit wants Livia dead, they’ll definitely make another move.’
Ethan knew Livia wouldn’t talk to him about anything because she always avoided him and even hated him. So he had no choice but to investigate on his own. He took out his phone and sent a message to the Head Butler, instructing him to tighten security around Livia.
Then he said to James, “Arrange for someone to keep an eye on Bella and Joseph Hewitt.”
Although he doubted that Bella was the one who had poisoned Livia, he still had to investigate. As for Joseph, he had indeed been suspicious of the man. Joseph held a high position in the company and had access to every room there. In addition, the man had always been highly ambitious and eager to gain more. With that kind of greed, he could betray them for money.
“Yes, Mr. Ethan.” James acknowledged the order.