Chapter 2

“Security! Throw this lunatic out!”

When Robert Bennett realized reason would not work, he finally dropped the mask and shouted toward the audience.

Several uniformed guards immediately rushed toward the stage.

The guests stepped back one after another, afraid of being dragged into the farce.

Ethan Reed and Sophia Bennett both smiled in satisfaction.

I stood still and did not move, only watching them quietly.

Just as a guard’s hand was about to touch me, the ballroom doors were suddenly pushed open from outside.

A group of men in black suits walked in, their presence so powerful that anyone could tell they were not people to mess with, and leading them was a meticulous middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

He walked straight onto the stage, ignored everyone, and first bowed slightly to me.

“Miss Bennett, I apologize for the fright.”

Then he turned to the confused guards, and his gaze became sharp in an instant. “Let one of you try touching her.”

The guards were intimidated by his presence and all took a step back.

Robert Bennett did not know him and forced himself to question him. “Who are you people? Who let you in?”

The middle-aged man pushed up his glasses, took a document from his briefcase, and announced into the microphone in a tone without any emotion:

“I am Martin Hale, Mr. Adrian Reed’s chief attorney. Entrusted by Mr. Reed, I hereby state that Miss Ava Bennett is indeed carrying Mr. Reed’s child, and as the first in line to inherit from Mr. Reed, she will legally hold inheritance rights to all assets under Mr. Reed’s name.”

He paused and looked around at the crowd below the stage, who had all gone completely rigid.

“This statement has been notarized and carries full legal force. From this moment forward, any individual or organization that threatens, slanders, or harms Miss Ava Bennett or the fetus she carries will be held fully legally responsible by Reed Group’s legal department, with no exceptions.”

The entire ballroom went silent as death.

Everyone looked as if someone had pressed pause, and the shock on their faces was beyond words.

Robert Bennett and Claire Bennett opened their mouths but could not say a single word.

Sophia Bennett’s face turned as white as paper, and her body swayed so badly that Ethan Reed had to hold her up.

As for Ethan Reed, his expression was the most entertaining.

Shock, disbelief, and confusion crossed his face before finally turning into the rage of someone humiliated.

He never could have imagined that the uncle he had never bothered to respect, the business emperor rumored to have no interest in women, would truly become involved with Ava Bennett.

And Adrian had done it in an unprecedentedly public way, giving Ethan, the Reed family, and the Bennett family a loud slap in the face.

Attorney Hale did not bother with them anymore, and when he turned back to me, his attitude instantly became respectful again.

“Miss Bennett, this place is too chaotic and not suitable for you or the baby to rest. Mr. Reed has already arranged a residence for you, so please come with us.”

After speaking, he made an inviting gesture, and the men in black behind him immediately split into two lines, opening a path for me.

I nodded and walked down from the stage with my head held high under everyone’s complicated gazes.

When I passed Sophia Bennett and Ethan Reed, I stopped.

I looked at their devastated expressions and smiled as I spoke.

“I told you that you would know soon enough whether I was lying.”

“Sophia Bennett, Ethan Reed, this is only the beginning. I will settle every debt between us, one by one, nice and slow.”

After saying that, I did not look at them again and followed Attorney Hale straight out of that disgusting place.

I knew that from the moment I walked out of those doors, a storm sweeping through the entire upper class was about to begin.

And I would be at the center of that storm.