From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 295: Chapter 295

Edmond could tell Paisley wasn't joking with him. If he didn't give her a satisfactory answer today, he wasn't sure what she might do.
If Paisley really were as ignorant and shallow as he publicly portrayed, this situation would have been easy to handle. He could easily use public opinion, with so many guests here, to suppress Paisley as the elder of the family.
And perhaps, he could ruin her reputation even further. But the situation was now nothing like he had imagined.
Paisley wasn't a shallow fool. On the contrary, she had abilities equal to, if not greater than, any of the men in the room. As long as Tyson agrees, she could immediately take on the role of the heir to the Godard family.
Even though he didn't want to admit it, he had to—Paisley was so much stronger than his son, Christopher.
Now, at this grand banquet, everyone could witness Paisley's strength firsthand. She had enough leverage to disregard anyone's opinion.
She also had such powerful backing that she didn't care about the slander or insults from the outside world. No wonder, no wonder she remained so calm and indifferent in the face of those rumors and glares.
At this moment, Edmond felt like a clown. His so-called behind-the-scenes maneuvers might seem like nothing more than a ridiculous struggle in Paisley's eyes.
He looked at Paisley's cold, frosty face. He noticed Max and Tyson, who stood resolutely by Paisley's side, not saying a word. And he saw Dominick, who was clearly growing angrier. Finally, his gaze fell upon Anna, who was heartbroken but helpless.
He knew that, even with Anna's help, the second branch had no chance today. He had to give Paisley a satisfactory answer under everyone's watch.
Although Bella was young, she could still read the room. She could clearly feel the oppressive, terrifying vibe. Scared, she buried herself in Florence's embrace, clutching her clothes tightly with her small hands. "Mom, mom, let's go. I'm scared."
She was truly terrified, especially after seeing Tommy almost planted into the ground, then thrown out like that. She didn't want to be planted into the ground, nor thrown out like that.
Even if Florence was not the brightest, she could tell things were spiraling out of control.
Bella's crying reached Edmond's ears, only making his already distressed mind even more irritable. He turned and glared at the mother and daughter, his anger rising to his head.
"You make a mistake and don't apologize, only know how to run away. Is this how you teach your child?" Edmond said coldly, scolding Florence.
Florence shrank back in fear at Edmond's expression, and in the next moment, Edmond yanked Bella from her arms. Before she could react, Edmond slapped Bella hard across the face.
Smack! The sound echoed through the entire sunroom. The slap left Bella's delicate cheek red and swollen.
Her body swayed uncontrollably, and if Edmond hadn't grabbed her arm, she would have flown across the room. Around them, there were gasps of shock. Edmond truly didn't hold back!
Bella froze for a moment, and after the numbness passed, an intense, fiery pain surged through her, causing her to cry out in agony.
Florence didn't expect Edmond to hit Bella. She screamed and rushed forward. "Bella!"
But before she could finish speaking, Edmond slapped her across the face. Edmond didn't hold back when hitting Florence. "Useless thing, you can't even teach a child!"
Florence spun around from the force of the slap and stumbled into Christopher. But it wasn't over yet. Edmond glared fiercely at Bella. "Why did you lie? Why smear others? Huh!"
As he finished speaking, another slap landed on the other side of Bella's face.
Bella let out a piercing scream, her body swaying and writhing in pain.
Florence, too dazed from the beating to care about her swollen face, rushed forward to stop it. But instead, Edmond slapped her again.
"You can't teach your child, so I will!" Edmond's eyes were bloodshot, his voice ragged.
Florence didn't crash into Christopher this time but collapsed at his feet. Dizzy and disoriented from the blow, she couldn't get up and could only grab onto Christopher's pants leg. "Hubby, hubby! Tell Dad to stop hitting! Bella is only five! He'll kill her!"
Christopher, however, stood there with red eyes, not daring to say a word. Florence, unable to do anything else, could only crawl toward Anna, "Please say something! Don't let Dad keep hitting Bella! You love her the most, don't you?"
Anna, too, was horrified by Edmond's actions, her chest heaving violently. "Stop! You'll kill Bella!"
Edmond ignored everything around him. After two slaps, he started landing blow after blow on Bella, making her screams louder and louder.
"Grandpa, I'm sorry, I was wrong. Don't hit me. It hurts so much! I'm going to die from the pain! Mom, Dad, help me! Great-grandmother, help me!"
Bella's cries were like knives stabbing at Anna's heart. She staggered and hurriedly walked over, her withered hand gripping Edmond tightly. "Stop hitting her! I told you to stop! Bella, Bella!"
At this moment, Edmond's eyes were bloodshot with rage. "Mom! Don't stop me! I need to teach this child a lesson today and give Paisy an explanation!" He bit down hard on the name "Paisy."
Anna trembled as she looked at Paisley, her eyes red with a mix of anger and pleading. "Paisy, please, for my sake, stop hitting Bella. She's only five."
Paisley looked at Anna emotionlessly. "Grandma, Rena is only three."
Anna froze for a moment, then looked at Serena, who had been beaten more severely—her clothes were torn, her body bruised, and blood was flowing from her chin.
Paisley continued, "Sonny is seven, but look at him. He's the only grandchild of the Vanderbilt family so far."
"Sonny and Rena are my children, and from now on, they will be the only two children I have," Dominick added.
He looked at Paisley deeply, a hint of hurt flashing in his eyes. He thought, 'Paisley, what do you mean by so far? Are you saying you're going to have children with other women in the future? No, never!'
After hearing Paisley and Dominick's words, Anna's brows furrowed tightly.
"You, you two—" She thought they were using the Vanderbilt family to pressure her. As the matriarch of the Godard family, she wasn't afraid of the Vanderbilt family.
But when her gaze shifted to Grayson, who was severely injured, blood dripping from his nose and mouth, his clothes soaked, and his exposed skin bruised everywhere, her heart skipped a beat, and a sense of fear began to rise.
That child was the only grandson of the Vanderbilt family. Since he was following his father, Dominick, it means he would inherit the Vanderbilt family and become the next leader. If something happened to him today at the Godard family—
The Godard family might not fear the Vanderbilt family, but if Dominick decided to use all his power to make things difficult for the Godard family, it would be a challenge for them to handle.
Furthermore, those two children were not just Dominick's—they were Paisy's as well.
"Paisy, do you really want to make things difficult for me?" Anna cried, lowering her posture drastically.
Then, she threw herself onto Bella, stopping Edmond from continuing the beating. Paisley simply watched this absurd scene, then turned to look at Tyson, whose expression was equally dark. "Dad."
After all this, Tyson had seen through a lot of things. And the thing he saw most clearly was his own mother.
"Paisy, do whatever you want. Go ahead and do it, I'll back you up," Tyson said coldly.
Anna heard Tyson's words and, tearfully, looked over at him, only to meet her eldest son's indifferent gaze.