From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 355: Chapter 355

Lauren stormed in at the front, her face full of rage. Behind her, Reginald pretended to calm her down, but from the moment he stepped onto the kindergarten grounds, his eyes had been scanning the area, searching for Serena.
Finally, he spotted his beloved granddaughter in the arms of a red-haired man.
His brows furrowed. Just as he was wondering who the hell that red-haired thug holding Serena was, the man turned his head—revealing Nathaniel and Byron's faces.
Dominick recognized Nathaniel at a glance. He was shocked and confused. He thought, 'Why are Nathaniel and Byron here? Did Paisley ask them to come?'
That thought sent a sharp pang through Dominick's chest. He was Serena's biological father. Paisley could've asked him to come. But instead, she'd rather reach out to the Beaumont family—people who were only distantly connected to her—than let him, her daughter's real father, attend.
Nathaniel spotted Dominick and immediately scowled.
The two had been love rivals before. Dominick had schemed against Nathaniel, getting him exiled to some poor place to oversee a factory. Nathaniel had held a grudge against Dominick ever since.
But now, things were different. He was Paisley's family. And in front of Dominick, he had the absolute upper hand.
He could flaunt his status as Paisley's cousin and look down on Dominick all he wanted. He could humiliate him.
That thought instantly lifted Nathaniel's mood. He glanced at Dominick, his eyes now filled with smugness and disdain.
Dominick caught that look and clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth in silence. He couldn't say anything—he just had to endure it.
Kayla and Grayson walked in at the very back, both looking unimpressed from the moment they arrived.
"Tsk, tsk. Seriously, what was Ms. Sutton thinking? Letting my niece go to a kindergarten like this?" No matter how she looked at it, Kayla found the place unpleasant.
Grayson also felt this place was awful, nowhere near as good as his school. He thought, 'Looks like I have to behave well for a while, earn some favor with my mom, and then beg her to let Rena transfer back to the kindergarten in my school.'
The first ones to recognize the Vanderbilt family were Jasper's grandma and mom—well, to be precise, they recognized Lauren.
After all, they had been trying everything to squeeze into the Ladies' Association. Even though the Gough family had been deeply rooted in Harrowfell for a long time, they were still seen as upstarts and couldn't break into the most exclusive circles.
That was exactly why Jasper's dad had been making all kinds of sponsorships and donations—to build a name for himself.
Meanwhile, Jasper's grandma and mom had been doing everything they could to mingle with the elite wives of Harrowfell, and the fastest way in was through the Ladies' Association.
Not long ago, the two of them had finally attended a gathering through another lady's introduction, but they were still in the evaluation stage.
When they saw Lauren, they were startled at first, but they quickly plastered on smiles and stepped forward. "Oh my, Mrs. Gough! What a surprise to see you here."
"Yes! Are you here to see us?" Jasper's grandma asked with a smile.
Lauren pressed her lips together, glaring at Jasper's mom and grandma with resentment. When she spoke, her words came through gritted teeth. "Yeah, I'm here to see you."
They weren't blind—they could tell right away that something was off about Lauren's gaze. They thought, 'Wait...What did the guard just say? Whose family has come? Oh right, Serena.'
They exchanged glances, and in each other's eyes, they saw sheer despair.
"I'm here to see you. I want to see what kind of grandson you've raised to bully my granddaughter." Lauren's voice was naturally high-pitched, and when she got angry, it became even sharper, almost piercing.
Jasper's grandma had already guessed, but she still held on to a shred of hope. "May I ask...your granddaughter is...?"
"Serena. Rena." Lauren walked over to Serena. After all this time, she was finally seeing Serena she had been thinking about day and night up close.
Serena still had tears clinging to her eyelashes—it was obvious she had been crying just moments ago.
The thought of her precious granddaughter, whom she hadn't even been allowed to see, being bullied to tears by that brat from the Gough family made Lauren's blood boil.
Lauren turned and glared at the two women even more furiously.
"I heard everything from my grandson. Ever since Rena came back to kindergarten, your Jasper has been leading the others in bullying her. Pulling her braids, stepping on her heels..."
The more Lauren spoke, the angrier she got, and the sharper her voice became. "How the hell are you raising your kids? What reason do you have for bullying my granddaughter?"
"And you!" Lauren turned her fury on the principal and teachers, who were all dressed in the school's uniform.
"We entrust our children to you so you can take care of them. My granddaughter has been bullied for so long, and none of you noticed? Just because that brat is from the Gough family? Well, my granddaughter is from the Vanderbilt family."
The moment those words left her mouth, the whole place fell silent. Those present thought, 'First, there's the Beaumont family—that is already huge. And now, the Vanderbilt family? Wait...Does that mean Serena's father is Dominick Vanderbilt?
Upon hearing this shocking news, Jasper's grandpa felt his mind go completely blank. His body swayed unsteadily.
They were screwed. Completely screwed.
Jasper's dad was so scared his liver trembled. He thought, 'That damn brat—of all the kids he could've bullied, why did it have to be Serena?'
Lauren's furious questioning sent a wave of fear even through the principal and kindergarten teachers.
At first, they had thought this was just some minor, one-time incident. But now, they realized Jasper had been bullying Rena all along.
And they had never noticed. That was a huge failure on their part.
Now, both the Beaumont family and the Vanderbilt family were pursuing it.
Reginald stood beside Lauren, occasionally throwing in a word to calm her down, but the deep, dark expression on his face made it clear just how furious he was.
And Dominick—Serena's father, the current head of the Vanderbilt family, didn't need to say a word. Just standing there was enough to make the Gough family's blood run cold.
Meanwhile, Serena was feeling dazed and lost. She curled up in Nathaniel's arms, blinking in confusion. Deep down, she felt some resistance toward the Vanderbilt family, Lauren, and Reginald.
Back at the hospital, she had seen Lauren making things difficult for Maria and even saying bad things about Paisley.
To her, Paisley was the most important person in the world, and Maria was the second most important. Anyone who treated Paisley and Maria badly—she didn't like them.
So when she saw the Vanderbilt family members now, she wasn't as excited or attached as she was with Nathaniel. Instead, she looked indifferent. But when she spotted Grayson, her expression finally relaxed.
She thought, 'Grayson's here too? Did he bring them here?'
As she was thinking, she suddenly heard Jasper crying again.
She quickly turned to look, assuming his dad was hitting him again. But to her surprise, this time, it was actually his mom and grandma doing the beating.
Serena's jaw dropped in shock. Her eyes went wide—she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Just earlier, when Jasper's dad had hit him, his mom and grandma had been heartbroken and trying to stop it.
'So why are they hitting him even harder than his dad now?' Serena wondered.
Jasper's grandma marched up and smacked the back of his head. "You little brat, bullying your classmates, huh?"
Then, Jasper's mom and grandma teamed up, giving him a mixed-generation beatdown so intense that Jasper bawled like a siren.
The whole playground went silent. Even Serena stopped talking. For the first time, she actually felt a little sorry for Jasper.