Chapter 308
After giving Benjamin some medicine, he finally began to recover. Benjamin told Elara that in this household, no one had escaped Abel’s beatings.
Niamh had been whipped by Abel since she was a child. Over time, she began to idolize violence, imitating Abel and rejecting her identity as a woman in an attempt to fit into a male–dominated world. It was as if she believed that by becoming an abuser herself, she could awold being the one beaten.
“Don’t be fooled by how much he dotes on Daphne. I’ve seen him slap her so hard her entire face swelled up. I’ve always thought Daphne’s screws were a little loose because of his beatings.”
“Why did he hit you last night?” Elara asked.
Benjamin lay on the bed, his eyes blankly staring at the ceiling. “He found out I’ve been looking into the whereabouts of my biological parents.”
He turned to her. “He said the Jones family must be inherited by a man. If I go looking for my biological parents, the Jones family line will end with me.”
At this, Benjamin let out a cold, disdainful laugh. “One day, I’ll be the one to kill him!”
They both knew it was just an angry outburst. Benjamin weald never dirty his hands with Abel’s blood. He had no reason to throw away his bright future for someone so unworthy.
Elara spoon–fed Benjamin some honey water. She told him, “We’ll grow strong enough to make them pay dearly one day.”
There was no way Abel didn’t know Daphne had switched the girl for a boy, especially since Benjamin looked nothing like him.
But it was the toxic mindset at play. After Daphne gave birth to Niamh, Abel likely gave up any thought of bringing his eldest daughter back into the family.
“Everyone, please disperse,” Elara said to the employees.
When the executives and shareholders tried to speak to her, Elara reassured them, “T’ll handle this matter properly, don’t worry!”
She knelt on the stage, with Daphne lying beside her, still pretending to faint.
When they met her steady gaze, the executives felt a sense of calm wash over them. In such chaos, Elara’s composure was a lifeline for them.
Elara placed her hand in Theodore’s palm, using his support to stand up.
“Your welcome banquet ended in such a mess.”
The man’s eyes were filled with regret and heartache. He believed Elara deserved to be treated well, that she was worthy of the very best the world had to offer.
Elara responded with a gentle, serene smile, her eyes burning with unmasked ambition and a hunger for power.
“No, I think it was a thrilling spectacle.”
Abel’s authority at Joss Tech had been shattered. While the exposure of his affair wasn’t a fatal blow to a man like him, his violent outburst toward Niamh in front of the media cameras was.
Elara stood on the stage, locking eyes with several reporters. At that moment, an unspoken understanding passed
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Chapter 300
between them.
The reporters had their front–row scoop, and Elara was about to reap the rewards of her carefully laid plans for Jones Group.
An hour later, at the Jones residence, Benjamin was summoned back from the hospital by Abel. Abel tilted his chin, signalling him to tend to Niamh, who was lying on the couch, moaning in pain.
Daphne lay across Abel’s lap, her nose red and her shoulders trembling as she sobbed quietly.
Abel leaned down, his large hand stroking Daphne’s hair as he murmured softly, “Sweetheart, I was wrong. I’m really sorry.”
“Bad husband! So bad!”
Daphne hiccupped between sobs, her small fists pounding lightly on Abel’s thigh.
Benjamin walked past them, putting on medical gloves to examine the wounds on Niamh’s face and body. Before he could even touch her face, Niamh let out a sharp cry of pain.
Benjamin’s expression remained indifferent. “I suggest calling an ambulance right now and taking her to the hospital for a thorough check–up. After being beaten like this, she probably has a concussion.”
Abel snorted. “It’s just a concussion. Let her go to the hospital in a few days.
“Treat her external injuries first. She’s bleeding everywhere, and it’s scaring my sweeth–art.”
Daphne played along and shrank further into Abel’s arms.
Benjamin noticed that Niamh’s bleeding was coming from her mouth. She clutched her cheek, crying, “My tooth got knocked out!”
He then stuffed a few cotton balls into her mouth to stop the bleeding.
Elara sat silently to the side. She looked up and saw Wendy walking over with a glass of water.
It had been a long time since Elara had returned to the Jones residence, so she was surprised to see Wendy still there.
“Mrs Jones, here’s some water.”
Wendy was about to hand the glass to Daphne when suddenly, her foot slipped, and the glass went flying.
