Chapter 191 Slaps
“You!” Daphne was fuming. This shameless girl—just because she was younger and came from the streets, always fighting and arguing—she dared to bully her, a refined noblewoman who hated such crude behavior. Blair, oh, Blair… how could you bring back a daughter like this? You must’ve completely lost your mind!
“Mrs. Bell!”
Hurried footsteps echoed down the hall. It was Nelson Donoghue, the vice principal.
“Why are you here all of a sudden… Ah! Your face! What happened?” Nelson froze when he saw Daphne’s swollen, disheveled look.
The Bells were one of Orica University’s biggest sponsors. DY Group’s headquarters were right here in Slosa. As the city’s top university, Orica had already received ten billion in donations from the Bells. And just recently, Jude, the head of DY, suddenly donated another five billion. Fifteen billion in total. That kind of money was rare to find anywhere in the world. So, the last thing Nelson could do was offend them.
“It was her! That woman dared to hit me!” Daphne screamed, pointing a trembling finger at Tilda. “I want her expelled! I’ll sue her! Call the police, right now!”
“Oh? You sure about that?” Tilda crossed her arms, a cold smile tugging at her lips. “Daphne, don’t forget how Russell acted when he tried to sue me and how he looked after he lost. Don’t forget what happened to the Jenson Group after that. You want to take me to court? Go ahead. I’ll fight you to the end. Worst case, I’ll ask Andy to give me a hand.”
She tilted her head, drawing out her words on purpose. “For him, it’s nothing but a small case. For you, though…”
Just as she expected, Daphne’s face turned darker and darker. Damn it! How could she forget? Somehow, that trash Tilda had managed to connect with Andy Saville, the star lawyer. With Andy backing her, even the worst lawsuits could be flipped around. If this really went to court, even if Daphne barely won, it would not matter, as offending Andy would be suicide. The rest of the Bells would tear her apart, and Jude definitely would not let her off easy either. Whether she pushed forward or backed down, Daphne was stuck in a dead end.
Seeing Daphne trapped like that, Nelson did not even dare to breathe too loudly. Tilda’s identity was just too complicated. Not only was she the Jensons’ real daughter who had been missing for 19 years, but she had also gone head-to-head with Russell in court and won. That lawsuit alone tanked Jenson Group’s stock price and caused chaos everywhere. On top of that, Professor Linscott had even recommended Tilda for the National College Art Competition, where she might actually win the championship. No matter how you looked at it, Nelson could not afford to offend either side. All he could hope for was that they stopped fighting—at least not on campus. Otherwise, he would be the one stuck in the middle.
Daphne took a deep breath, forcing her voice to sound softer. “Tilda, I have something to tell you.”
“Sorry, my time’s way too precious to waste on trash.” Tilda grabbed Una’s hand and turned to leave. “Let’s go.”
“Okay!” Una even shot Daphne a mocking look and stuck her tongue out, making Daphne’s anger boil over. Yet, she could not say a word. She could only watch as Tilda and Una walked away.
Nelson secretly sighed in relief that the fight had not gone further. He was just about to comfort Daphne when…
Smack! Smack!
Daphne, raging with nowhere to vent, turned and slapped him. Twice. That took the edge off her anger a little, and she stormed off. Nelson was confused. He felt wronged and on the verge of tears. Did she even know how much it hurts a man’s pride to be slapped like that? Especially twice? Still, at least the storm had passed quickly. That was something.
Meanwhile, Daphne pulled out her phone to make a call. She did not dare call Ryan—he would just scold her. So, she dialed Preston instead.
“Son, what do we do about this? Tilda’s gotten too powerful. I can’t touch her anymore. If we don’t stop her soon, your sister’s life will be ruined and our family’s reputation will take a huge hit. Our branch of the family can’t afford to be everyone’s laughingstock. Their branch was already weak in the family line. Ryan was not strong enough because he’s just a Bell by name. Daphne had only managed to marry him by sheer luck, basically marrying way above her league. Her family was nothing compared to the Bells. However, the fourth branch had Jude, a once-in-a-century genius. Now, the fourth branch had taken control of the whole family, and even Abram doted on Jude; it's basically handing him all the real power."