Chapter 179: Chapter 167: Punishment 2
"Dad!" Summer Lancaster grabbed Gregory Lancaster’s arm, her expression conflicted. She was afraid of hurting her father’s feelings, but for Yvonne Lancaster’s own good, she had to tell him. "Listen to me. I think Yvonne’s been getting a little too wild at school. Today, I saw her wearing some outlandish clothes, and she was even smoking a cigarette."
"How could that be? Yvonne can be a bit unruly, but she wouldn’t go that far. You must have been mistaken." Gregory Lancaster didn’t believe Summer Lancaster at all. ’After all, she’s the good daughter I raised myself. She might be a bit willful, but she’s a good person at heart.’
"It’s true! I went to ask her about it, and she told me to mind my own business!"
Audrey Adler, standing to the side, couldn’t listen anymore. ’This is clearly just stirring up trouble, trying to sow discord between Yvonne and Gregory.’
"Summer Lancaster, stop talking nonsense! Our Yvonne is nothing like you, always making up lies about people behind their backs. How can you be so vicious?" Anger seethed in Audrey Adler’s chest, and she completely ignored her own circumstances, her words coming out crudely.
At the side, Lianne Vance’s delicate brows furrowed. She coughed twice in displeasure. ’What kind of family is this? Even for a stepmother, that’s going too far. She clearly dislikes Summer Lancaster and is just trying to pick a fight.’
Hearing the sound, Audrey Adler looked over and only then realized Lianne Vance was also present. She sheepishly shrank back, not daring to say another word.
’This woman is not to be trifled with. The two most powerful men in the Ayers Group are her husband and her son. Offending her is the same as making an enemy of the entire Ayers Group.’
Gregory Lancaster was a bit embarrassed. "Lianne, please don’t mind her. My wife is just very protective of her daughter. Besides, Yvonne and Summer are sisters. Sisters don’t hold grudges overnight; they’ll make up by tomorrow. Audrey actually treats them both equally." Gregory Lancaster’s palms were slick with cold sweat. He shot Audrey Adler a glare. ’Some things are fine to say at home, but how could she be so brazen in front of Lianne Vance?’
Summer Lancaster watched Audrey Adler. ’That woman’s terrible nature hasn’t changed one bit. Sooner or later, she’s going to cause some huge disaster. I really don’t understand why Father, a well-read and reasonable man, would marry such an uncultured, shallow shrew. When I think of my own mother... everyone said she was an intellectual woman, gentle and poised.’
As for her own mother’s death, she couldn’t remember it, nor did she know the circumstances surrounding it.
The door was pushed open again. Kenneth Yates strode into the hospital room, his expression imposing. ’Just as I expected,’ he thought. ’All the key players are here. Now the real show can begin.’
Gregory Lancaster was just about to speak when the person following behind Kenneth Yates startled him.
"Yvonne! What happened to you?" Audrey Adler rushed forward, staring at Yvonne Lancaster in shock.
Yvonne Lancaster was drenched from head to toe. Her body trembled as she stared blankly ahead. Upon seeing Audrey Adler, she threw herself into her arms in terror. "Mommy!" she cried, her body wracked with sobs. It was a heart-wrenching sight.
Seeing this, Gregory Lancaster’s heart seethed with anger. ’Who on earth did this to Yvonne?’ Summer Lancaster’s lips parted slightly. ’This looks like Kenneth Yates’s handiwork.’
Gregory Lancaster anxiously rushed forward and picked up a towel to dry Yvonne Lancaster’s dripping hair.
"Did you get into an accident? Or fall into a river? How did you end up in such a state? Your sister should have a hospital gown here. Go change into it first!"
"Summer has no plans to be admitted, so she doesn’t have a spare hospital gown," Lianne Vance said nonchalantly, fiddling with her nails.
Gregory Lancaster’s hand froze awkwardly in mid-air before he slowly pulled it back. Audrey Adler glared at Summer Lancaster, furious.
"Yvonne, tell Dad what happened first. Did you happen to run into your brother-in-law, and he rescued you? You have to thank him properly!"
Yvonne Lancaster cautiously looked up at Kenneth Yates. His dark, menacing gaze, sharp as a sword, seemed to bore into her, scaring her so much that she shrank back into Audrey Adler’s arms. The horrifying memory of what had just happened flooded her mind, making her scalp prickle with fear.
At the fountain in the center of Aurelian University’s campus, Kenneth Yates stood coldly by the water’s edge, dressed in a black suit. He squatted down, his face devoid of expression, and touched the icy water. Then, the corner of his mouth lifted into a satisfied, sinister smile.
With a flick of his wrist, Kenneth Yates tossed Yvonne Lancaster’s student ID into the middle of the fountain. "Go get it. If you don’t, don’t even think about walking out of here alive!"
Yvonne Lancaster’s face was a mask of disbelief. In the dead of winter, going into water that cold wouldn’t be fatal, but it would be enough to half-kill a person. Yvonne hesitantly walked to the edge of the fountain and looked at the rapidly churning water. It seemed to call to her, ’Come on down. We’ll give you a nice welcome.’ Yvonne stood there for a long time, unable to make up her mind. In the end, she was too afraid to go in.
"Brother-in-law, I know I was wrong! Please, I’m begging you, let me go! I’ll never do those stupid things again, I swear! Please!" Fear twisted Yvonne Lancaster’s features, tears streamed endlessly from her eyes, and the tip of her nose was red from crying.
"I never said I’d forgive you. I, Kenneth Yates, don’t permit mistakes. Since you’ve stepped into my world, you have to play by my rules. If you don’t..." Kenneth’s deep eyes looked like an abyss, threatening to swallow her whole.
Before Yvonne Lancaster could even react, Kenneth Yates kicked her into the fountain. The icy shock of the water hit her, and she began to flounder and splash, choking as her mouth filled with water.
The cold man stood on the edge, a dark smile playing on his lips. Then, he nonchalantly turned and walked away.
Yvonne Lancaster frantically waded to the middle of the fountain, but her student ID wasn’t there. Kenneth Yates had never thrown it in at all!
From a short distance away, Kenneth Yates watched her with satisfaction. ’Hurt Summer Lancaster? She has me watching her back. Even if Summer is too soft-hearted to punish Yvonne, I’m no saint.’
