Chapter 283 Nothing Happened That Night
Vanessa’s announcement had attracted the majority of the guests to gather around them in the banquet hall.
Courtney was standing in the middle of the crowd and she had to endure stares of pity or contempt at her from all directions. Her ears buzzed as Vanessa’s voice resembled a drum that constantly thumped and amplified her past without any consent.
“Anna more than deserves to die. My guess is that she didn’t even bother to apologize to you when she was dying. Besides, you are affectionate and loyal enough to have attended her funeral. I admire you, Courtney.”
Courtney tightened her fists in an attempt to force herself to calm down. “Vanessa, I do not know what you are talking about.”
Vanessa folded her arms while regarding Courtney, as though she expected the latter’s denial. She cackled sinisterly when she said, “How could you possibly not remember what happened six years ago? It was on your eighteenth birthday. Mr. Hunter gave you a house as a gift, but a jealous Anna arranged for those men to come. Later, you left the country and I suppose that’s because the Hunters didn’t want to expose themselves to such a scandal.”
She was giving a detailed account of what happened whereas Courtney turned as pale as a white sheet.
“Vanessa, what are you doing?” Isaac marched through the crowd to block Courtney from view. “Are you insane? Do you know what you’re saying?”
“I’m merely clarifying the truth. Previously, outsiders have always felt that Courtney hasn’t been loyal and responsible to the Hunter Group. Well, I should at least let them know how horrible the Hunter Family has treated Courtney. The public shouldn’t simply judge others by assuming the moral high ground,” Vanessa asserted eloquently. On the other side, his expression soured significantly as he hissed angrily at her. “Mad woman!”
Then, he turned to face Courtney. “I am sorry. Courtney, please leave first and I will handle the situation here.”
“Isaac, please do not forget that Courtney is no longer associated with you since I am your wife.” Vanessa lost her cool when she saw how considerate he was toward Courtney, rendering her blinded by jealousy and rage at that point.
Isaac had been unhappy with Vanessa for a long time. Now that she humiliated him in front of the crowd, he was livid and shouted at her angrily, “You no longer are my wife!”
“What do you mean? If you are doing this over such a small matter—”
“That’s enough!” Courtney interrupted Vanessa’s tearful howl. She coldly stared at the husband and wife who had fallen out with each other. She had to calm down as well and after careful analysis of the situation, she inhaled deeply while observing her surroundings. “Vanessa, I know that you hold a grudge against me, but you have gone overboard by slandering me. Besides, Anna has passed away for some time now; you shouldn’t casually joke about the deceased. Six years ago, when you came between Isaac and me, you spread rumors among our classmates by claiming that I cheated on him. How dare you use the same trick now! At that time, we were still young and naïve. Shouldn’t you at least look around to see who is present? Do you truly believe that they will believe the nonsense you’re spouting?”
Not only did Courtney deny Vanessa’s claims, but she simultaneously managed to bolster everybody’s self-esteem. Vanessa’s claims had sounded absurd to begin with, so the crowd present merely took it as an exciting distraction. After considering Courtney’s explanation, they disregarded the truth of Vanessa’s claims.
True enough, the guests started to discuss animatedly among themselves after Courtney’s statement.
Vanessa fumed. “What do you mean by me spouting nonsense? You are clearly the one spouting nonsense here. Six years ago, I clearly heard what Anna said. She drugged your liquor to allow somebody to send you to the hotel. There were four to five men waiting for you in the room at that time, and…”
When the crowd heard Vanessa’s words, they erupted and Isaac’s expression also changed drastically. I don’t know much about what happened that night six years ago. I only know that Courtney had an accident, but I didn’t expect Vanessa to know everything about that incident.
The guests were not fools and they started to discuss in hushed tones.
Courtney chuckled in amusement. “Vanessa, you seem to know every detail about that incident. You claim that you know about everything that happened beforehand; well, in that case, as my best friend at that time, why didn’t you warn me that somebody was about to harm me? It has been more than six years now, so why are you talking about it now?”
The color drained from Vanessa’s face. “Well… T-That is because Anna threatened me to keep quiet about it…”
“The deceased can’t speak for themselves. You can obviously blame everything on Anna.” Courtney wore an intimidating expression. “Do you truly believe that you were the only one who learned about the incident beforehand? Did you assume that I was being manipulated and fooled by others without knowing better?”
“What are you referring to?” Vanessa’s facial features twisted into an unsightly expression.
“Nothing happened that night. I caught you doing something disgusting with Isaac and yes, I also consumed large amounts of alcohol. However, Anna’s men did not take me away after that.”
“That’s impossible…”
“Nothing is impossible.” Shay’s voice attracted everybody’s attention when he spoke from the crowd.
Courtney turned and she saw the crowd making way for Shay and Casey. They approached her one by one.
Shay stood beside her and he was much taller than she was. His usual warm and friendly demeanor was replaced with an eerily cold and distant expression as he commented frostily, “I was the one who personally took Courtney away that night. Vanessa, I’ll accept that you are ignorant for what you said earlier since it’s the first time, but if I were to hear it again, I would not be as polite as today.”
“You took Courtney away?” Vanessa obviously did not believe him. However, Casey interrupted her thoughts before she could refute Shay. “Mr. Isaac, the AW Group is the organizer for the Business and Trade Cocktail Party today. Most of us within the industry have not met for a long time, so we are here to reconnect and make new friends. Therefore, I think it is inappropriate for you to air your family’s dirty laundry here.”
Casey’s comments had carried a lot of weight since he was the president of AW Group.
Isaac immediately understood as he answered hastily, “My apologies for being a wet blanket. We had a fight before leaving our home, which is why she is making a scene now because she’s unhappy with me. I am sorry that you all have to witness this. I will handle this at home.”
Vanessa was about to say something, but he fiercely glared at her. “I will meet you at the Civil Affairs Bureau if you dare to utter another word.”
In the end, she had no choice, but to shut up.
Away from the crowd, a figure in a light yellow evening gown observed everything. After scanning the surroundings and confirming that the person she was looking for was nowhere to be seen, she lifted her skirt while making her way to the second floor. The figure seemed to have made up their mind that the commotion had come to an end.
Casey looked around and he saw people bustling around. He found it especially agitating, so he announced loudly, “Adjourned! There’s nothing more to see here. Those were merely trivial family matters.”
The crowd dispersed slowly as Shay held onto Courtney’s hand. He sounded worried when he felt that her hand was icy cold and asked, “Courtney, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” She let out a slow sigh of relief.
Casey focused on their hands and he reminded, “Let’s look for a place to rest.”
Shay agreed straight away. “That’s right. Courtney, there’s a place to rest upstairs. Let me take you there.”
“No need.” Courtney pulled her hand away. “I can go up alone. Please inform Alexander if you two bump into him later.”
Shay scowled at Alexander’s name being mentioned. “Alexander has become a scared cat at such a critical moment. He is nowhere to be seen,” he unhappily commented.
Casey looked up the stairs thoughtfully. “I suppose he’s left to use the washroom. He most probably has no idea what’s going on here.”
“Does he need to use the washroom for such a long time?” Shay rolled his eyes disapprovingly. “My guess is that there’s something wrong with his prostate!”
