Chapter 118

Isabella stopped looking at Cameron and turned to walk out of the alley. This time, no one stopped her. With a venomous look, Cameron watched Isabella’s retreating figure and angrily shouted, “Isabella, I swear I’ll destroy the Stout family!”

In the dining hall at the Stout residence, the round baroque dining table overflowed with dishes. Hudson and Molly sat there, both with angry expressions, and no one picked up their forks. Molly tugged at Hudson’s sleeve gently, trying to calm him down. “Honey, don’t get upset. It’s not worth the strain on your health.” Yet, deep down, she was delighted. It would be great if Isabella kept frustrating Hudson to the point where he, in a fit of anger, transferred all assets to her and Ivana. That would be just perfect.

Hudson maintained a stern face, not saying a word. At that moment, Ivana walked in from outside. As soon as Ivana got home, she felt the tense atmosphere. Noticing Molly’s signal, her face quickly showed sadness and grievance. She headed to the dining room, softly saying, “Dad, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect Isabella to act like that.”

Ivana obediently sat down at the dining table. Hudson’s face grew even darker, and he slammed his hand heavily on the table. The sudden noise made both Molly and Ivana jump. Hudson’s chest rose and fell as he shouted angrily, “That ungrateful girl! I’ve raised her to this point, and she still dares to mess up my business.”

Molly was thrilled inside, but outwardly she still displayed a worried expression, saying, “Isabella is still young. Once she gets a bit older, she’ll understand your good intentions.”

As expected, Hudson’s temper flared even more. “Still young? Ivana is younger, yet she knows to consider the family business. And what about Isabella? She does nothing but cause trouble all day.” Molly and Ivana exchanged glances and saw the satisfied smiles on each other’s faces.

Molly was about to say something more, but just then Hudson’s phone rang suddenly. Feeling utterly annoyed, Hudson took out his phone and was surprised to see it was Dominic calling. His anger vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning smile as he quickly answered the call, “Hello, Dominic…”

Dominic was so furious that he threw the cup in his hand to the ground. The sound of the cup breaking reached Hudson’s ears, followed quickly by yelling, “Hudson, you’ve got some nerve trying to trick me, haven’t you?”

The sudden accusation left Hudson momentarily stunned. He instinctively looked toward Molly and Ivana, asking in confusion, “Dominic, how could I dare to scheme against you? I must be mistaken?” They had communicated everything clearly in the previous call. It hadn’t been long. Yet here was Dominic, accusing him of plotting. Everything had been clearly stated in the call. Molly and Ivana both heard it, exchanging puzzled glances.

Hudson’s response only fueled Dominic’s anger further, making him roar, “Mistake? You’re the one mistaken! I absolutely won’t let you off. This isn’t over!” Dominic didn’t listen to Hudson’s explanation at all and kept swearing. “I could crush you and the Stout family in an instant. How dare you lay a hand on my son?” Hudson couldn’t get a word in as Dominic continued to shout, “Just you wait, you little brat!”

Dominic was about to explode with anger. He never expected Hudson would actually team up with Isabella. And then they beat Cameron up like that. No wonder Isabella escaped after being drugged like that before. Dominic thought things through. It was obviously revenge. Cameron was ruined then. It looked like the Stout family knew about that land deal all along.

Dominic gritted his teeth in anger. “I’ll see just how strong the Stout family really is.” Molly anxiously took a couple of steps toward Hudson, frowning deeply. She was afraid that Dominic might mess with the Stout family, leaving her and Ivana no chance to secure the assets.

Hudson also looked surprised. He didn’t know Cameron was beaten. He quickly explained, “Dominic, there really is a misunderstanding. I didn’t hit Cameron.” He avoided Cameron at all costs. He couldn’t have gotten into trouble with him. Last time Cameron was badly hurt; going after him again would be asking for trouble.

Dominic sneered coldly, his eyes fierce. “You didn’t? Isabella beat my son like this, are you saying my son’s lying?” It was Isabella. Hudson quickly caught the keywords. Isabella hit Cameron. Hudson suddenly felt his vision blur and fell onto the chair, utterly shocked with anger. He was quite angry.

The worry on Molly’s face disappeared, replaced with a knowing smile. She didn’t know Isabella would be so outrageous, actually hitting Cameron. What she wanted was for Isabella to keep causing trouble, the bigger the better. Hudson would definitely ease Dominic’s anger. After all, as long as it was blamed on Isabella, there wouldn’t be any trouble. There was plenty of evidence to support it.

Ivana seemed to be in a good mood too. Isabella was just having lunch with Xavier at the restaurant before she hit Cameron. Ivana thought Isabella would never be able to come back home.

Hudson clenched his teeth and held back his anger as he quietly explained to Dominic, “Dominic, Isabella has nothing to do with the Stout family anymore. This ungrateful child has long ceased to be my daughter. I promise to catch her and give you a satisfactory explanation.”

This time, it was clear that Dominic wasn’t convinced by Hudson’s excuses. Dominic put his hand on his hip and said, “Do you think I’m a fool? She’s your daughter, and you simply dismiss her as not being part of your family.”

Previously, Hudson managed to smooth things over with just a few words. But the way Cameron was beaten by Isabella, along with what she said, couldn’t be ignored. It was clearly Isabella teaming up with Hudson to plot against the Lane family. The more Dominic thought about it, the angrier he became.

Dominic said in a deep voice, “You are finished.” He vowed to destroy the Stout family, then he hung up the phone abruptly. Hudson’s face turned dark as he slammed his phone onto the table. Instantly, the phone’s screen shattered like a spider web. If Isabella had been there, Hudson would have been tempted to beat her. He cursed coldly. “This rebellious daughter! I’ve been too kind to her, and now she’s causing trouble.”

Molly suppressed her glee, quickly stepped forward with a worried expression, and asked, “Honey, if the Lane family retaliates, what are we going to do?” She was concerned whether the Stout Group would be affected. After all, it was something meant for her and Ivana.

Ivana looked up with a worried expression and said to Hudson, “Yeah, Dad, the Lane family is so powerful. What if they really do something to the company? What will we do?” Neither of Molly and Ivana cared how Hudson was retaliated against by the Lane family. They were only concerned about the company.

Hudson’s expression was stern and cold as he snorted, “No matter how strong the Lane family is, they’re still not capable enough to threaten the Stout Group.” People outside thought the Stout Group belonged solely to Hudson. But in reality, it was the Guzman Group behind it that supported it. The Lane family couldn’t possibly make the Stout Group go under. Molly and Ivana were unaware of this, but seeing Hudson’s confidence, they both felt a lot more relieved.

As long as the company was fine, that was all that mattered. Molly nodded in agreement. “That’s good. But Isabella did go overboard this time.” Ivana quickly chimed in, “Yeah, she just messed up our deal, and now she’s—” Ivana stopped herself, but it was enough to reignite Hudson’s anger. Hudson’s face turned pale as he shouted, “That rebellious girl!” He wouldn’t let Isabella off.