As Joshua spoke, he staggered back, spitting a mouthful of blood into the trash can. Among the blood, a small shard of glass was visible. His expression darkened as he tilted the bowl in his hand, revealing more shards settled at the bottom.

“What the hell is this?” Joshua’s voice rang out, firm and filled with anger.

The room erupted into chaos.

Shelia rushed to his side, her voice laced with worry. “You’re bleeding! How did this happen? Let me see where you’re hurt!”

Joshua’s face twisted in fury as his glare shifted toward Georgia, who stood looking more than a little guilty. “Care to explain why there are glass shards in the soup?”

Georgia, as sly as ever, feigned innocence. “Glass shards? How could that even happen?”

Alicia, seizing the opportunity, played along. She took a shaky step back, pretending her legs were weak from the shock. “If Joshua had swallowed— his throat would have been shredded!” She gasped, grabbing his arm with a look of genuine concern. “Did you swallow any? Are you alright?”

Joshua’s tense expression softened slightly. “No.” Shelia exhaled in relief, but her eyes shot daggers at Georgia.

“Useless,” Shelia thought. “Georgia can’t do anything right.”

Ｍｏｒｅ ｕｐｄａｔｅｓ ｉｎ ｇａｌｎｏｖｅｌｓ．ｃｏｍ

Stepping in to smooth things over, Shelia added, “Georgia probably wasn’t paying attention. Maybe something broke and fell into the soup without her noticing.”

Georgia quickly seized on that excuse. “I’m sorry, Mr. Yates. I didn’t mean to. Ms. Bennett pushed me earlier, and I felt dizzy…”

Joshua slammed the bowl down with a loud thud. “You’ve been working here for years!” he snapped angrily. “How could you make such a stupid mistake?”

Georgia, knowing how to manipulate the situation, knelt down, tears brimming in her eyes. “Mr. Yates, I truly didn’t mean to.”

Her kneeling, being an older woman, looked pitiable, and refusing to forgive her might make anyone seem heartless. But Joshua wasn’t easily swayed by such gestures. With Shelia present, he turned coldly to his mother. “Mom, she’s your responsibility.”

Turning to Alicia, Joshua pulled her close, his expression filled with concern as he checked her mouth. “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

Alicia shook her head. “I only took a small sip.”

She played the role of the caring, composed woman effortlessly.

Shelia’s expression darkened, but she couldn’t intervene or separate them.

Still kneeling, Georgia suddenly broke the silence. “Ms. Bennett, did you do it on purpose?”

The room fell silent once again, the tension palpable. Alicia, genuinely surprised, asked, “Georgia, why would you say that?”

Tears streaked down Georgia’s face as she sobbed. “You don’t like me. You pushed me into the pond earlier today, and even then, you weren’t satisfied. So, you secretly added glass shards to the soup to frame me.”

Alicia stood there, speechless. If she could, she would have applauded Georgia’s performance. What a talented actress!

Georgia wiped her face dramatically. “I know I’m not likable, but if you have a problem with me, why not come at me directly? Why give the soup to Mr. Yates? What if something had happened to him?”

Shelia, seizing the moment, jumped in. “That’s why you refused to drink it, Alicia! You were waiting for Joshua to come back so you could hurt him!”

Alicia, her eyes now red, responded calmly, “But it was Georgia who brought the soup.”

“Maybe you hid the glass shards beforehand and threw them in when no one was looking!” Georgia quickly added, fueling the accusation.

Alicia pressed her lips together, her gaze fixed on Joshua. Her eyes filled with tears. “Do you think it was me too?” She tried to make the tears flow, hoping to make her plea more convincing. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t summon the emotions.

Desperate, she resorted to physical pain. Alicia pinched her arm harshly behind her back. The sharp pain worked, causing her to burst into real tears, even letting out a soft sob.

Joshua had never seen her cry like this before. His heart softened instantly, and he pulled her into his arms. “I believe you. I’ll take care of this.”

Alicia leaned into him, continuing her act, sobbing quietly against his chest. “No one here likes me. I should just leave. We can go our separate ways, but please don’t let me be the reason your relationship with your mother is ruined.”

Shelia stood frozen, unable to speak.

Georgia, equally stunned, couldn’t react. They had never seen Alicia put on such a convincing performance before.

Jerald, fed up with the constant arguing, slammed his hand on the table. “Enough! You’re all making a scene over something trivial!”

Georgia, not wanting to escalate things further, quickly stood and moved aside without saying a word.

Jerald rose to his feet, his hands firmly pressed on the table. His eyes locked with Joshua’s and Caden’s. “Both of you, come with me to the study. There’s something we need to discuss.”

Shelia stepped forward, trying to diffuse the situation. “Jerald, maybe we should eat first. Let’s talk after dinner, okay?” Jerald roughly brushed her off. “Stay out of it!”

With his medication freshly taken, Jerald wasn’t as frail as he usually appeared. He marched toward the study, with Joshua and Caden following closely behind.

As the door clicked shut, the room grew eerily quiet, leaving the women alone.

Shelia dropped her facade, her gaze turning sharp as she glared at Alicia. “You’ve certainly gotten craftier since the divorce. No wonder Joshua still keeps you around.”

Alicia calmly wiped away the lingering tears from her face, her voice sweet yet cutting. “Mrs. Yates, perhaps next time, be a bit more careful. If those glass shards had really caused serious injury, it would have been quite the problem.”

Shelia’s expression darkened slightly.

Alicia leaned back, rubbing her temple as a wave of dizziness hit her.

Just then, loud shouting erupted from the study, shattering the silence.