Chapter 183 The Show Has Just Begun
Alyssa had always been a candid woman, unafraid to voice her thoughts. She had little tolerance for individuals like Nancy, who thrived on hypocrisy. Not one to hold her tongue, Alyssa retaliated without hesitation.
"Please," Alyssa sneered. "You dare to refer to yourself as family? Have you ever heard of a family that circulates rumors about their own kin? Don't pretend I'm unaware of the way Reese has been treated under your roof. She was raised in the countryside, for heaven's sake. If you truly harbored familial love for her, why didn't you take her in and provide for her?"
Alyssa's words caught Nancy off guard, leaving her mildly embarrassed. She had never anticipated Alyssa to be so well-informed. Dahlia was known to be a gaming addict, a figurehead director at the company who spent her days on the internet. Nancy had never taken her seriously, but Dahlia's words were now piercing through her facade with unerring clarity.
Dahlia, now cornered, couldn't admit to their true motive of slandering Reese. Instead, she deflected the conversation towards familial love. Without a satisfactory explanation, they wouldn't be leaving the Flynn residence anytime soon, at least not in Malcolm's eyes.
Suddenly, Dahlia broke into tears. Her pitiful appearance managed to evoke some sympathy from those present.
"How can you think so lowly of us?" she wept. "We're family. When we heard about Malcolm's 'issues' and the rumors about his violent temperament, Mom and I were beside ourselves with worry. We used Grandpa Flynn's birthday as an excuse to check on you. We wanted to ensure Malcolm was treating you well. Seeing his trust in you eased our worries, and yet here you are, accusing us of ulterior motives. It's heart-breaking."
"If that's the case, then I owe you an apology. Please, don't punish the innocent. They're not at fault; they only love you."
Reese couldn't help but laugh, her laughter echoing throughout the hall. Dahlia and Nancy squirmed under the sound, their embarrassment heightening as if Reese was ridiculing their poor acting.
Nancy's face hardened. She thought to herself, Reese must have lost her mind. In an instant, Reese's smile disappeared, her calm demeanor replaced by a dark, terrifying expression. Her penetrating gaze locked onto Nancy and Dahlia, her chilling aura causing their hearts to tremble.
Rising from her chair, Reese towered over the two women, her presence undeniably commanding.
"Since my dear sister and mother are so concerned about me," Reese began, her words laced with sarcasm, "I've been considering planting some trees in the backyard this weekend. We're short on staff—would you mind lending a hand?"
Dahlia recoiled at the request. "If you're short on help, hire more workers. There's no way Mom and I will stoop to such demeaning, dirty labor."
Alyssa couldn't suppress her mocking laughter. "Didn't you just claim that you're all family, all looking out for Reese? Yet now you can't even fulfill such a simple request. It's clear to me that you're trying to defame Reese, hoping she'll divorce Malcolm so you can marry into the Flynn family. Dream on! Take a look in the mirror—do you think Malcolm would ever spare you a second glance?"
Alyssa's biting words hit Dahlia like a slap in the face, especially in front of an audience. Humiliated, Dahlia had never felt more disgraced in her life, and she didn't realize that this was just the beginning of her misery.
She didn't dare to cause a scene or confront them. The Flynns were not a family to be trifled with, and Reese seemed to have cast a spell over them with her influence.
Reese smiled cruelly at Nancy, her assertiveness overwhelming both her sister and mother. Fear took root in Nancy's heart, her mind racing with dreadful possibilities. Once trapped in a vicious cycle of paranoia, escape was impossible.
Her hand shook uncontrollably, gripping Dahlia's tightly. It was undeniable that Nancy's anxiety was affecting Dahlia deeply.
Sensing that she had made her point, Reese turned to Nancy again. "If you can't prove my innocence, Mother, then I have no choice but to deal with this justly."
Her implication was clear: if they didn't comply with her demands, they could forget about leaving the Flynn family behind.
Backed into a corner, Nancy had no choice but to find a way out of the web of lies she had spun. She immediately adopted the guise of a loving mother, reaching out to take Reese's hand. But Reese was not one for physical contact with those she wasn't close to. A sharp glint in her eye made Nancy retract her hand in a fluster, an awkward smile accompanying the gesture.
"Don't you realize how good I've been to you, Reese? If I didn't care, I wouldn't have married you into the Flynns, such a respectable family. Look at the luxurious life you're living now—a fortune that others can only dream of. As for trivial tasks like weeding and planting, leave them to your sister and me."
At Nancy's agreement, Dahlia's eyes bulged with disbelief. "Mom, have you lost your mind? How could you agree to her outrageous demands? She clearly—"
"Be quiet!" Nancy hissed at Dahlia, fearful that Dahlia might reveal something that could give Reese ammunition. She just wanted this whole affair to be over quickly.
Seeing this, Reese's lips curled into a smirk as she told the staff unabashedly, "Take them over there, and make sure to explain what they need to do."
The staff had overheard Nancy in the hall earlier, belittling their jobs as menial, and it had stung their pride. Now with Nancy in their clutches, they thought vindictively, there would be no sweet outcome for her today. They glared in Nancy's direction.
"C'mon, Nancy, you're with me," one of the staff said with a sarcastic undertone. Nancy, dragging a very reluctant Dahlia, followed.
Silva watched the scene unfold, not wanting to get dragged into the mess. Just as he was about to quietly slip away, Reese caught him.
"Mr. Morris, since you're Dahlia's boyfriend, it wouldn't be right for you to leave your girlfriend and future mother-in-law to fend for themselves, would it?"
Silva hadn't expected Reese to play her cards so well. Dahlia, with her prickly demeanor, was so easily managed by Reese's smooth handling.
He turned around with an awkward chuckle. "Maybe I should sit this one out. I'm not really the tree-planting type."
Reese raised an eyebrow, her face brimming with schadenfreude. "Can you really bear to see your girlfriend working all by herself? If that's the case, you're hardly fulfilling your role as a boyfriend. If word gets out, I'm afraid the honor of the Morris family might be at stake."
Silva clenched his teeth, frustration building inside him. Reese was infuriatingly adept; a few words from her had left him nowhere to turn.
Before Silva could respond, Reese turned to the staff. "Take Mr. Morris with you too," someone suggested with a sly grin. "He's always been sweet to his girlfriend. I doubt he's got the heart to be cruel."
Silva's face twisted in discomfort, and anger welled up inside him, turning his complexion a mix of red and pale—an oddly captivating sight. In the end, he had no choice but to begrudgingly follow Dahlia and the others.
Grandpa Flynn, frail and weak, understood that Reese's incident was just a misunderstanding and refrained from pointing fingers.
Addressing his relatives and friends, he said, "I'm not feeling well today. I think it's best if everyone heads home to rest. Malcolm, Alyssa, would you mind seeing them out?"
After Malcolm and Alyssa had ushered everyone away, the backyard was left with only Dahlia and a few others, following the staff's directions. Dahlia, who had dressed up to catch Malcolm's eye, found her skirt dirtied and her high heels
She was fuming, ranting and raving in the backyard.
Reese was in the foyer, about to head out, when Malcolm stepped forward.
"Sweetheart, where do you think you're off to?"
A mischievous twinkle lit up Reese's bright eyes.
"Did you think I'd let them off so easily? Just you wait, the show's only beginning."
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