Chapter 296 Affair
The slap left Karen and the crowd in shock.
"What did I see?"
"Karen, who was clearly in the right, got slapped by Ryder!"
"Ryder, are you asking for more trouble?" the onlookers thought.
The crowd was furious.
"Oh my God! Ryder slapped his mother-in-law in public! Imagine how ruthlessly he acts in private!"
"Watch your daughters, guys. Sons-in-law are all ungrateful!"
"Don't think money makes you untouchable. I'll expose you online!"
With the crowd's support, Karen quickly regained her composure.
Though the slap hurt and made her furious, she knew she couldn't appear vicious. She had to play the victim.
Karen covered her cheek and sobbed, "Ryder, I've always given in to you, but this time I won't. If I do, Ernest will suffer!"
"Are you sure you won't back down?" Ryder asked coldly.
Karen stiffened and said, "I won't!"
Ryder raised his hand and slapped her again, swiftly and neatly.
Karen's eyes widened, "You dare hit me again?"
She thought Ryder would be cautious with so many people watching. After all, Ryder and Sarah were now celebrities in Houston, and celebrities cared about their reputation.
But Ryder didn't care about the others' opinion.
He flexed his wrist and sneered, "Didn't your lover Charles say I'm violent at home? I'm just doing what I usually do. I'm an unruly son-in-law. What can you do about it?"
Karen was so furious.
Ryder stepped forward and commanded, "I'll say it one more time. Are you leaving?"
Karen instinctively covered her cheek, feeling scared. She could see Ryder would slap her again if she kept being stubborn. But if she left, her plans would fail.
Karen was stuck.
Charles stepped forward, standing in front of Karen, and warned Ryder, "Ryder! As long as I'm here, I won't let you hurt Karen, not even a finger!"
Ryder smirked, "Upset because your lover is being bullied?"
Charles panicked and quickly explained, "Don't talk nonsense! Karen and I have a proper relationship. I'm only helping because of Ernest, not for any other reason!"
Ryder nodded meaningfully. "So, when you two went out dancing at night and came back late, you were discussing how to take care of Ernest, right?"
The sarcastic tone had a hidden meaning.
The onlookers looked at Charles and Karen, wondering if they had an unspeakable relationship.
Feeling the stares, Karen suppressed her guilt with anger and pointed at Ryder, cursing, "Ryder, it's bad enough you're not filial! Yet you insulted me in front of paralyzed Ernest! I don't want to live anymore! Let me just crash into the wall and die!"
Karen tried to run into the wall at the SR Group entrance, but some onlookers stopped her.
Ryder shouted, "Don't interfere! She has a heart condition. If she collapses, it's on you!"
Hearing this, the people holding Karen quickly backed off.
Ryder smirked at Karen. "Go ahead. Crash into the wall. I'll take the blame. Hurry up, I'm waiting!"
Karen stood there, both angry and embarrassed. Even if she didn't have a heart condition, Ryder would have driven her to one. Why was he so hard to deal with?
Of course, Karen didn't have the guts to actually crash into the wall.
Kyle wanted to step in, but a cold glare from Ryder shut him up. He knew Ryder would find someone to cut off another one of his fingers if he angered him.
Karen, unwilling to give up, shouted, "Stop changing the subject! You caused Ernest's paralysis. Now you're being arrogant and shameless in front of everyone. Do you have any humanity?"
"Shameless? Inhumane?" Ryder's eyes flashed coldly. He picked up the medicine bottle Sarah had knocked to the ground earlier.
He held the bottle in front of Karen and coldly questioned, "What is this medicine? Which hospital did you get it from? And where did you sell blood?"
Karen's eyes flickered with panic, but she stubbornly said, "Why should I tell you?"
"Just tell me! And find those people to confront me. If their stories match yours, I'll publicly apologize and give you a huge compensation. If $1.4 million isn't enough, then $14 million, or even $140 million! Do you dare?"
Karen and Charles' eyes widened with greed.
But Ryder quickly added, "If their stories don't match, then you're deceiving everyone, slandering and insulting me and Sarah. You might think slander won't lead to much punishment, but if I find out the real reason for Ernest's paralysis, what then? Believe me, with my connections, I can uncover the truth and find the real culprit. And I'll send them to prison."
Karen and the others nervously swallowed, their guilt evident as sweat dripped from their foreheads.
Karen gritted her teeth and said, "Ryder, don't think you can talk nonsense just because you have money. Ernest's condition is your fault. This isn't over. Just wait!"
She left these harsh words and tried to slip away.
But as soon as she took a step, a hand suddenly reached out from the crowd and slapped Karen across the face, knocking her to the ground.
A short-haired woman, weighing two hundred and eighteen pounds and wearing gold bracelets and a gold necklace, stepped forward. She put her hands on her hips, looked down at Karen, and angrily scolded, "Karen, you shameless bitch. You're the one seducing Charles!"
The crowd was puzzled.
And Charles remained silent.