Chapter 558 Self-Knowledge, Not Daring to Climb High
William's heart sank as he bolted downstairs to the living room.
Charlie wasn't home today, and word had it that Evelyn had snuck out to see Edward again and even jumped off a building. Furious and worried, he rushed towards Mugden with Hubert tagging along.
But halfway there, Landon and Ulysses had stopped their car. Ulysses, determined to keep Charlie from breaking up the couple, had even shot out the tires of the Rolls-Royce.
Now, where Landon and Ulysses had taken Charlie and what the situation was remained unknown.
So at this moment, the house was almost entirely occupied by the women.
"Mom, you're not feeling well, take it easy."
Gordon helped the exhausted Isla to the living room sofa, gently comforting her, "Now that we know William has been with Jennifer these past few days, you don't need to worry anymore."
"It's his first time falling in love; he might be very excited and focused entirely on Miss Taylor. Don't worry too much."
Gordon's words seemed comforting, but there was a hidden sarcasm and provocation!
Sure enough, Isla's face grew grimmer, and she coughed twice, clutching her chest, "I see William is really like you said! If I don't step in, does he even see me as his mother anymore, or the Flynn family?"
"You're overthinking it, it's not as serious as you say!" Gordon patted Isla's back.
"You're right, William has seen too few girls and lacks experience in relationships, which is why he's acting so differently!"
Isla gritted her teeth in frustration, "If I don't step in now, he might be taken advantage of without even realizing it. Wouldn't that be my failure as a mother?"
"Taken advantage of without realizing it? I wonder who Isla is afraid might take advantage of your son."
A cold, authoritative voice suddenly interrupted, startling the Flynn family mother and son!
Donna and Joyce walked in hand in hand, Joyce exuding the grace and poise of a noblewoman.
Isla pursed her lips awkwardly and forced a smile, "Joyce, how have you been?"
Among Charlie's three women, Isla has always looked down on Joyce and Susan, but she never dared to disrespect Donna."Isla, I know you care deeply for your son. But you gave birth to a son, not a daughter. Is it appropriate to coddle him like a flower in a greenhouse every day?"
Donna ignored her greeting and sneered, "A good child, if you keep controlling him like this, he might lose his masculinity."
"Besides, you can control him for a while, but can you control him for a lifetime? It's better to relax and enjoy your retirement with your husband, rather than losing the bond between mother and son."
Isla's anger surged, and she stood up from the sofa, "Joyce, I know my son best. What I'm doing is precisely to maintain our bond!"
"William is young and inexperienced, especially in relationships. He doesn't know what kind of girl is truly suitable for him and might not realize if he's going down the wrong path!"
Joyce's eyes reddened with anger, her breathing heavy!
This woman didn't mention her daughter, but clearly insulted Jennifer with every word. How could she tolerate it?
But before she could speak, Donna had already taken over, her eyes sharp and intimidating, "Isla, are you talking about our Jennifer? You'd better think carefully before answering me."
Gordon saw the tension rising and quickly tried to calm Isla down.
But Isla, driven by her love for her son and provoked by Donna, laughed angrily, "Joyce, don't misunderstand. Our family knows our place and wouldn't dare to aspire to the Taylor family's wealth."
"A rich girl like Jennifer deserves a family like the Alexander family."
Joyce's delicate face turned red with anger, her lips twitching.
Donna was also furious, wishing she could grab a handful of dirt from a nearby flowerpot and shove it into this woman's mouth!
"Mom! What are you saying?"
William rushed down the stairs to Isla, his eyes filled with anger, his whole being like a burning flame, "What are you saying? How can you say that?"
Seeing William with a bandage over his left eye and bruises on his face, Isla's heart ached, and tears flowed, "William! What happened to you? Who hurt you like this?"
She reached out with trembling hands to touch William's cheek, but he slapped her hand away.
"If you still want me to call you mom, I don't want to hear those hurtful words ever again!"
"And Jennifer is my woman! I will marry no one but her!
Don't associate her with the Alexander family anymore!"
"William... you, you..."
Isla was humiliated by William's defiance in front of the Taylor family, unable to speak clearly in her anger and shock.
"William! What are you doing?"
Gordon stepped forward to support the unsteady Isla, his face full of concern. "Mom's been worried sick about you, afraid something might happen. Do you even know? You've been sued by the Alexander family!"
Donna and Joyce were stunned!
William's handsome face remained calm, coldly asking, "So what? What does that have to do with you? I can handle it myself."
"Handle it? How? You'll only make things worse!"
Gordon pointed at his face in frustration. "The Alexander family is suing you for intentional harm. They have hidden tricks that are hard to defend against. Fighting them is like hitting a rock with an egg. And you know better than anyone how you got those injuries!"
"Gordon! Shut up!"
William lunged forward, grabbing Gordon's collar and lifting him with one hand. "If you truly care about Mom and Dad, you shouldn't have told them about this! Don't think I don't know what you're up to. If you have grievances, come at me! If you dare to target Jennifer and her family... I won't let you off!"
Isla instantly understood, trembling all over.
William had offended one of the four major families, the Alexander family, and was likely to be severely targeted!
Even if the Flynn family had supported the Taylor family for years, it was just a pawn to be discarded by KnightSpear Group. Even if Charlie and Elbert were close, if something happened, how could they side with William?
And the reason William was in such trouble was all because of Jennifer?
Damn woman!
Why did she have to ruin William?
In her fear, Isla felt a crushing pain in her heart, sweating profusely, and weakly collapsing into Gordon's arms.
"Not good! Mom's having a heart attack!"
Gordon quickly took out special medication from his suit and fed it to Isla, shouting at William, "Call an ambulance!"
Even though William wanted to stay with Jennifer, he couldn't ignore his mother's condition and took Isla to the hospital.
After the intense family drama, the large living room felt heavy and oppressive in its silence.
Joyce clutched her clothes with her right hand, holding Donna's arm with her left, unable to speak for a long time.
"Joyce, are you okay?" Donna rubbed her cold hand.
"I'm fine." Joyce's voice was dry and trembling. "Though the Alexander family is despicable, the Flynn family doesn't seem much better!"
Donna shook her head in frustration. "Charlie helped them in the past, thinking they were truly grateful. But now, it seems we've raised a bunch of ingrates! William is a good man, but his parents and brothers... I'm afraid Jennifer will be bullied if she marries into that family!"
"Donna, don't say that."
Joyce closed her eyes with tears, shaking her head in self-blame. "It's not William's fault, not anyone's fault. It's my fault for being incompetent, unable to give my daughter a good marriage."
But they didn't know.
In the dark corner upstairs, Jennifer had been hiding, witnessing everything.
She heard the Flynn family's hurtful words and saw William's unwavering defiance for her.
And because of this, her heart ached like a knife.
Jennifer leaned against the wall like a stumbling old person, step by step into a dark corner, crouching down and hugging her knees, wanting to hide herself.
"Jennifer? Jennifer? Is that you?"
Susan followed the sound and found Jennifer curled up, crying uncontrollably. Without children of her own, her maternal instinct surged, and she hugged Jennifer tightly, her eyes red.
"Jennifer, why are you crying here alone?"
Jennifer's tearful, sorrowful face made Susan's heart ache. "Aunt Susan, do William and I... have no chance? Isla seems to hate me... Am I really that bad?"
"Nonsense! Don't belittle yourself! That Flynn family woman has no taste; she can't see you're a treasure! You're the best girl!"
Jennifer, initially sad, was amused by Susan's bold words, breaking into a smile.
"That's right, our Jennifer looks best when she smiles!" Susan wiped her tears but still felt uneasy.
After sending Jennifer back to her room, Susan couldn't stop feeling frustrated.
So she took out her phone and called someone she hadn't contacted in a long time.
A former gang member, adopted by her father, named Cody Lopez. He used to be a lackey; now he's a gang leader.
"Susan! I can't believe I'm getting a call from you in my lifetime. Am I dreaming?" Cody was almost in tears.
"Cut to the chase, I need you to beat someone up." Susan, as always, wasted no words.
"Who?"
Susan spat out the name with venom, "Gordon!"
Cody didn't ask for details. "Got it, the usual rules?"
"The usual rules, just don't kill him, but beat him to a pulp!"
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