Chapter 182 Decisions
Vivian draped her luxurious silk shawl gently over Fiona's shoulders, "The wind can make the nights quite chilly."
Fiona was a bit irritated but didn't want to cause a scene in public with Vivian.
"Thank you." She nodded at Vivian, then turned and walked towards her car.
Vivian stood there, quite satisfied with herself. The shawl was a gift from Harold. She would send Harold to retrieve it from Chelsea. She was convinced her handsome son would surely charm Chelsea! This unfolding situation could resolve her son's future.
Vivian quickly returned to the banquet hall, just in time to see Sophia losing her composure.
"You've all been deceived by Chelsea, she's a complete villainess, scandalously promiscuous, with a bunch of illegitimate children whose fathers are unknown. I just overheard her on the phone with a man she's keeping!"
"Rubbish!" Mr. White spent his life in high regard and was embarrassed to hear his granddaughter publicly defame someone. He strode over and gave Sophia a resounding slap.
Mrs. White, heartbroken, hurried to protect her.
"Grandma, she started it by calling me an idiot!" Sophia sobbed, clutching her cheek, utterly aggrieved.
"Enough." Mrs. White said through clenched teeth, pulling Sophia away.
Antony's face contorted in anger.
He turned to Darwin, "Darwin, I apologize for this unsightly scene."
Darwin's expression was cold, his tone even chillier, "It seems your sister is not in her right mind."
Antony was taken aback.
Darwin looked at him, "Someone who is mentally unwell should be in a psychiatric facility. I wouldn't mind helping the White family handle this."
"Darwin, my sister isn't insane, just a bit willful."
"Does it sound like I'm negotiating?" Darwin's tone was gentle, yet each word he spoke seemed carefully measured.
Antony froze. "Why?" he asked.
"No reason." Darwin's words carried a heavy air of finality, "The White family should be able to handle it within 24 hours."
Antony knew Darwin well. His decisions were the law. And he was the only one who could change that decision.
"That's enough time." Antony managed to say, his voice strained.
"In case the White family isn't sure which hospitals are good, I'll provide a list. You just have to choose."
This effectively cornered the White family, eliminating any pretense they might have had.
"Th-thank you..."
"You're welcome." Darwin patted his shoulder. "And thank you for inviting me to this dinner. As for the legal fees, I'll have the legal department redraft the contract to double them."
Such peaks and valleys, happiness and heartache, were all parts of life.
Antony watched Darwin's retreating figure, processing everything belatedly.
"Was it for... Chelsea?"
All the memories of the evening suddenly connected in his mind.
Darwin hurrying downstairs, was he going for Chelsea?
Because he was keeping an eye out, he could appear just in time to help her.
The reason he had gone upstairs must've been seeking Chelsea too, hence him swiftly following her down.
Darwin, known to be cold-blooded, actually defended Chelsea publicly. All these clues were coming together.
His firm decision to commit Sophia to a mental institution, wasn't this a way of avenging Chelsea?
The dinner was hastily concluded due to Sophia's antics.
The White family was concerned about the disgrace this event caused, and even if Chelsea didn't mention it, it would reach Janna's ears.
But what they didn't expect was that things could get even more distressing.
"Darwin?" Mr. White looked up in surprise, "Why would he get involved?"
"What else could it be, because of Chelsea..." Antony's wife muttered under her breath.
"He knows Chelsea from before?" Mrs. White was equally astonished.
"Grandpa and Grandma, don't you ever go online?" Antony's wife pulled out her phone, found a video, and handed it to the White couple.
It was a video montage of Fiona and Darwin.
Though the Fiona in the video was stylistically very different from Chelsea, their facial features were strikingly similar.
Antony watched alongside them, his forehead beading with sweat.
"I knew Chelsea looked familiar... She resembles Darwin's former secretary so much..."
"Darwin already has a prior incident of using a double, and now with Miss Woods having perished in a plane crash, a woman who looks almost identical to her has appeared. He's probably..." Antony's wife concluded her summation.
Mr. Solomon must want to play out the drama of loving a substitute again!
After watching the video, Mr. White felt a pang in his chest, immediately clutching it in agony.
"Quick! Quick! The nitroglycerin!" Antony exclaimed in alarm.
Having taken the nitroglycerin, Mr. White gradually began to feel some relief.
"Grandpa, what should we do now?" Antony's cousin asked, "We can't just offend the Rhoads family and Darwin over some woman whose fate is unknown, can we?"
"Exactly, our design firm has just found its footing and begun to turn a profit..."
"Right, and it's clear that Sophia is the one in the wrong. Slinging champagne was bad enough, but to insult Chelsea publicly, in front of so many people, word will surely reach Janna. And though Janna may be old, her rage is no less than Darwin's!"
"Enough!" Mr. White barked sharply.
The others looked on with dissatisfaction but no one continued the topic.
Tears streamed down Mrs. White's face.
Mr. White didn't look at her. Looking downcast, he asked, "Antony, what do you say?"
Sophia was, after all, Antony's sister.
But, as someone who had navigated the treacherous waters of fame and reputation, he was acutely aware that however formidable he was, people like Darwin and Janna could bring down the empire he had built with just the flick of a wrist.
The White family could no longer provide him protection.
In fact, to some extent, his relatives had become a burden.
"Grandpa, it's not that I'm insensitive toward Sophia, but she's been indulged to the point of being unruly." Antony spoke gravely, "This isn't Darwin asking us to negotiate; he's giving us an ultimatum: Hand over Sophia or have the entire White family will face ruin. That's the ultimatum he's giving us."
The expressions on everyone's faces grew even more troubled.
"Then call her out here!" the cousin shouted, "It's about time her character was tempered!"
"If Grandma Rhoads asks later, we can simply say it's punishment for her humiliating Miss Chelsea, that way we can answer to both sides." Antony suggested.
Mrs. White was reluctant.
But the future of the entire White family versus the safety of just one person, Sophia... It just seemed like an obvious choice.
"Let's proceed with this plan." Mr. White decided to play the villain.
Having said his piece, he got up to leave.
However, overcome by a sudden rush of distress, he swayed unsteadily upon standing and then collapsed.
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