Chapter 423 Hunter's Trap
A chilling cold seemed to exude from Hunter's brooding gaze.
Patricia's brows knitted slightly upon hearing Grace's words. She was certain Grace was lying.
Sure, Hunter could be eccentric.
But Patricia could sense his true feelings for her.
They had been together long enough that he'd never truly forced her into anything.
Yet, here was Grace claiming Hunter wanted to divorce her to be with her.
That was utterly impossible.
Shane's gaze fell back onto Hunter, his expression darkening with each passing second.
In front of his granddaughter and a stranger, he was obviously more inclined to trust his own flesh and blood.
Hunter's lips curled into a mocking smirk. He wanted to laugh, but his face was frozen in pain, any slight movement caused an intense discomfort.
"In my heart, it's always been only Patricia," he said. Pausing briefly, he scoffed, "Ha... I could never be interested in you! To me, you don't even compare to a single hair on Patricia's head. To think I'd divorce her for you—you're overestimating yourself."
Publicly humiliated, Grace's face turned beet red, feeling like she had lost all her dignity.
Hunter pressed a hand to his temple, pain forcing him to shut his eyes, as he continued, "The truth will be clear after the blood test!"
Shane's face remained unforgiving.
Especially after seeing the wounds on Grace, the anger he had been suppressing flared up once more.
Even if Hunter had been drugged, acting out of desperation to assault Grace.
The fact remained that he had whipped her with a belt.
The man had some twisted predilections when it came to love affairs.
With Shane staying silent, no one else dared to speak.
The atmosphere turned grievous and tense.
At this moment, Riley spoke up: "There are too many loose ends here. Let's hold off on jumping to conclusions. We'll take Hunter to get a drug test. If his blood comes back positive, that'll prove he's telling the truth."
Grace, head bowed, didn't react to his words and continued to cry uncontrollably.
She looked like a delicate flower battered by the storm—pitiable and endearing.
The sight of her broke Shane's heart and made him so angry that he wanted to rip Hunter's limbs off.
Still, he forced himself to stay collected and nodded, "We'll do it your way, but this matter..."
Before he could finish, a timid young maid stepped forward.
"Sir, young master, I... I have something to say..."
Seeing her, Grace was instantly alarmed, "Angie, why are you here? Go back downstairs now. This doesn't involve you; don't say anything."
Angie looked at Grace, her face full of sympathy, "Please, Grace! Just let me speak!"
Grace shook her head desperately, "You promised me, you wouldn't tell!"
Angie's eyes brimmed with tears as she agonized over something.
Grace feigned indifference, "That's all in the past, let's not bring it up again!"
Shane, sensing something was off, stared coldly at Angie and demanded, "What is it? Is it related to what happened today? Speak up."
"Well..."
Angie hesitated, glancing at Grace and mumbling indecisively.
"Why are you looking at her? I'm the head of this household. Speak now! What is it? If you don't say anything, you're out of here, pack your things and leave."
Hearing she might be thrown out, Angie's gaze shifted away from Grace, and she spoke fearfully, "It's... it's about Hunter! Some time ago, I saw him, disheveled, coming out of Grace's room."
The room fell into a deathly silence upon her revelation.
Shane's fingers and temples began to twitch.
"Go on!"
Angie, with her head down, twisted the hem of her dress nervously and continued, "That night, Hunter tried to force himself on Grace, but she wouldn't have it. I think he tried again today because he didn't succeed before, seizing the opportunity when Grace was alone. There's a saying, 'sometimes, the best place to hide is in plain sight.' He must have chosen today deliberately, knowing the house would be busy, everyone downstairs—even if he made noise, nobody would hear him."
Shane trembled with rage.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Angie's voice quivered with guilt, "Grace begged me not to. She feared that Martin would reject her and given that Hunter is married to Patricia, she didn't want a scandal. So, she pleaded with me to keep it to myself."
She paused, swallowing hard before continuing, "Everything seemed peaceful for a while, and I thought he had given up. I never imagined he would be so twisted as to hurt Grace again."
Tears streamed down her face as she knelt on the floor.
"Sir, it's all my fault, my negligence, I'm sorry! I'm revealing this today because I can't stand the thought of you being deceived by him any longer. He's had inappropriate thoughts about Grace for some time. If he stays in this house, he will surely continue to abuse her."
"Angie..."
Grace sharply interrupted as Angie had nearly spilled everything, feigning an attempt to stop her.
Angie lay prostrate on the floor, overcome with remorse.
"Grace, we can't keep this secret any longer! If we do, your innocence will eventually be destroyed by that scumbag."
Grace fell silent, sobbing uncontrollably as if overwhelmed by injustice.
Only at that moment did Hunter realize that Grace had been plotting against him for quite some time.
Setting him up the last time by having the maid catch him, then deliberately telling the maid he was going to assault her.
And then it led to today.
He was cornered with no way out.
With all the evidence against him and only his word to defend himself, no one would believe him even if he proclaimed his innocence to the heavens.
Shane's eyes reddened, misting over with emotion.
He squatted down, gently stroking Grace's head.
This time, Grace didn't turn away. As soon as he touched her, she threw herself into his arms with a loud cry, no longer weeping silently.
"Grandpa..."
Her call wrung Shane's heart.
"Why didn't you tell Grandpa sooner? If you had, none of this would have happened today!"
"I was afraid... afraid that Martin would scorn me, afraid Patricia would blame me for stealing her husband, afraid that Grandpa and my brothers would blame me... I'm sorry..."
Shane tenderly stroked the back of her head.
"It's Grandpa who should apologize. I failed to protect you and let you suffer such indignities at home!"
After finishing his words, he turned to Riley, "Riley, I want Hunter out of the Koch family estate, effective immediately. He's never to set foot in here again. If I ever see him around, he'll regret it."
"Hah..."
Hunter scoffed, his eyes alight with mockery.
All his meticulous planning, his strategic steps, his ruthless ambition had brought him this far, only to be bitten by the very dog he had raised.
How ironic!
Grace, she had played her cards well. He had clearly underestimated her.
She had more slyness than he'd given her credit for.
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