CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61: HE SEEMS TO... KNOW WHO HE IS!

Smack!

A hard slap landed on Serena Sinclair, catching her off guard.

Evan Cole and the teller beside them were also stunned.

The pearl necklace dropped to the floor, scattering everywhere.

Beatrice Sutton swung another slap.

Evan Cole caught her wrist, standing in front of Serena Sinclair.

"Serena, you slut, still dare to say there’s no other man!"

Zoe Lockwood pointed at Serena Sinclair’s nose, asking, "Who is he?"

Beatrice Sutton narrowed her triangular eyes and looked venomously at Evan Cole, "You must be Serena Sinclair’s fling, right? What do you do? Do you know she has a man?... Oh, right, she’s divorced now, saving you two shameless individuals the trouble, so you can brazenly fool around together!"

"Mrs. Lockwood, please have some respect!"

Evan Cole, guessing her identity from her filthy words, frowned and turned to the manager who was hastily making a phone call, "Aren’t you calling someone?"

"Already called."

As the manager finished speaking, mall security squeezed in from outside the crowd.

They formed a wall between Beatrice Sutton, Zoe Lockwood, and Serena Sinclair.

"Don’t touch me!"

The shadow of being taken away by police last time lingered in her mind.

Seeing that it was security blocking her, Beatrice Sutton felt slightly relieved.

Looking at the crowd surrounding the counter, she suddenly shouted aloud, "Everyone come and see, look at these shameless people!"

If Adrian Lockwood hadn’t stopped her, telling her that blowing things up would eventually affect The Lockwood Group, the first thing Beatrice Sutton would do after leaving the police station was to find trouble with Serena Sinclair.

Unexpectedly, holding back her anger, she managed to suppress the issue.

The Lockwood Group didn’t gain anything in return.

Not only did they lose a piece of land being auctioned by the city government, but Adrian Lockwood’s marital issues also became a trending topic.

The stock price dropped continuously for several days.

Now seeing Serena Sinclair and Evan Cole.

Old grudges and new hatreds filled her heart.

Beatrice Sutton screamed madly, "This wench was my former daughter-in-law. Her husband was out making money to support the family, yet she didn’t think about helping out a bit and even dallied with other men during her leisure as a housewife. Now, abandoning her husband and child, she doesn’t even want them anymore and danced around with that man right before me..."

"Just look at her face, you can tell she’s up to no good! She’s following in Lola Monroe’s footsteps! Truly bringing shame all the way home!"

"You know one’s face but not their heart..."

"Leaving the husband aside, not wanting the son either? Never seen such a heartless woman!"

"..."

With half of her face swollen, Serena Sinclair glanced at the corner camera of the counter.

She took out her phone from her bag.

Just pressed the number 1 when the manager came over, "Ma’am, we’ve already called the police; they’ll be here soon!"

"Thank you!"

Serena Sinclair thanked, accepted the ice pack handed by the manager, and turned to Evan Cole, "Evan, you should leave first."

"No need, I’ll stay and help you handle it!"

Evan Cole shook his head, indicating it was fine.

Outside, the crowd of onlookers watched Beatrice Sutton.

Beatrice Sutton repeated the same lines—former daughter-in-law hooked up with another man, abandoned husband and child.

Witnessing drama of affairs and face-offs in public is not uncommon.

Either tearing into each other, showcasing a wild dog-fight scene.

Or one screaming, another explaining, treating everyone around like impartial judges hoping they’ll unravel the truth.

But the scene before us was entirely different.

One person was hoarse, full of various curses and accusations.

The other was serene, neither fighting nor arguing.

"Disperse, disperse," voices arose from the periphery, as a squad of police squeezed through the crowd asking who called them.

"I did."

Serena Sinclair stepped forward, "Hello, please check the City Central Police Department’s dispatch record for number 14; Beatrice Sutton already caused trouble at my company once and was detained for provoking disturbances and defamation."

A young and gentle woman, with half a swollen face, stayed composed and reasonable.

The contrast was evident.

The onlookers seemed to think it over, glancing between Beatrice Sutton, Zoe Lockwood, and Serena Sinclair, and although still murmuring, they weren’t one-sided as before.

Inside the store were the police.

Outside the store were security guards.

The crowd of onlookers quickly dispersed.

Serena Sinclair remained firm in her attitude, refusing mediation, telling Beatrice Sutton to contact her lawyer for any issues.

Beatrice Sutton was taken away still yelling, "Serena, you ungrateful wretch, if I’d known you wouldn’t be loyal, back then I..."

Whatever the police beside her said made Beatrice Sutton’s tirade cease abruptly.

Zoe Lockwood hurriedly made a call to Adrian Lockwood, trying to sneak away, but was caught by the shop assistant, "Miss, could you please settle the bill here?"

"??? Why?"

Pointing at the scattered pearls, Zoe Lockwood gestured towards Serena Sinclair, "She was going to buy this necklace; why should I pay?"

The manager smiled and presented a tablet.

The high-definition camera image was exceptionally clear.

The necklace was already around Serena Sinclair’s neck.

The gloved hands of the shop assistant had already loosened.

Beatrice Sutton rushed up and tore the pearl necklace.

The necklace just fell apart.

"This Australian pearl strand is specially selected and the necklace is worth 280,000. Either you pay for it as destruction of your personal property, or consider your mother damaged someone else’s property publicly, which at this price could mean three to seven years of imprisonment..."

If this counter weren’t of a big brand, Zoe Lockwood would almost suspect the manager colluded with Serena Sinclair to set them up, deliberately framing Beatrice Sutton.

Thinking of Beatrice Sutton just being taken away and not knowing how to deal with it.

And looking at the police car yet to leave.

Zoe Lockwood almost gritted her teeth as she paid the bill, clutching a box of scattered pearls as she left the mall.

In the VIP lounge of the counter, Serena Sinclair only noticed the thin scratch on her swollen face when she looked in the mirror.

Estimating it was scraped by Beatrice Sutton’s ring.

"Are you alright?"

When the white towel with the ice pack was handed over, Serena Sinclair took it and instinctively shook her head, "I’m fine."

Then glancing up, surprised, "Why are you here?"

Wyatt Hawthorne’s face was gloomy, his jaw clenched straight, "Cora called saying she saw someone giving you a hard time, so I came over. Quentin Xavier has already gone to the police station; let him handle the rest."

"Okay."

Serena Sinclair nodded, apologetic, "Wyatt, I’m sorry, I’ve caused you trouble again!"

Wyatt Hawthorne said nothing, his gaze lingered longer on Serena Sinclair’s swollen and injured face, getting angrier the more he looked.

"Go take care of it!"

Dragging Serena Sinclair’s wrist to leave.

Facing Evan Cole coming over with a medical kit from the infirmary.

"Serena, you..."

Saw Wyatt Hawthorne’s sharp and dark face.

Also noticed he was holding Serena Sinclair’s wrist.

The young, handsome man never looked at him from start to finish.

But the impending stormy atmosphere surrounding him was impossible to ignore.

Evan Cole felt like he might... know who he is!