CHAPTER 437: CHAPTER 437: KICKING DOWN THE DOOR

Perhaps too shocked, Hugh York and his daughter were momentarily silent.

Noelle was so stunned that she forgot to intervene.

Thus, Dr. Jane on the other end of the line thought Owen Sinclair was still considering whether to sign Noelle, so she was even more detailed than that day.

"Let me see, the specific time was around last October... Yes, October. I performed the surgery for her after returning from my National Day break."

"The reason I remember her case so clearly is because at the time, Noelle was not yet eighteen. According to hospital regulations, these situations needed to be reported to the police."

"So, I called the police, and they came with her mother."

"Later, it was confirmed that both parties consented, but due to age issues, the male party was eventually convicted..."

"It was quite a scandal, which is why I remember it so distinctly."

Dr. Jane said, "Owen, if you’re really going to sign her, you need to handle these matters cleanly."

"Thank you, Ms. Jane."

"Oh! Do we need to say thank you between us? If not for your public welfare project, my department wouldn’t have gotten such good equipment..."

"It’s all what I should do. I won’t disturb you anymore, goodbye."

Owen Sinclair didn’t say much, hurriedly said his goodbye, and hung up.

Indeed, he didn’t refuse to sign Noelle because of Ashley Shaw’s words, nor because Ariana Grant had made complaints about Noelle in his home.

Simply because of Noelle herself.

...

At this moment, Noelle remembered.

On the day of the hotel interview, there was a familiar-looking woman who said she was there to deliver a donation certificate to Owen Sinclair.

At the time, she only thought the woman looked familiar but didn’t think further, not realizing she was the same female doctor who performed her abortion...

The color drained inch by inch from her face until her whole body trembled.

The scandal, publicly revealed, and right in front of her father...

The next second, Hugh York grabbed Noelle’s sleeve.

"Noelle, is what was said on the phone true?!"

Hugh York practically roared, causing Noelle to shrink back instantly.

But this very reaction made Hugh York understand everything in an instant.

It’s true.

They didn’t sign her, not because of any nonsense about Ashley Shaw, but because Noelle was a woman who had had an abortion!

And while still underage!

Yet he, as the father, was completely unaware of it all, and needed to hear it from Owen Sinclair.

Hugh York felt as if someone had stabbed his backbone, making him so furious that he raised his hand and slapped his usually most cherished daughter fiercely.

Noelle took the slap hard, her cheek burning, even her teeth feeling a bit painful.

But she dared not say anything, only letting tears roll down in large beads.

"Crying? You have the face to cry?! You’ve thrown away all the family’s face! Had I known you were like this, I shouldn’t have cared for you from the start! No, I shouldn’t have let your mother give birth to you!"

"Your mother, hiding such a huge thing from me as well!"

"What else are you and your mother hiding from me? Are you taking me for a fool?!"

Hugh York swore all kinds of harsh words.

Yet Noelle dared not cry aloud, only silently shedding tears.

It was finally Vincent Ford who intervened to mediate.

"Speak calmly, don’t scare the child... After all, the matter is in the past, now we just need to understand what’s happening..."

Listening to Vincent Ford’s advice, Hugh York’s face couldn’t hide his embarrassment even more.

He had calculated everything, yet couldn’t foresee the matter would turn out this way.

Moreover, he couldn’t understand how his usually obedient daughter could secretly be this way?

Having a child that he knew nothing about, and already having an abortion.

Hugh York was both furious and heartbroken, and more so, frustrated by her failure to live up to expectations.

But in front of outsiders, Hugh York ultimately managed to suppress his anger.

Making a bigger scene here would only provide Vincent Ford more amusement at his expense.

"Get to my car and wait for me first!"

Throwing out these words, Hugh York decided to handle this situation first and deal with the mother and daughter later.

However, Noelle hadn’t left yet when the office door was suddenly kicked open.

Such force that it seemed the entire door might fall.

All four instinctively turned to look at the entrance, eyes showing varied surprise—who dared to kick the door here?

The door panel was kicked hard enough to create a dent, and the lock was completely broken.

The door opened automatically due to inertia, revealing the face of the door kicker—

A man with tanned skin, clad in black suit, muscular build.

Clearly, he was somebody’s bodyguard.

Seeing the door open, the bodyguard stepped sideways, revealing behind him a face, aged but spirited.

Beside him stood an equally aged man in military uniform.

Both Owen Sinclair and Vincent Ford showed surprise, both speaking almost simultaneously.

"Elder Prescott?"

"Dad?"

The visitors were none other than Elder Prescott and Chief Hayes.

Though Hugh York didn’t recognize Elder Prescott, he instantly recognized Chief Hayes by the badge on his military uniform.

The two also expressed surprise, possibly not expecting Owen Sinclair and Vincent Ford to be there.

Looking at each other, they instantly understood each other’s purpose.

Both were there for Ashley Shaw.

Elder Prescott entered, announcing himself directly before asking Hugh York, "Was it you who took my granddaughter?"

Grand... daughter?

Hugh York now understood their identities, and upon hearing these words, first widened his eyes, then instinctively waved his hand, "I didn’t take your granddaughter, even with a hundred guts I wouldn’t dare... You must be mistaken."

"It wasn’t you who took Ashley?"

Hugh York was half a beat slow, his eyes instantly widened even further.

What Elder Prescott referred to was indeed Ashley Shaw...

The Prescott Family’s fame was such that even Hugh York in Aethelgard had heard of it.

Though they were primarily in business, their connections were broad-ranging, both legitimate and not, illustrating the phrase ’money talks,’ and the Prescott Family exemplified making money breed power.

Simply put, you could offend the Hayes Family, but never the Prescott Family.

But he still couldn’t fathom why Ashley Shaw, an orphan without parents, would be Elder Prescott’s granddaughter?

And looking at Elder Prescott’s reaction, it’s clear he regarded Ashley as his own granddaughter.

Hugh York wasn’t stupid and quickly understood his precarious situation.

Just as he was about to use sweet talk to extricate himself, minimizing this matter as a child’s small misunderstanding, another group of people arrived outside.