Chapter 588
Chapter 588:
Jonathan opened his mouth to argue but only managed a choked sound.
“Honey, don’t bother wasting your breath. Someone as heartless as this little brat doesn’t care about family. Otherwise, she wouldn’t do something so cruel,” Tatiana interjected, her voice trembling with indignation.
She bent over to help Sonya up, and Sonya clung to her, tears welling up dramatically in her eyes. “Mommy, it really hurts p>
Tatiana stroked her hair. “There, there, my poor baby. Mommy will make sure she answers for this p>
Sonya sniffled and nodded, nestled under Tatiana’s protective arm.
“Apologize!” Tatiana snapped at Yelena. “Right now p>
Without so much as a glance in Tatiana’s direction, Yelena turned to Austin. Her expression remained impassive. “Let’s go p>
Jonathan and Tatiana finally registered Austin’s presence and froze. Jonathan’s eyes darted from Yelena to the tall man by her side.
“Yelena!” Sonya sneered. “Where’d you dig up this random guy? He’s handsome, sure—but Roger won’t be too pleased to hear how quickly you’ve moved on p>
Austin quirked an eyebrow at the mention of Roger, but Yelena dismissed it with a casual shrug.
“Just someone irrelevant p>
Almost as if a memory sparked, Austin removed his sunglasses. The moment Sonya got a clear look at his face, the smugness drained from her expression, replaced by open-mouthed disbelief.
It was Austin Barton!
“M-Mr. Barton!” Sonya’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
M𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓊𝓅𝒹𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃
Austin’s gaze turned icy. “Surprised to see me, are you?” His voice carried a quiet warning. “Afraid I’ll mention how you threw yourself to the ground and tried to pin the blame on Yelena p>
“I—I wasn’t…” Sonya stammered.
“There must be some misunderstanding, Mr. Barton,” Jonathan interjected, rushing forward with forced politeness.
Austin’s cold stare shifted to Jonathan. “Funny way of showing a ‘misunderstanding’—jumping to conclusions about Yelena without a second thought p>
Jonathan opened and closed his mouth, searching for a retort, but Tatiana cut him off, her temper flaring. “So what if it’s not a misunderstanding?” she snapped. “Even if you’re the wealthiest man in Kheley, you can’t silence us! Yelena stole our house and the demolition compensation. Are we supposed to just bite our tongues p>
Austin said nothing, still not fully understanding the situation. He turned to look at Yelena, a silent question in his eyes.
Yelena leveled a cool gaze at Tatiana. “So, you’re absolutely sure I’m the one who took your house p>
In truth, Tatiana and Jonathan had only found out about this supposed “theft” the night before. Leo had kept the demolition compensation a secret, hoping to pocket the payout for himself. When that plan failed, he dragged Jonathan into the mess, figuring if he couldn’t have the money, then neither should Yelena—an “outsider p>
“That house once belonged to Archie. It belongs to the Roberts family,” Tatiana snapped. “Why should an outsider like you get it p>
The previous evening, Ava and her son had fed Jonathan the same story, and now Jonathan’s group had rushed over, chasing Yelena all the way out here to confront her.
Sonya, peeking over Tatiana’s shoulder, glared at Yelena. “You’re already filthy rich, yet you’re still after that meager bit of demolition money. And then you show up to see Grandpa with these cheap little offerings p>
She shook her head in mock disappointment. “How do you even sleep at night p>
Yelena shifted her gaze to Sonya, a humorless smile curving her lips—one that never reached her eyes.