Chapter 549
Chapter 549:
“I’m the victim here!” Cheryl was still shrieking, her voice reverberating down the sterile corridor. “That woman pushed me! I want to press charges p>
Isolde said nothing. She sat rigidly on the bench while Ellyn, her hands trembling, pressed an ice pack provided by a nearby nurse against her daughter’s cheek. The skin had already turned an angry red, swelling rapidly beneath the cold.
Grayson stood apart from everyone. He had retreated to a large window at the far end of the hall, his back to the Juarez women, his phone pressed to his ear. His voice was low and clipped as he spoke to his crisis PR team, working to contain the story before it could ignite.
Belle, seeing her mother’s hysteria accomplishing nothing, walked hesitantly toward Grayson’s silhouette.
“Gray,” she began, her voice unsteady. “Mom was only acting out of love for me. Can we please keep the police out of this? This is going to be terrible for InnoTech’s stock price p>
Grayson ended the call with a sharp tap on the screen and turned. The look in his eyes was colder than the winter glass behind him.
“The stock price,” he repeated, his voice dangerously soft. “Your mother publicly assaulted my ex-wife — in a hospital — and what you want to discuss with me is the stock price p>
Belle stammered. “But Isolde isn’t seriously hurt p>
A humorless smile touched Grayson’s lips. “Not seriously hurt? Does she need to be dead for it to qualify in your eyes?” He took one deliberate step closer, his presence entirely overwhelming. “Effective immediately, I am withdrawing all legal support from InnoTech. You are on your own p>
𝗥𝖾𝗮d f𝗿𝗼𝗆 𝗒𝗼𝗎r рho𝗻e on
Belle looked as though the floor had dropped from beneath her. “Without the Lancaster legal team, my mother will be prosecuted p>
Grayson smoothed his shirt cuff with a single, unhurried gesture of finality. “That,” he said, “is a lesson she deserves to learn p>
Two uniformed NYPD officers walked into the waiting area. One of them scanned the scene with practiced efficiency.
“Who called 911 p>
Isolde stood. She lowered the ice pack, revealing the swollen, discolored side of her face. The contrast with her composed expression was striking.
“I did,” she said, her voice clear and steady. “My name is Isolde Carson p>
The officer’s eyes moved briefly to her injury. “Please describe what happened, ma’am p>
Isolde recounted the assault with methodical precision — concise, factual, without embellishment. She identified Cheryl as the attacker and pointed to the black dome of the security camera mounted on the ceiling above them.
Watching the officer take notes, Cheryl finally broke. “No — I didn’t — it was mutual! Her mother pushed me first!” she shrieked, thrusting a trembling finger toward Ellyn.
Ellyn shrank back instinctively.
Isolde stepped in front of her mother without hesitation. “My mother acted in defense after I was struck. The security footage will establish the sequence of events clearly p>
The officer nodded, his expression grim. “We’ll pull the footage.” He turned to Cheryl. “Ma’am, you’ll need to come with us to the precinct to give a statement p>