Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 254 - 253 Public: Mrs. Hale, Refuses to Give Status (4 updates, see brief for details)

Chapter 254: 253 Public: Mrs. Hale, Refuses to Give Status (4 updates, see brief for details)

Zoe Bell sat in the car, feeling both anxious and furious.

She had chosen to take the money from Ryan Wells, of course, with consideration. After all, he had said himself that he had a psychiatric certification, and should he produce it after being caught, he would likely be acquitted in court.

It made more sense to take the compensation first.

The Wells Family knew their son would eventually cause trouble and had long prepared a way out for him.

A psychiatric certification?

Such a scheme was incredibly malicious and malevolent.

"Mr. Hale, why go to such lengths for a gold-digging woman like her and completely fall out with us? After all, we let you off the hook back then," Mrs. Wells gritted her teeth.

"You’re saying you let me off?" William Hale scoffed lightly.

"Stop talking! Just shut your mouth," Johnson Wells panicked.

Digging up the past was something their family could not afford.

Meanwhile, the direction of public opinion online was also one-sided.

There were victims coming forward who had been bullied by Ryan Wells, saying they’d been drugged and violated by him. The Wells Family had paid them a million after and even found them jobs. She had compromised back then.

Soon, more anonymous victims began posting.

Most had documented times and places, and some even showed their transactions with the Wells Family.

At this point, a lot of people were going down...

The Hale Family, the Payne Family, the Hugh Family, and the friends of William Hale.

Public opinion shifted like the wind, and the Wells Family’s underlying secrets were laid bare, leaving nothing unseen.

[With the things he has done, it wouldn’t be too much if he were hacked to pieces. The Wells Family is really good at pretending, making it seem like Ryan Wells is the victim.]

[Absolutely shameless. It’s precisely because of parents who spoil him like this that he has become what he is today.]

[People like him deserve to die.]

[Can they leave already? I’ve been stuck in traffic for an hour since getting off the plane.]

...

Johnson Wells saw the public’s opinion online and wanted to pull his wife away.

But Mrs. Wells was unwilling.

"Mr. Hale, that Zoe Bell is no good person. She must have seduced my son into wrongdoing. You cannot believe her words. It takes two hands to clap in such matters!" Mrs. Wells spoke without filtering her words.

"You’re saying she seduced your son?"

"Isn’t it? She looks weak and frail, yet she extorted thirty million from us!"

Reporters: (O_o)??

Even Zoe Bell was speechless.

The Wells Family, just like Ryan Wells, must be crazy.

That money was clearly offered by them!

William Hale gave nothing away, merely signaling Zac Cruz with a glance.

Zac Cruz stepped forward.

He raised his hand and slapped Mrs. Wells hard across the face.

"You..." Mrs. Wells was stunned.

Before she could finish speaking, another slap came at her face.

After three solid hits, Johnson Wells snapped back to reality and tried to intervene, and that’s when Zac Cruz stopped.

"William Hale, you’ve gone too far!" In Johnson Wells’ eyes, although William Hale was fierce, he was, after all, a junior. To act so brazenly, striking his wife in public, was a complete lack of respect.

Zac Cruz chuckled lowly: "Mr. Wells, I was the one who acted, it has nothing to do with my boss."

"I just wanted to tell her..."

"One slap not only claps loud! It can also smack with a real smack!"

"Accept the consequences when your son does wrong. Don’t slander the victim, acting like a rabid dog biting people everywhere."

Zac Cruz daring to strike was certainly William Hale’s doing, but since he took full responsibility, it only frustrated Mr. and Mrs. Wells further, leaving them both anxious and irate without recourse!

At that moment, because of the traffic jam, the traffic police and officers who had arrived were starting to disperse the crowd. Reporters were busy taking photos, and the officers, upon seeing Mr. and Mrs. Wells, were both troubled and helpless.

The Wells Family had been searching the entire city; frequent calls to the police were made.

Nearly every police station in the jurisdiction was familiar with them.

"Mrs. Wells, we understand that you’re distressed due to your son’s disappearance, but this is an airport. Your behavior is seriously illegal. Let’s discuss this at the police station," a polite officer counseled.

"William Hale must come with me," Mrs. Wells insisted, teeth gritted.

The officer was speechless.

She kept saying Ryan Wells’ disappearance was related to William Hale but had no evidence. Now she wanted to take others to the police station merely based on her subjective guesswork, expecting everyone to revolve around her. That’s simply not going to happen.

"Mrs. Wells, stop causing a scene and come with us. Otherwise, we’ll have to take forceful measures."

At this, Mrs. Wells started to shout, claiming William Hale was conspiring with the police.

She looked very much like a shrew berating the street.

William Hale stated plainly, "I’ve said before, you can have the police arrest me anytime if you have evidence. If not, with your harassment and defamation of my family, I won’t let this matter go lightly."

His implication:

Even if the Wells Family backed off now, William Hale would not likely let them off the hook.

Upon hearing this, Johnson Wells quickly grabbed his wife, "Enough, calm down!"

"Calm down? My son has been missing for so long, dead or alive I know not! What do you want me to do!" Mrs. Wells saw William Hale as her last lifeline.

"Let’s go home first." Johnson Wells tried to pull away his wife.

But Mrs. Wells refused to leave.

After some tugging and pulling, Johnson Wells was driven to desperation and lashed out with his hand.

"You hit me?" Mrs. Wells covered her face, "Even you hit me?"

"It’s because you always spoiled him too much; that’s what led to the situation today."

"Was it just me who spoiled him? Didn’t you spoil him too?"

The pent-up emotions with nowhere to vent were now spilling out all at once.

The couple actually started fighting in the street!

Even the officers trying to intervene were impacted by the melee, and the situation became extremely chaotic.

At this moment, the insurance company had also arrived at the scene to take photos of the accident. William Hale was about to get into his car when several reporters surrounded him.

They hardly ever saw William Hale, as he rarely made public appearances and almost never accepted interviews.

"Mr. Hale, can you tell us about your partnership with C Corporation?"

"I’m sorry, we can’t disclose any work-related matters. Should you have any questions, please consult our company’s public relations department." Zac Cruz frowned, his peripheral vision catching sight of Mrs. Wells’ torn clothes, and he couldn’t help but click his tongue.

This couple really fought viciously.

"Since work-related matters are off-limits, what about your personal life?" A bold reporter nearly shoved a recording pen in William Hale’s face.

"You just said they were slandering your family? Who are you referring to?"

"What exactly is your relationship with Miss Bell?"

...

Almost everyone thought Zoe Bell would eventually be dumped by him, and they were waiting to mock her, not expecting that they would still be together after so long.

William Hale raised an eyebrow and glanced at the questioning reporter.

His gaze was wolfish.

That kind of scrutinizing and intimidating stare from someone in a position of power made the reporter’s heart pound. He was about to retract his recording pen when he saw William Hale smile, which was rare, and open the car door.

Zoe Bell’s face was immediately exposed to the crowd.

It turned out...

She had been in the car all along.

William Hale simply said with a smile, "I guess I haven’t worked hard enough. We’ve been married for so long, yet Mrs. Hale isn’t willing to go public and give me a proper status."

"Isn’t that right, Mrs. Hale..."

Mrs. Hale?

In one phrase, it was as if thunder struck, leaving everyone present absolutely thunderstruck.

They had guessed that so far, at best, they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

But to be married?

And based on his tone, they had been married for more than a day or two.

Even Mr. and Mrs. Wells, who were fighting, stopped.

Mrs. Hale?

Zoe Bell was actually married to William Hale.

Their certainty grew stronger:

Their son’s disappearance must involve William Hale’s hand.

But they were equally desperate, knowing that William Hale would never divulge the truth to them.

Zoe Bell took a deep breath when the reporters were about to aim their cameras inside the car, but William Hale had already gotten in, closing the car door and cutting off all the prying eyes outside.

---

The news that William Hale and Zoe Bell were married instantly blew up the entire Circle of Capital City.

"Damn, Mr. Hale is serious."

"He never had women around him before, and suddenly Zoe Bell popped up. I found it unusual. Mr. Hale is a real man. It’s not just for show. When he has a target, he’s aiming for marriage."

"I always felt Zoe Bell wasn’t good enough for him."

"Go away, who cares about being worthy or not, as long as they like each other."

"People are saying they’ve been married for a long time. The Hale Family must know. If the Hale Family hasn’t said they’re not a good match, why should others worry?"

"I’m afraid the Bell Family in Greenland must be fainting now at this news. Their previously unwanted foster daughter has now become Mrs. Hale."

...

At this time, the Old House of Hale Family was turned upside down.

William Hale did not inform his family before going public. Old Sir Hale, having heard his grandson was blocked at the airport, was quite worried and thought about sending Logan Hale with some security to the scene.

Instead, their phones blew up.

"Old Sir Hale, I heard your grandson got married?"

"Congratulations, when did this happen? You didn’t let us know, that’s really inconsiderate."

"Did they really get married and register? Did you know in advance?"

...

Not just him, Brock Hale, Lily Lott, almost all of the Hale Family’s phones were blowing up.

The old patriarch was so angry he wanted to pull the phone line!

That scoundrel, why did he never tell him beforehand, leaving him so passive.

William Hale, to avoid harassment, turned off his phone, along with Zoe Bell’s.

"This is okay, us turning off our phones?" Zoe Bell asked.

"There’s nothing wrong with it."

"Why didn’t you let me get off the car just now?"

"Your legs aren’t in good shape, and besides... with me here, why would you need to deal with those scumbags personally? That would make me a rather unfit husband."

He spoke casually, but Zoe Bell was deeply moved.

Even Hannah Johnson didn’t escape; reporters had trapped her at the company.

William Hale!

Look at the mess you’ve made.

You have the guts to go public, at least keep your phone on.

And at that time, Simon Hale, who was busy with experiments at the school, also received a call from home, advising him to come back early if he wasn’t tied up, to avoid being cornered by reporters. That’s when he learned his brother had gone public about being married.

"You’re going home this early?" Isaac Shea was working on the experiment with him.

"My brother went public with his relationship. If I don’t leave now, I’m afraid I won’t be able to." Simon Hale was helpless.

"Mr. Hale and Miss Bell?"

"Yeah, he didn’t even give a heads-up. Mr. Shea, I’m leaving now. Call me if anything comes up."

Isaac Shea nodded, but he felt somewhat out of sorts. When would he be able to proudly hold her hand openly?

Some people just can’t be compared to others.

She said she wanted to meet with me today. What if she wants to break up?

Then I’m all set to perform a three-act drill: two outbursts and one suicide threat.

Or maybe just throw a tantrum?