Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 292 - 291 Grandpa Payne’s Bloodline Suppression, Scaring Them Insane (4 more - s)

Chapter 292: 291 Grandpa Payne’s Bloodline Suppression, Scaring Them Insane (4 more Chapters)

The old friends visiting the Payne Family today were members of the Shaw Family.

"Mom, Dad—" Julia Yates stood up, and Tim Payne also called out to grandma and grandpa.

William Hale and Finn Hale addressed the elders according to their statuses.

Only Zoe Bell hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Grandpa Payne, Grandma Payne."

Grandpa Payne?

The old man’s brows knit imperceptibly. It would be better if the prefix were removed.

Celine Payne had always been scared of her grandfather. His angry shout had already terrified her out of her wits, so she had no idea how people’s expressions around her were changing.

"What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? You don’t have a word to say when you see me?" The old man glared at his granddaughter sitting on the ground.

His eyes were full of angry disappointment.

"G-Grandpa." Celine’s tongue seemed to tie in knots, her speech trembling.

"Stand up when you speak."

The old man sat down, motioning for everyone else to do the same. Only then did Celine slowly pick herself up from the ground, still startled from her grandfather’s sudden appearance, which had caused her brain to go blank and fall, her tailbone still aching faintly.

Zoe Bell then glanced at her own brother, her eyes questioning:

What’s going on?

Tim Payne pretended to admire the scenery outside the window.

What could he say?

If his grandparents wanted to play this game and he exposed it, he knew he’d have no peace when he got home.

William Hale leaned closer to his wife and whispered, "What’s the matter? You look pale. Does your leg hurt?"

"No."

It was just that, when she thought about the day she went to offer incense, it seemed that everyone in the room knew the score, except for her, the fool.

Michale Shaw also approached and asked quietly, "What happened? Why are you guys at the Payne’s?"

"That’s what I should be asking you." William raised an eyebrow.

"Grandpa and Grandma Payne visited our house, they like me and invited me over. Plus, my mom is keen on setting me up with Celine and kicked me out to come here."

Michale’s face showed resignation.

However, given the current atmosphere in the living room, it was clear there was a good show to watch.

He found the best spot for viewing and sat down with a thud.

"Who hit your face?" The old man scrutinized Celine’s red right cheek.

"Me." Tim stood up.

"Reason."

"There are many, which one would you like to hear?"

The old man gritted his teeth. This damned kid was still giving him lip at such a time.

"Mom, this is what happened." Julia recounted the day’s events by the old man’s side, without any exaggeration.

The Old Lady sat aside, wiping her glasses that had fogged up from moving from the outside to inside the room.

Mr. Payne’s expression did not change.

But his gaze grew more piercing and dim.

"Celine, did you really do this?"

"Grandpa, no, I..." Celine tried to argue her case, but she was terrified of her grandfather from a young age. Those eyes of his seemed to see right through her, into the darkest corners of her soul.

The old man never coddled anyone. As their eyes met, her bloodline pressure made her not even dare to lie.

"What are you, explain."

Mr. Payne sipped his tea, his gaze casually dismissive,

yet the pressure he exerted was immense.

Michale Shaw: "She can’t explain."

"Her heart’s bad, and she’s stupid to boot."

Celine bit her lip; what was it to him.

But still she plucked up her courage, "Grandpa, I was just being foolish."

"This Mrs. Hale, she’s the one you got into an argument with at the Hot Spring Villa last time, right?"

"Yes."

"You called me, saying that despite your good intentions, she insulted you and you felt so wronged you cried about it to me and your grandma overnight, didn’t you?"

"Yes."

"Last time, out of kindness, you ended up having her pestered by her foster father; this time, by a foolish mistake, you caused her reputation to be damaged, her hard-earned online store to be shut down; and you even dragged Tim into the mess, making him and his company the talk of the town."

The old man caressed his teacup.

"I didn’t deliberately use my cousin’s account to give bad reviews,"

"I didn’t deliberately have someone take a video to frame them,"

"I didn’t intentionally let someone fan the flames online, spreading false statements about Tim Payne and Mrs. Hale."

"..."

"In short, none of these things were done on purpose!"

"It’s just that Miss Bell deserves this bad luck."

If it were just one or two matters, it might have been easier to argue her case, but the old gentleman had listed too many issues.

Celine Payne felt as if her throat was stuffed with cotton wool, each swallow made the cotton heavier, and her throat grew tighter, unsure of how to begin speaking.

Tim Payne: "Grandpa, about last time, her pre-emptive complaint was because she knew you weren’t present, or perhaps she thought you were old, senile, and would be partial and gullible."

The old man’s brows furrowed tightly:

He always felt like the boy was insinuating something.

Celine’s pupils dilated.

Looking at her own cousin:

You want me dead!

Tim Payne completely ignored her, using his account to do bad things. If Zoe Bell weren’t his own sister, unable to contact him privately, things would have certainly gone awry.

"Grandpa, it’s not like that, listen to me explain," Celine said in a panic.

"I’ve been waiting for you to explain," the old man said, unshaken.

Celine, with her slow wits, hemmed and hawed for a long time without uttering a word.

"You good-for-nothing, it’s gotten to this point and you still won’t admit your wrongdoing, you’re still trying to make excuses for yourself! Is this how your parents raised you!"

The old man, running out of patience and also furious, flung a cup of tea onto her.

The scalding tea splashed onto her body, part of it splattering onto her face and burning her into continuous cries of shock.

The tea cup also shattered on the ground.

"Grandma..." Celine immediately turned to the other side for help.

"What are you looking at her for, I’m the one talking to you!" Mr. Payne yelled sharply, "When you do something wrong, own up to it, don’t look for excuses to evade it or have someone else plead for you."

Celine’s eyes reddened with fright.

Streams of tears fell.

"What’s there to cry about? Someone else has suffered so much because of you, and she hasn’t cried. Why are you so wronged?"

Zoe Bell had only met him once and had no idea he could be so sharp and severe when angry. She too was startled.

Michale Shaw: "Grandpa Payne, please calm down."

"At your age, you should avoid getting angry and upset, otherwise..."

"Just hit her, give her a beating to let off some steam."

Celine bit her lip:

Michale Shaw must be out of his mind.

What is he meddling in, stirring up trouble for?

"All right, don’t blame her," Old Mrs. Payne suddenly spoke.

Zoe raised her eyebrows:

Could it be that Grandma wants to play peacemaker?

But she could understand; after all, Celine Payne was someone she had watched grow up; there were emotional ties.

And yet...

Old Mrs. Payne stood up, took a handkerchief, and handed it to her to wipe her face, "Celine, be honest with your Grandma, did you do this on purpose or not?"

"Grandma, I really was just confused."

Because Finn Hale was there, Celine didn’t want to admit that she was inherently bad.

"Then why did you suddenly target her shop?"

"I..."

Celine was at a loss for words.

"If you won’t say it, then let me explain for you," the old lady adjusted her glasses, "It’s because you are too jealous, too self-centered. You saw the incense stick she gave me and wanted to ruin her."

"Last time you called, you said it wasn’t intentional, and you went to the Hale Family with your mother to apologize sincerely, feeling wronged."

"But in reality, you couldn’t even tolerate the presence of her things in our house."

"Grandma, what do you mean by that?" Celine was stunned, "You... did you test me on purpose?"

The old lady didn’t speak, thereby admitting it.

Celine went mad!

Was the incense stick something Grandma deliberately showed her?