Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 310 - 309 It’s all a play, the truth of that year (7 updates)

Chapter 310: 309 It’s all a play, the truth of that year (7 updates)

Everyone was afraid to even breathe heavily,

fearful of missing the slightest piece of useful information.

But Iva Payne sneered, "In the end, you still have no evidence!"

"But in my hands, I have evidence of you misappropriating company assets, even selling family treasures, Iva Payne. Actions speak louder than words, and even if there’s no concrete proof in this matter, I can still send you to jail."

"Dad, the painting by Gogh you bid on from abroad more than a decade ago—costing over thirty million at the time—must be worth well over a hundred million now."

"You can go back and see if that painting is still there."

He looked at Mr. Payne, speaking in too much detail.

And involving a huge amount of money.

Iva Payne rushed in front of him and slapped him across the face.

"Jovan Gonzalez, you bastard!"

"You owe your success to me. How could you do this to me?"

"I am your wife, and now you stab me in the back?"

Jovan Gonzalez chuckled lowly, "Did you ever treat me as your husband? I’m not without skills, and even without the Payne Family, I could survive just fine. But you always thought I was beneath you. In all these years, have you ever respected me?"

"You’ve been bossy and domineering."

"I just don’t want to live like this anymore."

"And more so..."

"The person you actually wanted to harm wasn’t that child, but your sister-in-law, right?"

Iva Payne’s eyes widened in terror, and even her usual composure slipped into a momentary panic.

"Iva?" Julia Yates gasped for breath.

"You’ve said more than once in front of me, sister-in-law is an outsider, who gained our parents’ trust only because of her design talents. And with Tim’s contributions, your decision to marry me into the family was also driven by not wanting to hand over the inheritance."

"But what you didn’t expect was that it was not your sister-in-law in the car that day."

"However, the end result was as you wished. After that incident, your sister-in-law never recovered, and you successfully took over Payne Corps."

"Shut up! It’s not like that." Iva Payne shouted.

"You’re the one who should shut up!"

Mr. Payne snatched the walking cane from his wife’s hand and lashed out at her.

Iva Payne was caught off guard.

She was hit on her back and the pain was so severe she couldn’t straighten her waist.

Another strike.

With a "snap"—the cane, which was specially made and not of solid wood, bent out of shape from the impact.

"Father? You believe such unfounded claims?" Iva Payne gritted her teeth.

Her back was struck twice, numb and tingling with pain.

The color drained from her face, and she spasmed from the agony.

The Old Lady turned away, refusing to look at her.

"I used to just have my suspicions until you brought Ophelia Wilson home. She knew many details of the car accident that even the police hadn’t uncovered. Anything she knows, you must have told her."

"Now you tell me, how could you know things even the police haven’t investigated!"

"Dad, I can explain this..." Iva Payne felt a chill from the pain on her back.

"Explain? More like making excuses, you vile woman!"

Martin Yates was far from polite.

He stepped forward and kicked Iva Payne to the ground, "You are scum."

After all, Iva Payne was in her fifties; her body hit the floor hard, and the pain made her break out in a cold sweat.

It felt like the bones in her back were shattered, sending waves of tearing pain through her body.

"Mom, are you alright?" Celine Payne hurried forward to help her.

"Grandfather, how can you believe their one-sided story without evidence? After all these years of dedication to the company, exhausting her spirit and strength, don’t you feel any compassion for her?"

Finn Hale sneered:

"Fool!"

"You still can’t see? Tonight’s banquet is a stage that was set up."

"Just waiting for you and your daughter to bring someone to catch the adulterers. How did you direct this fake heiress to plan against Tim Payne, including your plotting, thinking there is really no evidence?"

"The Payne Family Members are soft-hearted... they simply wanted you to admit your wrongdoing."

Iva Payne’s pupils shook violently, her eyes filled with shock as she looked towards her parents and brother and sister-in-law.

"So..."

"You all knew what was going to happen tonight?"

Tim Payne said, "To be precise, you gave yourself away the moment you brought Ophelia Wilson home."

"There might not be evidence for what happened back then, but your persistent wrongdoing—there are always ways to get you sent to prison, it’s just a pity we can’t bring back those who are gone!"

"You set me up?" Iva Payne had always felt she was manipulating from behind the scenes.

Little did she know, the one holding the chess pieces wasn’t her!

She was merely a pawn tonight.

She smiled bitterly, "When did you start suspecting me?"

"What happened that year, my suspicion toward you never dissipated..." Julia Yates said with a bitter smile, "Ever since I married into the Payne Family, I’ve treated you well, like a real sister, yet you wanted to harm me?"

"You deserved it!"

Iva Payne, knowing the tide had turned against her, no longer tried to defend herself.

"Don’t tell me that you’re here to join our despicable family."

"Ever since you appeared, all the attention has been on you—parents, brother... even designing such schemes requires talent, and I can’t compete."

"Even your unborn daughter stole all the favoritism that should have belonged to mine!"

While Julia Yates was pregnant abroad and knew the gender of her child from prenatal tests.

"I didn’t intend to take your life, I just wanted to teach you a lesson, not to get too complacent. I didn’t expect the car to go out of control and plunge into the sea."

Iva Payne was startled at the time as well.

She then realized, there was no evidence.

Probably because of the impact from the plunge into the sea, the tampering done inside the car was mostly obscured, and the police closed the case as an accident, allowing Iva Payne to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Right..."

Iva Payne suddenly burst out laughing.

That smile was eerie and horrifying.

"You know why your daughter was born prematurely?"

Julia Yates’s breath tightened, she stepped forward and slapped her across the face, "Iva Payne, you’ve gone too far!"

"It’s just a pity I didn’t end her."

"You’re beyond help." Old Mrs. Payne was so angry she could hardly breathe.

"It’s all your doing, I’m your own daughter, I even brought in a son-in-law myself, just to take better care of you, yet you turned a blind eye to my efforts!"

"What is Julia Yates? She’s not even your biological daughter."

"Why do you favor her so much?"

"Julia Yates, don’t you like attempting suicide? Then why didn’t you die any of those times, I see you don’t really want to die, just pretending, trying to get mom and dad’s pity..."

Mario Payne, having held back for too long, stepped forward and gave her a fierce slap.

Yet Iva Payne laughed even more brazenly:

"After all that has happened, I have nothing more to say. You don’t really believe Jovan Gonzalez’s nonsense, do you..."

"The car plunged into the sea, the police said she died!"

"Her body was never found!"

"I won’t have an easy life for the rest of my days, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will have a peaceful and comfortable life."

Iva Payne deliberately rubbed salt in their wounds.

"Tonight’s reunion banquet, the Payne Family... is bound to become the laughingstock of high society!"

Mario Payne reached out, grabbing her neck.

With enough force to choke her.