Chapter 323: Chapter 323: She Is My Daughter
The group with Ariana Grant naturally didn’t have a good expression towards Zoe Hayes.
Even Shane Coleman, who disliked these wealthy young men due to handling so many divorce cases, agreed with Warren Prescott’s statement, "Just because someone seems more injured, doesn’t mean they’re the victim."
This statement was so useful that he wanted to remember it, maybe it could come in handy in court later.
Ariana Grant snorted, saying, "I told you, Ashley wouldn’t hit someone for no reason!"
Shane Coleman rolled his eyes.
"How clever, only mentioning getting hit, without saying why they were hit. Tsk tsk, it’s so similar to some defendants I’ve seen."
Owen Sinclair had nothing more to say and directly commanded, "Miss, please apologize to Ashley."
When it came to Leo, he simply said, "Apologize."
Zoe Hayes’ forehead veins throbbed.
These people!
They think they’re strong just because they have numbers, huh?
Hank Hayes remained silent for a second, then frowned at Zoe Hayes and said, "Is what she said true? Did you talk about her mother?"
Zoe Hayes instinctively shook her head to deny, "I didn’t!"
Warren Prescott casually spoke, "Miss Hayes, before you speak, I suggest you look up. The surveillance here is not just for show."
Zoe Hayes instinctively looked up and indeed saw surveillance cameras placed every few meters on the ceiling, all with red lights on, clearly operating.
What Zoe Hayes didn’t know was that, out of respect for guests’ privacy, the Nocturne’s surveillance cameras only recorded video, not audio.
Not knowing this, Zoe Hayes’ face turned pale all at once.
Now Ashley Shaw didn’t even need to say anything, the Hayes Family parents were already convinced that what Ashley Shaw said was true.
Hank Hayes was the first to speak coldly.
"Zoe, is this how your mother and I taught you?"
Zoe Hayes repeatedly shook her head.
"No, it’s not, I... Dad... I’m sorry, I, I..."
Stammering, unable to form a complete sentence for a long time.
"What else did you say?" Mrs. Hayes also glared angrily.
More than their daughter being hit, they were afraid of her going down the wrong path, not learning well.
Injuries can be treated, but going astray is hard to correct.
Zoe Hayes shook her head helplessly, "No, nothing more..."
Mrs. Hayes simply asked Ashley Shaw, "Miss, earlier we didn’t understand the situation. Okay, could you tell me what else did she do besides insulting your mother?"
Ashley Shaw said expressionlessly, "Tonight she didn’t do much, but back in the first year, she did a lot. I’m afraid I won’t finish talking about it in one night. Oh, no, she never did anything herself, only had her friends do it."
Mrs. Hayes’s face turned even uglier.
Although Ashley Shaw didn’t specify the events, everything pointed to four words: school bullying.
Mrs. Hayes was shaking with anger.
They believed they had set a good example in front of Zoe Hayes, but behind their backs, their daughter turned out this way?
"Zoe Hayes!"
Mrs. Hayes raised her hand and slapped Zoe Hayes hard across the face.
Zoe Hayes’s face was slapped directly to the side.
The fury inside her was on the verge of exploding.
It was one thing for Warren Prescott not to stand by her, but how could her own parents not either?
"Mom? You..."
"How did I teach you to be a person? You behave so well in front of us, but behind our backs, you do so many wrong things! How did you become like this?!"
Mrs. Hayes was scolding Zoe Hayes, but tears started falling from her eyes.
She said to Ashley Shaw, "Miss, we didn’t know the whole story just moments ago and got angry at you. We sincerely apologize!"
After speaking, Mrs. Hayes bowed to Ashley Shaw.
Ashley Shaw was somewhat surprised by this.
She had thought parents who raised someone like Zoe Hayes couldn’t be any good.
But as it turned out... the Hayes Family parents were actually such righteous people.
This was truly unexpected.
However, seeing this, Zoe Hayes couldn’t bear it any longer and exploded.
She pulled Mrs. Hayes over and, with reddened eyes, said, "Why are you apologizing to her? I didn’t do anything wrong!"
Mrs. Hayes glared angrily at Zoe Hayes.
Before she could say anything, Zoe Hayes had already turned to Ashley Shaw.
"Ashley Shaw, if you want to explain, explain clearly! What’s the point of saying half and leaving the other half for others to guess?"
"What exactly did I do to you, explain clearly!"
"Is it because you’re too ashamed to explain clearly, so you don’t dare to say?"
Ashley Shaw coldly narrowed her eyes.
"Why wouldn’t I dare to say?"
Zoe Hayes sneered, "Of course, you wouldn’t dare because what I did back then was just telling all the students the truth, that’s all."
Mrs. Hayes frowned and asked, "What truth? You didn’t bully her?"
"Of course not!"
Zoe Hayes raised a hand, pointing at Ashley Shaw and said, "All I did back then was tell everyone that she was the daughter of a mistress and that her mother was a nanny in someone else’s house, nothing more! The isolation wasn’t ordered by me; it was everyone else’s choice after finding out the truth. If you don’t believe me, ask her yourself, isn’t this the truth? I can guarantee, every word I said is..."
"Slap—"
Another slap landed on Zoe Hayes’s face.
This time, however, the one who struck her shocked everyone present.
It was Owen Sinclair.
His face was iron-blue, and his hands were visibly shaking with anger.
Zoe Hayes stared at Owen Sinclair in disbelief.
She recognized Owen Sinclair but didn’t understand why he would hit her.
Was she just a target? One after another, why were they all hitting her?
Was her face not made of flesh?
"What are you doing!" Zoe Hayes glared angrily at Owen Sinclair, wanting to retaliate but not daring to, and had to bite her teeth in frustration.
Owen Sinclair said coldly, "What for? To hit you."
"You—"
"Mr. Sinclair, why are you doing this? Why did you hit Zoe?"
Hank Hayes also recognized Owen Sinclair and asked with some dissatisfaction.
But more than anything, he was perplexed.
Knowing the opponent’s identity explained the confusion.
"Because she deserves it!" Owen Sinclair said coldly.
At this point, not just the Hayes family but everyone present, except Shane Coleman, was stupefied.
What’s going on?
In the next moment, only to hear Owen Sinclair say, "Because Ashley’s mother is not some kind of mistress as she claimed."
Zoe Hayes retorted defiantly, "How do you know? Just because she’s your girlfriend, you think she’s a good person?"
As soon as Zoe Hayes finished speaking, everyone’s expression changed.
Owen Sinclair’s face became even more grim.
If not for the fact that the offender was a girl, he might have beaten her to death.
Two seconds later, Owen Sinclair couldn’t hold back and blurted, "She’s not my girlfriend; she’s my daughter!"
As soon as this was said, the room fell silent, like a pin drop could be heard.
But Ashley Shaw quickly realized that Owen Sinclair was using this method to help her out of the predicament.
She stepped forward two steps, following Owen Sinclair’s line of reasoning, "Because of my father’s special line of work, it’s hard to publicly acknowledge the relationship between my mother and him, so they just said publicly that I’m from a single-parent family. Therefore, my mom never was, and never will be, a mistress!"