Chapter 160
160:
Panicked, Valerie clung to Claude’s pant leg, pleading, “Mr. Palmer, please don’t call security. It was my fault. I’ll ask them to leave. Please don’t do this.”
Claude yanked his leg away, his face twisted in contempt. “You can scram as well!” he growled, barely restraining the urge to kick her. Letting her go unharmed was already an act of mercy in his eyes.
Just as Claude reached for his phone to call security, Chloe’s sharp voice cut through the tension. “That’s enough! As long as I’m here, this young salesperson and my friend are not getting thrown out!”
Everyone’s gaze fell upon Chloe. Despite the anger twisting her features, her eyes remained unfocused and empty, betraying no awareness of her surroundings. Katie and the others had never paid much attention to a person in a wheelchair. Recognition dawned quickly as they pieced together the truth—Chloe couldn’t see.
Katie couldn’t resist the urge to belittle Chloe. “Oh, she’s blind? I assumed she was just a cripple in a wheelchair.”
A snort escaped Thea as she burst into laughter. “Blind and handicapped—could it get any worse? If I ended up like that, I’d have given up ages ago. Where does she even find the will to live on?” Their harsh words stung. With King’s prescription still lacking one final ingredient to cook into a potion, Chloe didn’t have much time ahead of her after years of being plagued by illness. The pain in her chest flared up, and an ache spread through her empty gaze.
“Mr. Palmer, hurry up and call security to remove these rude women already! We can’t let this chaos go on—a stubborn woman and her blind companion aren’t good for our store’s image,” the senior sales assistant interjected, leaning toward Claude and struggling to mask her impatience.
“On it.” Claude nodded without hesitation. Her complaint seemed reasonable enough. The threat of losing their premium customer hung in the air, making the situation feel even more tense.
𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨.𝙘𝙤𝙢
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on Christina. My brother won’t stand for it!” Chloe hissed, struggling to keep her voice steady.
“What’s he going to do—roll over in his wheelchair? Heard disability is a family tradition for you lot!” Katie taunted, laughter bursting out of her, sharp and echoing.
Katie had no idea that the woman she was making fun of was none other than the beloved little sister of the chairman of the formidable Scott Group. The Scott family had gone to great lengths to keep Chloe’s identity and appearance a closely guarded secret.
Preconceived notions had led most to believe that a blind and disabled girl couldn’t possibly be a member of the Scott family. After all, the Scotts had more money than they knew what to do with, and their wealth and power alone should be enough to secure any medical treatment if any one of them was bothered by health issues.
Thea interjected with a mocking tone, “Honestly, does it need spelling out? If one of them’s disabled, the rest probably are too. Even if they aren’t, what good are they?”
Christina’s eyes grew colder by the second. She cut through their laughter with a frosty voice. “Have you finished running your mouth?”
A sneer tugged at Thea’s lips. “‘And if we haven’t? What will you do about it?”
In a flash, Christina seized Valerie by the collar and straightened her up. Her eyes blazed as she issued a low, sharp warning. “Don’t kneel.”
Valerie’s head bobbed in a daze. “‘Alright, alright! I get it!” Confusion flashed across her face as she struggled to process the sudden shift in Christina. No one would have guessed Christina could switch from gentle to menacing so quickly. Now she seemed like a drawn blade—dangerous and cold.
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