Chapter 816
In that split second, the entire room stood frozen.
Naturally, that included Raleigh.
When Jasmine slipped out of Thorne’s grasp to run toward Charlene, Raleigh had still been fuming over the thought of Thorne using his child as a human shield.
The moment he saw Jasmine throw herself into Charlene’s arms and call her “Mom,” the last tether of rationality in his brain snapped.
He stared blindly at the scene, his mind completely blanking out.
Why was Thorne’s daughter calling Charlene… Mom?
Off to the side, Kelvin and Dalton were having similar meltdowns.
Both had expected Jasmine to run to Vesta. Watching her cling to Charlene instead left Dalton absolutely motionless, a look of pure, unadulterated shock in his eyes.
Kelvin was dumbstruck. Once he finally found his voice, he let out a choked curse. “The mother of Thorne’s kid is… Charlene? Is that… is that even right? That can’t be right!”
This completely shattered everything he thought he knew.
His brain genuinely couldn’t process the information.
Dalton continued to stare blankly at Charlene, unable to form a single coherent thought.
On the other side of the room, Gaylord had already suspected Thorne might be Charlene’s husband. Even so, watching Jasmine call her “Mom” sent a jolt of raw shock through his chest.
So, Thorne Henderson really was Charlene’s husband.
How… how was that even possible?
He couldn’t stop replaying all the interactions he had seen between Thorne and Charlene.
PrimeStar Technologies and The Henderson Group had been collaborating for a long time. They had even worked on projects alongside Andie Sanderson and attended the same events. Yet, every single time they were in the same room, their conversations were strictly professional and entirely distant.
If it weren’t for their corporate ties, someone could have easily
convinced him that they were
absolute strangers.
And yet, these two were married.
Not only that, but they had a daughter who was already this old.
As the initial wave of shock receded, reality began to sink in for the rest of the crowd.
“Thorne’s daughter just called Charlene ‘Mom’… Oh my god, does that mean Charlene is Thorne’s ex-wife?!”
“It… it has to be. Holy hell, I’ve never heard a single rumor about this.”
“Me neither!”
The very second Jasmine’s voice echoed through the room, Charlene recognized it.
She was completely caught off guard by the little girl’s sudden appearance.
Seeing Jasmine running toward her had left her momentarily stunned.
Unhappy with the lack of response, Jasmine frowned, tugging on her hand. “Mom?”
Snapping back to reality, Charlene murmured a soft acknowledgment. Still holding her glass in one hand, she bent down slightly to wrap her arm around the girl. “How did you get here?” she asked gently.
Thrilled by the embrace, Jasmine beamed, happily burying her face into Charlene’s dress and refusing to let go.
Hearing the question, she tipped her chin up with a smug little grin. “I snuck in with an invitation!”
Charlene paused, about to scold her, but Jasmine suddenly turned her head and spotted the massive photos of her parents projected on the screen. Jasmine’s eyes widened in innocent awe. “Hey, Mom, why are there so many pictures of you and Dad on the TV?”
Charlene fell silent, offering no answer.
By now, Raleigh and Dr. Lucas had finally regained their senses.
Like everyone else standing near Charlene, they had watched the entire mother- daughter exchange unfold.