Chapter 823

Thorne publicly vouching for Charlene for a second time left Moran, Vesta, and Maureen even more paralyzed with shock.

Vesta just stared at him, completely dumbfounded.

Corinne gazed at him in absolute horror. She never could have imagined that he would take Charlene’s side at such a critical moment.

And yet…

Something seemed to click in her mind. Looking at Charlene, she suddenly laughed, clapping her hands in a mocking show of admiration. “I was wondering why you suddenly called the kid over, but you’re just using her as a hostage, aren’t you? Exploiting your own daughter… Ms. Ross, your schemes really are impressive. And so ruthlessly cold-blooded. I concede defeat. Hah!”

The moment Corinne said this, the crowd instantly caught her drift.

“So, Mr. Henderson only spoke up for her just now because their daughter is here?”

“That has to be it. I heard he dotes on the girl and practically takes her everywhere. No matter how awful Charlene is, she’s still the kid’s mother. He probably just didn’t want his daughter to find out what kind of person her mom really is. It would mess the kid up.”

“But doing that is so unfair to Ms. Hawkins.”

“Seriously. First, she had to bear the brunt of the homewrecker rumors because he couldn’t get a divorce, and now he just threw her under the bus to protect his daughter…”

As the murmurs rippled through the room following Corinne’s accusation, Raleigh and Dalton naturally grasped her logic.

Understanding the supposed manipulation, Raleigh shot a frigid glare at Charlene.

It seemed he had severely underestimated just how despicable and ruthless this woman could be.

At the same time, his heart ached for Vesta.

He had always known that Thorne adored his daughter, and he knew Vesta got along perfectly well with the kid. But he never expected Thorne to throw Vesta straight to the wolves of public opinion at such a crucial moment just to protect the child’s image of her mother.

Moran bought into Corinne’s theory as well. He couldn’t help but mutter, “I was wondering why Thorne was acting so out of character. It was all for Minnie.”

Even though Thorne was always generous with Vesta, Moran knew that Thorne prioritized Minnie above else. Whenever something

everyone

came up, Thorne almost always put his daughter first.

So for him to lie through his teeth right now to shield Minnie made perfect sense.

Granger pressed his lips together and said, “Or maybe Thorne is actually telling the truth?”

Honestly, he wouldn’t have been surprised if Thorne chose Minnie over Vesta.

However…

He now genuinely believed that Charlene wasn’t responsible for what happened back then.

Moreover, he also believed that she wasn’t the type of person to parade her child around just to blackmail Thorne.

Hearing this, Moran let out a confused sound. “What are you talking about?” Granger didn’t answer.

He just watched Thorne.

He realized he couldn’t quite figure out what was going through Thorne’s head right

now.

Watching the scene, Kelvin couldn’t help but chime in. “Man… I always thought he treated Ms Hawkins so well

cant believe he’d do this when

it really counts… I feel bad for her.”

Dalton’s gaze was ice-cold.

Hearing the crowd’s shifting narrative, Leah Spencer and the rest breathed a sigh of relief.

So did Vesta.

She finally uncurled her tightly clenched fists.

Corinne looked between Charlene and Stewart with a sneer. “The truth always comes out. Ms. Ross, Mr.

Ferguson is

ee anything else

you’d like to say?” Content beföngs