Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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‘Barclay’s the crystallization of my love with Stan, destined to inherit the Wheeler family. How could he be Harrison’s kid? Tabitha was roaring inwardly.
“You gotta make the Wheeler family think the kid’s mine. Only then will they give Barclay to you. If you agree, I can fix the DNA test for you,” Harrison added.
In the end, Tabitha agreed.
No one knew what tricks Harrison pulled, but eventually, the Wheeler couple believed Barclay was Harrison’s child and just tossed him over to Tabitha.
Tabitha moved in with Harrison, bringing Barclay along.
At first, Harrison treated Tabitha and Barclay really well–after all, she was the woman he’d loved for so many years.
But Tabitha always felt Harrison had pressured her, so she remained hostile toward him.
Gradually, Harrison lost patience and just forced himself on her in bed.
Once led to twice, twice to thrice… In the end, though Tabitha kept saying she loved Stan, her body told a different story.
Even when her parents came to take her back, she refused to leave.
Before getting her, Harrison longed for her constantly, but now that he had her, he found her just so–so.
His attitude towards Tabitha went from caring to impatient.
He even thought breaking his leg for her was the dumbest thing ever. His mood swings got worse, and he ended up beating and yelling at Tabitha, losing all his initial gentleness.
When Barclay saw his kind, pure mom forced to stay with Harrison, always unhappy, it broke his heart.
Seeing the once gentle Mr. Fox turn into such a scary monster terrified him. And it was all Geneva’s fault.
He decided to avenge his mom. But he couldn’t see Geneva now, so he couldn’t pull off those “pranks.”
Finally, Barclay exposed Geneva online, accusing her of seducing her sister’s man and being so evil that she wouldn’t even spare her little nephew.
In his account, Geneva was beyond redemption.
To make it more believable, he even uploaded Geneva’s photos.
Seeing Geneva getting slammed online, Barclay felt a bit better. He even told Tabitha about it, hoping to cheer her up too.
Tabitha felt this was not right, but then again, Barclay wasn’t exactly lying–he was just telling the truth online, and the blame was on Geneva.
‘Barclay is her nephew. How could she not care about him at all? If only Geneva were kinder, Barclay wouldn’t have to worry so much at such a young age, she thought, all self–righteous.
Tabitha’s life was a mess, while Geneva was having a great time, collecting lots of stuff she needed in this world. Too bad the break flew by, and the research institute kept bugging her to get back to work.
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16:54 Thu, 22 May MQO
Chapter 23
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Meanwhile, the once–a–decade Tech Star award in Astaria was up for grabs. After some haggling, the judges unanimously voted to give it to Geneva.
With things settling down, Geneva’s identity could finally go public.
On the day of the Tech Star award ceremony, Geneva headed out from her hotel.
Just as she stepped out, Barclay came charging over, but got blocked by her bodyguards.
Seeing Barclay’s furious eyes, Geneva squinted.
The original host’s memories told her this kid was up to no good.
But every time he caused trouble, it was brushed off as a prank, and since nothing serious ever happened, no one took it seriously.
Even when serious stuff did happen, like when Geneva and Tabitha got kidnapped, everyone just said Geneva deserved it. No one thought Barclay was evil.
A smart kid like Barclay, if properly nurtured, might have grown up to be a pillar of the nation.
But Tabitha just didn’t know how to teach kids, turning him into a little devil with a twisted mind.
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They said the child was the father of the man. Geneva didn’t think she could change this kid, and she wasn’t obligated to fix Tabitha’s kid either.
She wanted this kid and Tabitha to learn–be kind, or society would teach them how to be.
So, Geneva told her bodyguards to let him through.
Barclay rushed up to Geneva, yelling, “You evil woman! You got my dad jailed. You made my mom sad. I’m gonna kill you!”
With that, he rammed into Geneva with all his might, headbutting her stomach.
Standing on the steps, Geneva fell backward from the impact.
Everyone was caught off guard. By the time they reacted, Geneva was already on the ground, blood oozing from the back of her head.
Conrad panicked, shouting, “Geneva! Geneva!” Seeing her unconscious, he yelled at the bodyguards, “Quick! To the hospital!”
The hotel entrance turned into chaos.
Barclay watched Geneva bleeding, feeling a rush of satisfaction. “This bad woman is finally gonna die.’
One of the bodyguards caught a glimpse of Barclay’s gaze and was struck by a sudden sense of dread.
‘How could a five–year–old have such a vicious look?‘ he wondered.
He walked over and grabbed Barclay, who was trying to slip away in the chaos.
“What are you doing?” Barclay struggled.
“Kid, do you know who you hurt? She’s the tech star of Astaria! A hero who saved countless people!” the guard said, his eyes dripping with admiration.
“I’m just a kid, and I didn’t mean to!” Barclay stuck out his neck stubbornly.
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16:54 Thu, 22 May C
Chapter 23
Every time he played a prank on Geneva before, people around him would make excuses for him. So he never felt he did anything wrong.
But this time, those excuses didn’t work. The bodyguard still took him away.
A kid who could use “I’m just a kid as an excuse after doing something so outrageous clearly wasn’t new to this kind of behavior.
They had no right to deal with the kid, but someone else did.
The award ceremony for the Tech Star began. Before Geneva’s turn, several others received their awards from national leaders personally.
Geneva was the last one to go up.
Everyone had been waiting for this moment. Old or young, they were glued to their TVs or phones for the live broadcast.
But when the host called out Ms. GM’s name, Geneva didn’t appear on stage.
The audience at the venue and watching online were all holding their breaths, hoping to see Ms. GM in person.
Soon, someone rushed into the venue and informed a high–ranking official about what happened with Geneva.
Then the official gestured to the staff to go on stage and whispered something in the host’s ear.
The host’s face changed. If it weren’t for her professional training allowing her to stay calm, she would have jumped up called names already.
The audience was confused as hell, having no idea what was going on.
The host gathered her thoughts and said, “Sorry, folks, Ms. GM had an accident on her way here and can’t make it today. Let’s play a video of Ms. GM instead and take a look at her life story and achievements.”
Until the end of the Tech Star award ceremony, the much–anticipated Ms. GM never showed up.
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