Private Marriage, Secret Love-Chapter 67: Wreaking Havoc at the Lynch Family
"Mom!" Hannah Lynch cried, about to rush toward the door.
Frederick Lynch’s expression was cold and stern. ’Things have reached a stalemate,’ he thought. ’If we can actually find something on Raina Reddington right now, it would be a way to resolve this.’
The maid pinned Raina Reddington to the floor. When searching her top half yielded nothing, she switched to her skirt, pushing the fabric up from Raina’s calves.
Hannah Lynch watched with cold detachment. Several men stood in the study, each with their own agenda. Some were fraught with anxiety, while others harbored sinister intentions.
Suddenly, there was a CLICK at the door, and the next moment, it was pushed open.
Ethan Lancaster’s gaze swept quickly around the room before finally settling on the floor.
"Mom!" Hannah Lynch cried out in alarm, rushing over to Mrs. Lynch. "How... how could this happen?"
A key was still in the lock. Mrs. Lynch was clearly terrified; her hair, once her greatest pride, was scorched, and her freshly permed curls were completely singed away.
The maid heard the commotion and was about to turn around when a hand seized her collar. Ethan Lancaster yanked her away forcefully. Raina clutched the front of her dress with one hand, desperately trying to pull the hem down with the other.
Ethan Lancaster knelt. One of her shoulders was completely exposed. Raina’s skin was so fair that the fingerprints from the struggle and the angry red mark where she’d been grabbed were starkly visible.
The sight seared his eyes like a branding iron. He pulled Raina’s collar back into place and helped her to her feet.
"Are you okay?"
Raina clenched her jaw, unable to utter a single word.
"Well now, Ethan," Mr. Sheffield stepped forward to mediate. "Hannah ended up like that after just one glass of milk. We can’t just let this slide without an investigation, can we?"
Ethan Lancaster saw several books on the desk beside him. He grabbed one and, with all his might, swung it behind him.
The book was a hardcover, and it struck the maid viciously across the face. The sound was much louder than a simple slap. The maid clutched her face, blood pouring from her mouth and nose. She stared at Ethan Lancaster in terror, too frightened to speak.
"Eth... Ethan, what are you doing?" This was the Lynch family estate, after all. Frederick Lynch never expected him to be so outrageously violent.
Raina straightened her dress. Her hair was a mess, but she couldn’t be bothered with that now. She tugged lightly on Ethan Lancaster’s arm. "Let’s just go home."
"Leave now?" Ethan Lancaster rounded the desk, pulled out Frederick Lynch’s office chair, and guided Raina into it. "What’s this about ’drinking milk’? What can’t you ’let slide’? Explain yourselves."
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Mr. Sheffield repeated what Hannah Lynch had said.
Ethan Lancaster saw Raina’s purse was still on the floor. "So, did you find anything?"
"The evidence has to be on her!" Hannah Lynch declared, all while comforting the terrified Mrs. Lynch.
Ethan Lancaster sneered. "Oh, that’s right. I came here with a diamond I just won at auction, but now it’s missing. I seem to recall Miss Lynch asking to have a look at it. I suspect it’s on her person right now. I’m going to have to search her."
The moment the words left his mouth, he strode toward Hannah Lynch. He reached out as if to rip at her clothes, but Mrs. Lynch quickly pulled her daughter behind her. "Ethan Lancaster, don’t you dare!"
"What’s the matter? It’s reckless for me to search someone?"
"When did I ever ask to see a diamond?" Hannah Lynch was furious at his blatant lies.
"And when did Raina put something in your milk?" Ethan Lancaster tapped the book lightly against his palm. "Are you suggesting she stole something from the Lynch family? That’s rich. Frederick Lynch, are you not aware of your own standing? The trinkets you treasure are practically worthless in my eyes. The Young Madam of the great Lancaster Family needs to come to your house to steal something?"
Frederick Lynch’s expression shifted repeatedly. Mr. Sheffield, relying on his seniority and the respect he usually commanded, shook his head in disapproval. "Ethan, what kind of way is that to speak?"
"You have no say in this," Ethan shot back. "Did you ask for my permission before you dragged her upstairs? And isn’t this a Lynch family matter? Why is an outsider present?"
Ethan Lancaster returned to Raina’s side. The maid flinched away from him, scurrying to the side as he drew near.
"I suggest we call the police. Send Miss Lynch to the hospital. As for the Lynch estate, it should remain on lockdown. The milk glass is still here, I assume? Keep it safe. We’ll have it tested..."
Of course, they couldn’t call the police. That letter was a secret that could never be spoken of. Frederick Lynch raised a hand to stop him. "Since the Fourth Master has put it that way, we’ll take your word for it for now. Let’s drop the matter here."
"Drop the matter?" Ethan Lancaster looked as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world. "My wife has been humiliated like this, you’ve trampled the Lancaster family’s reputation into the dirt, and you’re telling me to ’drop the matter’?"
"Then what do you want?"
Ethan Lancaster pulled Raina to her feet. After sweeping his gaze around the room one last time, he took her hand and led her out.
With such a commotion upstairs, the people downstairs had heard at least some of it.
Ethan Lancaster led Raina downstairs. Her face was still pale. When he reached the table where they had been sitting earlier, he stopped. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Raina watched as he reached out and flipped the entire round table. The people sitting there scrambled to get out of the way as a cascade of cups, bowls, and plates crashed to the floor. Soup and drinks splashed across the gleaming marble, leaving a terrible mess.
Everyone stared at each other, not daring to speak. Frederick Lynch and Mrs. Lynch came rushing down the stairs.
As the butler hurried to clean up the mess, Ethan Lancaster walked to another table. The guests there glanced at him and instinctively rose to their feet.
With a two-handed heave, Ethan Lancaster sent that table crashing over as well. None of the remaining guests could stay in their seats now.
Frederick Lynch was pacing in a panic. He nearly tripped running down the stairs. He rushed to Ethan Lancaster’s side and whispered urgently, "Let’s talk this over calmly. Our families have a long history. If word of this gets back to the Lancasters..."
"Don’t try to use my family to pressure me." Ethan’s anger was not abating. The Lynches’ guests were all on the sidelines, pointing and whispering. Frederick Lynch had no choice but to swallow his pride for the moment. "Let’s go upstairs to talk. I’ll have Hannah apologize to Mrs. Lancaster."
"What good is an apology? It’s a meaningless gesture. We don’t need it." With that, Ethan Lancaster led Raina away. Frederick Lynch was furious, absolutely seething, but he had to deal with the aftermath. He had no choice but to go around telling everyone it was all a misunderstanding.
A moment later, the butler received a phone call. It was a report that Ethan Lancaster had overturned all the decorative platforms set up in the Lynch family’s courtyard and had even started a fire, which was now growing larger.
At the same time, a security guard at the gate called, reporting that Ethan Lancaster was leaving and asking if he should be allowed to pass.
Frederick Lynch’s expression was absolutely foul. "Let him go, let him go!"
’If we keep him here a few more minutes, is he going to burn down the whole house?’
Raina got into the car. Ethan Lancaster took a jacket from inside and draped it over her shoulders. The hard line of her mouth finally softened a little. "Thank you."
"Now, can you take out what you hid?"
