A Billionaire In Disguise novel Chapter 171

The hall suddenly became noisy with whispers and mumbles because the guests were too stupefied and aggrieved to hold back their words anymore.

Raw anger shot through Rome as he glared at Chloe. Then he was about to speak when his face suddenly went blank as he watched Mr. Ford lift his hand and smack his palm against Chloe's cheek.

Instantly, the entire hall became still and voiceless as everyone's eyes widened in shock, except Mr. Ford.

Tears rolled from the corners of Chloe's eyes as she dumbfoundedly gazed at Mr. Ford with a touch of pain in her expression.

"Dad," Rome softly called out.

"Stay out of this!" Mr. Ford harshly uttered, glaring back at his son.

Then he grimaced at Chloe and firmly asked, "What happened between my son and you in Archenland?"

"Rome and I had sex." Chloe boldly stated, sniffing softly.

Without any hesitation, Mr. Ford scowled and landed his second slap against the same cheek, causing Chloe to shriek loudly.

"I can do this all night!" Mr. Ford coldly said. "What happened between my son and you in Archenland!?"

"Rome and I slept together!" Chloe loudly cried out with tears rushing down her face.

But that didn't stop Mr. Ford from releasing another harsh slap on her cheek.

"She has already told you the truth! What more do you want from my daughter!" Elijah screamed in rage, throwing Mr. Ford a dirty look.

Ignoring Elijah's words, Mr. Ford gave Chloe an icy stare and asked, "What happened between my son and you in Archenland!?"

"I… Well, I…" Chloe muttered, pausing for a second.

Then she turned her head toward Catherine, and as Chloe stared into her cousin's eyes, a smirk surfaced on her lips, and she mockingly intoned, "Rome and I made love that night."

Not even giving it a second thought, Mr. Ford smacked her in the cheeks again.

"This is not making me think twice about Rome being innocent. If anything, it just makes him look more guilty." A fellow mumbled with a frown.

"Seriously! And Mr. Ford using his power to bully this poor child is just wrong." A gentleman replied, slightly shaking his head.

As Madam Rosey watched Mr. Ford give Chloe the same question and then slap her for giving him the exact answer, she frowned.

Then she looked at Mr. Barlow and cried, "We should do something. We can't allow her to keep getting hit like that! It will scar her face."

"Do what? Do you think we Barlows or anyone in this room has the power to stop this from happening?" Mr. Barlow coldly uttered. "If your granddaughter could use whatever brain cells she has left in that head of hers, she wouldn't be going through this."

A couple of minutes passed, and during that entire time, the only sounds in the hall were Mr. Ford and Chloe's voice, and the noise from his slap.

"Ford, don't you think that's enough. It's clear that she's not willing to tell us the truth." Mr. Miller called out.

"If she doesn't, then I won't stop!" Mr. Ford coldly said without taking his gaze off Chloe.

Seeing that he was dead serious, Chloe hesitated for a moment as she stared around the room and then thought, 'Even if I say the truth now, no one will believe it after what Mr. Ford has done to me.'

Afterward, she fixed her gaze back on Mr. Ford when he asked again, "What happened between my son and you in Archenland!?"

"Rome and I slept together," Chloe mumbled, barely able to get the words out clearly because of the pain in her jaw.

Then she waited for Mr. Ford to raise his hand before she pitifully shouted in tears, "Please don't hit me again, please. I will tell the truth."

Pausing for a moment, Mr. Ford glared at her. Then he slowly lowered his hand and said, "Go ahead."

Keeping silent, Chloe pitifully stared at the faces of the guests, looking at her, and then said, "Nothing happened between Rome and me in Archenland!"

The doubtful look that clouded the guests' expression made Chloe believe that her guess was exact and that none of them had accepted the words she had just said.

"I broke into Rome's hotel suite, tried to tempt him into having intercourse with me, but he didn't and left. I felt enraged afterward and made up the entire story of us sleeping together so I can hurt him like the way he humiliated me by rejecting me." Chloe softly uttered, sharing a few tears to keep up the innocent appearance.

Then she looked at Mr. Ford and sadly cried, "Please don't hit me anymore. I have said what you wanted me to say."

With tears in her eyes, Dana looked at Elijah and cried, "Our poor daughter. She's innocent, and yet, he did such a brutal thing to her to clear his son's reputation."

"Don't worry. Even though Chloe just said those things, almost everyone in this room doesn't believe it. He just ruined his son's reputation even more by hurting our daughter like that." Elijah firmly uttered with his fist clenched.

The words he said were actually accurate. Most of the guests were angry in their spirit with Mr. Ford and saw Chloe as the victim in the situation.

Only Catherine, her parents, Mr. Miller, Richard, Charles, Rome, and a few others actually believe what Chloe had confessed to doing.

"Awww, that's so nice of you…" Chloe mockingly said with a stiff smile. "Bitch, you must think that you are better than me now, right?!"

"I don't! What's your problem with me, Chloe!"

"It's simple. I detest your stupid face and everything about you. Seeing you get all that should be mine disgusts me! You don't have the right to be the family's top heiress, and you sure don't deserve a man like Rome!"

Keeping silent, Catherine shook her head, feeling stunned that her own blood could hate her this much.

A cold smile crept on Chloe's lip as she looked solely into Catherine's eyes and then said, "Now that I think about it, I will advise you, dear cousin, not to rejoice just yet. Because whoever helped me seems to really want Rome's downfall."

"What do you mean!" Catherine asked, knowing fully well who Chloe was talking about and what she meant.

Yet, she hoped that Chloe would know more than she already knew.

Smiling faintly, Chloe leaned closer towards Catherine's ear and then whispered, "You guys might have won today, but don't celebrate just yet because I don't think that person is quite done yet. My guess, they just started, and I can't wait for the day they succeed against you two."

Finally, Rome caught up to his father as he was about to get into his car.

Stopping in his tracks, Mr. Ford looked at Rome and then said, "Don't get mad at Brook and Blaze. They were taking direct orders from me."

"I'm not mad," Rome said, letting out a sigh. "Instead, I'm thankful to you for tonight."

"Sorry that I kept you in the dark. I know how much Miller's opinion means to you, and I didn't want to put you in an awkward position."

"Dad,"

"He has more impact on your life than I ever will, and I'm grateful for that. So don't change, and let me be the one to do the dirty work and have your back."

For a moment, Rome said nothing. Then he smiled and mumbled, "Thanks, dad."

Silent fell between them for a couple of seconds before Mr. Ford calmly uttered, "Oh, and Brook said that they accomplished what you asked them to do in Archenland."

"They found out how Chloe got access to my room?" Rome asked, feeling a bit hopeful.