She could clearly hear the noise as her earplugs had fallen off.
“Who’s there?” Rayna asked loudly while she got out of bed and put on her slippers.
Just then, she seemed to have recalled something and turned to look at the vacant space on the bed next to her. She did not notice when Curtis left.
Rayna yawned as she walked toward the bedroom door before opening it without much thought.
Claire, Vivi’s mother-in-law, was standing at the door.
Rayna wondered why the woman was looking for her that early in the morning. Claire’s face contorted with rage when she saw Rayna and lunged at her before Rayna could speak.
“Return my grandchildren to me! How can a young lady like you be so evil?”
As Rayna was completely unprepared for the assault, she almost lost her balance and fell.
She quickly put a hand against the door to steady herself while using her other hand to block her face, guarding herself against Claire’s continuous attacks. “Mdm. Myers, why are you hitting me? Why are you asking me to return your grandchildren to you? What do you mean by that?”
“Stop pretending!” Claire bellowed hysterically while throwing punches at Rayna. “My daughter-in-law had a miscarriage after finishing the duck stew you had given her!”
“What?” Rayna looked at Claire in disbelief. “The duck stew caused Vivi to have a miscarriage? That’s impossible. That duck stew was—”
It was given to her by Curtis.
Before Rayna could complete her sentence, she was interrupted by Claire. “The stew contained herbs that are not safe for pregnant women to consume. Knowing that Vivi was pregnant, why did you still give it to her? What were your intentions? Vivi has been so nice to you. How can you be so vicious?”
While scolding Rayna, Claire continued hitting the woman and pulling her hair.
“Did my grandchildren offend you? Why did you harm them? I really regret accepting your duck stew and letting Vivi eat it. I will never forgive you! Bring my grandchildren back to me!”
Rayna was so shocked that her body was shaking, and her mind went blank. Even though Claire was hitting her, she was barely feeling any pain.
What kind of herbs are there in the stew?
Rayna was completely unaware of that and had assumed that it was just a normal duck stew.
As she had overeaten and was feeling bloated, she decided to give the stew to Vivi, who was also pregnant, through Claire.
Since Curtis was not unaware of her pregnancy, it was unlikely that he would instruct the kitchen staff to include additional herbs in the duck stew. Could the kitchen staff have added them on their own accord?
Rayna was thinking about all sorts of possibilities when she suddenly noticed that the beating had stopped. When she looked up, she saw Curtis. He was grabbing Claire’s hand, which stopped the woman from hitting her.
Curtis saw the scratches on Rayna’s face, and his expression darkened. With a crease between his brows, he asked Claire, “What’s going on? Why did you come here to attack her early in the morning?”
“She caused the death of my grandchildren!” Claire tried to struggle out of the man’s grip and continued resentfully, “Let go of me! I must make sure that she pays for what she has done!”
Curtis was momentarily stunned when he heard that. “What do you mean?” he probed.
“Curtis, were you the one who asked the kitchen staff to prepare the duck stew last night?” Rayna asked anxiously before Claire could reply.
She would be relieved if he could clarify that he had no involvement in it.
“Yup. I was there when they packed the stew into the lunch box,” Curtis replied and continued, “Was there a problem with the duck stew?”
At that instant, Rayna’s heart sank.
If he was there, he would have seen the additional ingredients in the duck stew.
Maybe…
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