Betrayed by the Father Reborn in His Rival's Arms novel Chapter 168

Naturally, an old fox like Eleanor wasn't going to believe a one-sided story. She had her people run a thorough background check and discovered that Lucius truly was willing to stoop to any despicable low for Liliana, exactly as she had claimed.

Only then did Eleanor agree to make the trip.

Yet, upon arriving, she found Lucius aiming a gun at them just for teaching a lowly commoner a lesson.

Desperate to prove her loyalty to the matriarch, Liliana quickly intervened. "Lucius, why are you pointing a gun at me? We can talk about this calmly."

Lucius was equally furious. "You people are the ones who refused to talk! Madeline has nothing to do with me wanting you to get an abortion. If you refuse to let her go, then get the hell out of my house. You can come back when you're ready to speak civilly."

Liliana took a slow step forward, a coaxing smile on her face. "It was just one slap. It's not a big deal, and she isn't even bleeding. Put the gun down, and I'll ask my grandmother to stop."

With Liliana's intervention, Lucius finally lowered the weapon.

Madeline remained seated on the floor. The slap hadn't broken the skin, but the internal impact was devastating. Her face was swollen grotesquely, and her head spun with violent dizziness.

Thanks to Liliana playing the peacemaker, both sides finally took a seat.

Lucius helped Madeline to her feet. Madeline wanted nothing more than to leave; the situation was terrifying. Being violently assaulted for no reason other than her surname was horrific, and she knew that even if she called the cops, someone with Eleanor's power would never face justice. The feeling of absolute helplessness made her sick. Yet, she was also intensely curious—how was Liliana actually a high-society heiress, and what exactly were she and Eleanor planning to do here?

Eleanor shot Madeline a dark, venomous glare.

Clearly despising her presence, Eleanor demanded, "She should be on her knees. Trash like her belongs on the floor."

Lucius frowned in confusion. "Mrs. Prescott, how exactly did my wife offend you? You've already had her beaten, and now you want her to get on her knees?"

Eleanor snapped back furiously, "Who the hell are you to interrupt? I am speaking to Arthur."

Arthur was also surprised that Eleanor was so fixated on humiliating Madeline.

However, catching Liliana sitting beside Eleanor and occasionally hiding a smug smirk, it all clicked into place.

Eleanor sneered viciously. "I need a reason to discipline her? If you want to blame something, blame her surname!"

Arthur couldn't argue further, and an uneasy tension gripped Lucius. But Millicent was practically salivating at the chance. She snatched the cushion from the butler, marched over to Madeline, and tossed it onto the floor.

If you asked Millicent, the cushion was a waste of perfectly good silk. A woman of Madeline's lowly breeding belonged on her bare knees anyway.

Madeline stared at the curled cushion on the floor, then shifted her gaze to Lucius. His absolute silence was the only answer she needed.

Madeline thought to herself: *Of course. How pathetic of me to even look at him for help.*

Lucius's brief moment of rebellion earlier wasn't to protect her—it was purely to defend the Whitman family's ego and refuse to be walked over. But the dynamic had shifted. Demanding she submit and get on her knees was now a political peace offering to the Prescott family.

If she didn't comply, she wasn't walking out of this room alive.