Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 860

Old Mr. Blake storming the stage and delivering a brutal slap left the entire room paralyzed with shock.

Even Sebastian, who had been bracing for a disaster, never saw it coming.

His parents had explicitly stated they wouldn't attend. So why were they—

Sebastian watched helplessly as Bella took the hit, his brain completely short-circuiting.

It was simply unfathomable. His father was a dignified man who never resorted to physical violence. For him to lash out like this in front of hundreds of people meant the situation was catastrophically bad.

Old Mr. Blake's eyes burned with terrifying, authoritative fury as he glared down at Bella.

It was only when Bella choked out the words, "You... you hit me?" that Sebastian finally snapped out of his daze.

He lunged forward, trying to wedge himself between his father and his wife, but Old Mr. Blake roared, "Get out of my way!"

He then turned his lethal gaze back to Bella. "Hit you? Do you honestly not know what you've done? I always assumed that since you were a homewrecker's daughter, your lack of morals was just standard behavior.

"But I never imagined you were rotten to the absolute core."

Sebastian frantically scanned the sea of guests. He had spent a fortune marketing this as the wedding of the century. Now, hundreds of elite attendees were staring at them with twisted, horrified expressions.

And then it hit him—the media.

Cameras were still rolling, broadcasting this disaster live to the entire world.

His pride was being publicly slaughtered.

"Dad, what are you doing?!" Sebastian hissed, keeping his voice as low as possible. "Even if you didn't want to come, you're here now. Just take a seat and watch the ceremony. Doing this... aren't you afraid of turning us into a laughingstock?"

Bella's heart skipped a beat. A terrifying thought pierced through her delusion: *Did Debbie's trap fail? Did this old hag somehow catch Debbie and find out what we did?*

*No, that's impossible,* Bella quickly reassured herself. Debbie was cunning, and Sabrina had orchestrated the plan flawlessly. There was no way it fell apart.

Even if something went wrong, Debbie just had to put on a helpless, tearful act to win the old man's sympathy. Besides, Debbie was young and gorgeous—leagues above this decrepit old woman. The contrast was night and day.

Clinging to that shred of confidence, Bella straightened her spine.

She couldn't exactly slap the billionaire patriarch back in front of the cameras, so she had to use her words to reclaim her dignity.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Bella demanded, lifting her chin defiantly. "What have I done to deserve this kind of humiliation? Even if you have some petty grievance against me, today is my wedding to Sebastian! Storming in here and assaulting me is entirely uncalled for.

"We are supposed to be a respectable family. You need to act like it. If you refuse to step down and explain yourself, I'll let the guests be the judges of who is truly in the wrong here!"