Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2553

"Stop it! All of you—stop this right now!"

*

By the time Sylvia arrived, the fight had already been broken up. Eugene leaned against the wall, a bruise blossoming at the corner of his mouth, his suit rumpled and shirt untucked.

Greg stormed in with several other guests, his expression thunderous. "What is going on here?"

Sylvia hurried over to Eugene, lowering her voice. "Didn’t I tell you to keep your head down tonight? Why are you getting into fights again?"

Eugene tried to give her a crooked smile, but winced as pain shot through his jaw. "Relax, I’m fine. Honestly, I’ve had my fill of playing the golden boy. Figured I’d try reckless youth for a change."

"You’ve got some nerve, Eugene! And you—" Jolin jabbed an accusatory finger at Sylvia, her voice dripping with scorn. "You egged Eugene on to fight for you, then acted all innocent in the background. How shameless can you get?"

Eugene’s face darkened. He straightened, jaw clenched, but Sylvia caught his arm before he could move.

In one swift motion, she whirled and slapped Jolin hard across the face.

The crack echoed through the room. Conversation died; all eyes turned to them.

Jolin staggered from the force, nearly collapsing. Half her face flushed red and puffy, her lip split and bleeding.

Sylvia stood over her, gaze icy. "The only reason I stayed in the background was out of respect for your father. I didn’t want to ruin his event. But if you force me to step forward, you’d better be ready for the consequences."

"Jolin!" Greg rushed to his daughter, while several employees from Farley Enterprises scrambled over, fussing and trying to help her up.

The men Eugene had fought earlier lunged at Sylvia in outrage.

Without missing a beat, Sylvia seized one man’s arm, yanked him into the wall, and spun to kick another square in the chest, sending him crashing to the floor.

Her movements were crisp and decisive—by the time Eugene even thought to intervene, the would-be heroes lay groaning and defeated on the carpet.

Just then, Mrs. Farley swept into the room, her heels clicking sharply on the polished floor. "What on earth is going on?"

Jolin threw herself into her mother’s arms, sobbing. "She hit me!"

Mrs. Farley’s hands shook as she saw her daughter’s battered face. She scanned the crowd, voice ringing with outrage. "Who did this to my daughter?"

"I did," Sylvia said.

"And me," Eugene added at the same time.

Sylvia shot him a look. "No need to cover for me. I hit her."

Mrs. Farley fixed Sylvia with a venomous glare. "I knew you were trouble the moment I saw you. You lay a hand on my daughter, and you’re not leaving this house tonight!"