Winner Takes All novel Chapter 447

“What secret?”

Jack’s heart stopped for a beat.

The information he wanted was the kind few people knew about.

Mr. Ward pressed his fingers together and said solemnly.

“Madam Hughes’ marriage wasn’t a majestic one.”

Jack pursed his lips, “This is the secret you were talking about? The one only you and my father knew about? There are many other elders from my dad’s generation, so even if it was not a majestic wedding, it can’t be hidden from other people.”

“Surely, the wedding ceremony was witnessed by everyone, but no one knows the reason behind the marriage.”

Mr. Ward let out a strange laugh, “The old master once mentioned that Madam Hughes was the daughter of an affluent family. She met her husband, a sidelined man of the Hughes family during a banquet.”

The smile on Mr. Ward’s face got stranger than before at this point.

He deliberately lowered his voice, and it was so low that only Jack could hear him.

“And it was during that banquet that the man took advantage of his drunkenness and raped Madam Hughes. For the sake of the good name of Madam Hughes’ family, they forced her to marry the man from Hughes family.”

Boom!

Jack froze right in his spot.

“Hiss!”

He couldn’t help but suck in a deep breath, his heart speeding up in beats, “This is indeed a huge secret.”

If this were made known to the public, it would take the entire world by storm with the status and influence of the Hughes family.

A good name and reputation were of utmost importance to affluent families.

This marriage stemmed from a licentious relationship. If anyone else found out about this, the Hughes family would definitely get crushed into shambles.

Take Yael’s father, Mr. Quinn’s incident, as an example. One could know the whole story from just a little sneak peek of it.

Mr. Quinn was the one at fault, so Yael had another chance even if he killed his father.

The outsiders knew Yael did it, but no one knew the reason behind his action!

It was the same logic for Madam Hughes marriage!

“As this marriage happened because of a rape, Madam Hughes never slept with the man ever again after they got married. I even heard from the old master that Madam Hughes was pregnant from the incident, but she secretly got an abortion from the anger and shame she suffered.”

Mr. Ward said slowly, “And Madam Hughes had no one to add into the family’s line.”

“Wow, she is quite fertile.”

Jack displayed a meaningful smile, “No matter high in the ladder she was, she was sacrificed in this war of reputation of the affluent families.”

“Yeah, and ever since the people from Madam Hughes’ generation passed away, this matter became even more secretive. And now, only the old master and I know about it.”

Mr. Ward slapped his mouth and laughed, “I’m the old master’s right-hand man, and I take care of him every day. That is how I heard about it from him.”

He paused, then asked Jack, “Young master, why are you asking about this?’

“Nothing much. I was just curious.”

Jack shook his head and replied casually.

He wanted to know why his father told him to be wary of Madam Hughes and the entire Hughes family.

Other than the two secrets Mr. Ward mentioned, Jack could not find any other reason for it.

However, these were all just stories from the past.

It was impossible for Madam Hughes not to hold grudges from being sacrificed just to protect her family’s reputation.

Or rather, to put it another way, Madam Hughes might lose some of her hatred if her husband was capable of doing something.

But from being raped, to being forced to marry her rapist, a man who was unwelcomed in the Hughes family, why would Madam Hughes want to give birth to his child?

……

After long hours of waiting, the lights to the emergency room finally dimmed when the night came.

When Brent was pushed into the general ward on his bed, then only did Jack feel relieved.

Jack and Mr. Ward just stayed by Brent’s side after getting the medical staff to clean Jack’s wound.

Jeweline ordered over thirty of his bodyguards to surround and guard the hospital ward.

This made Jack feel more at ease.

He almost lost his life from just making an appearance at the Hunter family’s banquet.

Even though his father was the primary target, but now Jack had to be alert too.