Under the Heiress' Facade



Gideon and James shoved through the crowd to get to Gino. "Are you all right?"

Gino was moved to see them come over to check on him. He reached behind him and rubbed his throbbing back. Gideon immediately lifted the child's shirt, only to see a large bruise on Gino's back. Clearly, the kid had been shoved against the claw machine with quite some force.

"Apologize to him now!" Gideon snapped at the boy who had pushed Gino. He and Gino might not get along most days, but he was still protective of the latter when it counted.

However, the boy who had pushed Gino merely lifted his chin and eyed Gideon defiantly. The teenager standing behind the boy smirked as if Gideon had just cracked a joke.

At that moment, a heavyset woman stormed through the crowd and came to a stop next to the smarmy-looking pair who had assaulted Gino. "Which imbecile dares to accuse my son of cheating? How dare you demand an apology after insulting the Atkinses' good name?"

James recognized her right away. Mabel Hutchinson was married into the Atkinses, which happened to be one of the top ten prestigious families of Jedburg. The youngest boy must be Roland Atkins, her son.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Linda hailed from the Atkinses before she married into the Killian family. It was thanks to the Killians that the Atkinses had grown from a small-time factory to the largest original equipment manufacturer in Agrecia a decade ago. They became one of the top ten prestigious families because of it, too.

The Everetts were in no position to cross the Atkinses. Nothing good could come from it, especially because Mabel was a famous shrew in Jedburg. Roland straightened up at the sight of his mother and pointed at Gino. He said boldly, "He was the one who accused me and Silas of cheating!" "Nonsense! Silas is the 99th-best hacker on the Global Hacker List! He wouldn't need to cheat on some childish game. You're just insulting our family on purpose!" Mabel snapped, determined to accuse the Everetts of libel.

After that, she summoned an attendant. "Who are these insubordinate fools? What are they even doing at XS Corporation's anniversary party? Throw them out right now!"

"Mrs. Atkins, perhaps there's been a mistake. Children argue all the time during games. There's no need to cause such a scene," James pointed out. He didn't want to get on the Atkinses' bad side.

It seemed Mabel had not noticed

James and Gideon's presence until

that moment. She drawled mockingly, "Well, if it isn't the

Everetts champions of the nouveau riche. Dheard you were bankrupt last year and only turned things around with XS Corporation's help. In other words, you're nothing more than a bunch of lap dogs!"

James truly did not want to cross the Atkinses, but his pride did not allow him to take a public degradation. Furious as he was, he did not want to cause a scene in front of so many people, so he let the insult slide.

Gideon, however, stepped forward to shield his family and snapped, "We might or might not be XS Corporation's lapdogs, but at least we aren't going around barking like a bunch of mad mutts like you and your son!"

"Why you! How dare you call me a dog!" Mabel shrieked. "You Everetts owe me an apology for disrespecting my family! Better get to it before I tear your pitiful fortune out from under you!"

"What kind of apology are you looking for?" Gideon asked.

Mabel thought he was intimidated by her threat. She sneered, "I want the three of you to apologize to us. Also, have the kid beg my son for forgiveness. After that, we'll let this incident pass."

Roland and his cousin, Silas Atkins, crossed their arms as they assessed the Everett trio cockily, smirking as they waited for the latter to kneel. Male pride kept the Everett trio from kneeling.

Gino was fuming. He hadn't been in the wrong. He had been shoved against the claw machine, and his back was still hurting from it. He refused to beg for forgiveness.

He whined, "They cheated! I saw it! So what if he's the 99th-best hacker on the Global Hacker List? He's è ranked second-last here among the other pros. He couldn't even pick up the console from the claw machine even after he cheated!

"And you're accusing me of insulting you? If you're so great, why don't you pick up the console in the claw machine? I'll prove to everyone that my accusation against you isn't baseless!"