Chapter 12 Mary's Cunning Scheme

Michelle was startled by Roger's actions. She quickly protected Hannah, who narrowed her eyes and watched as Roger was about to slap her. Hannah took out her phone and loudly declared to Roger, "If you dare touch me, I will sue you in court! I mean it!"

Roger's raised hand paused.

"I'm recording this. Will you dare to hit me?" Hannah challenged him.

Roger was seething with anger, his body trembling, but he refrained from striking her.

"Dad," Wayne quickly intervened, pulling Roger back. "Don't bother with this despicable person. She's enjoying her petty victories, she'll face the consequences."

Roger reluctantly lowered his hand.

"Your family will suffer a gruesome fate one day. Roger angrily cursed Hannah.

That was the past.

This life was different. No one would dare to bully anyone in their family.

Hannah led her mother out of ole mansion, leaving the infuriated residents behind.

"When did she become so good at insulting people!" Esther remarked, irritated by Hannah's arrogant behavior.

"Shut up!" Lorie finally let out her pent-up frustration and angrily scolded her eldest daughter-in-law. "You ungrateful fool, I've wasted so many years on you!"

Esther was bewildered by Lorie's sudden outburst. She had always joined in berating Hannah and she wondered why she was now being targeted by Lorie. She felt deeply resentful.

Roger was furious at Esther as well.

"You're useless! That sapphire has been my mother's focus for a long time, and with just a few words from you, Hannah took it back! What good are you?" He yelled at her.

Esther felt humiliated by the unexpected sarcasm. She hadn't realized that her few words would work against Hannah.

That cunning girl.

One day, she would make her pay.

"Well, it's actually quite easy to deal with Hannah." Mary suddenly spoke up, her voice still soft and harmless, making her seem innocent and powerless.

"What good advice could you possibly have?" Lorie glanced disdainfully at Mary. In her eyes, Mary was inferior to Hannah in every way, and she had never treated her kindly.

"The reason Hannah is so arrogant today is mainly because her father inherited the family business and her marriage to Charles. If the marriage falls through, Hannah won't dare to act so recklessly anymore."

"Do we need you to tell us that?" Esther was itching to vent her anger and found some relief when Mary spoke.

Mary continued, "What I mean is, if we can get Jane and Charles together, Hannah won't have anything left."

Esther paused for a moment, and Jane also looked up. Jane had always been resentful at the fact that Hannah stole away her position as the heir of the Cooper family, all the glory and even the best man in Northfield.

"We still have over a month until the wedding. As long as we can prevent Hannah and Charles from getting married, Hannah won't dare to be so arrogant!"

"Sounds easy, but can't you see how much Charles loves Hannah?" Jane couldn't help but be sarcastic.

"It's not easy to make Charles fall in love with you in just over a month, but..." Mary hesitated, as if there were some words she couldn't express.

"If you have something to say, just say it! Stop beating around the bush. After all, you're an illegitimate child." Jane retorted.

"Jane!" Roger's face turned cold.

Jane rolled her eyes.

"I was afraid to say it because I didn't want to upset you, Jane." Mary looked hesitated.

"No matter what you say, I won't be happy. If you don't speak up, I'll be even more unhappy! Just spit it out!" Jane impatiently shouted.

Mary glanced at her father for encouragement, and then cautiously spoke, "But it's easy to manipulate men and women into having sex."

Everyone stared at Mary, who felt embarrassed under their gaze and quickly explained, "It's just an idea I had. If you don’t like it, forget I said anything. I have no ill intentions. I just don't want to see Grandma, Dad, Stepmother, Wayne and Jane being bullied by Hannah. I just..."

As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears, displaying a pitiful look, fearing to be scolded.

"Enough of your crying all day long, as if we always mistreat you." Esther couldn't stand Mary's behavior.

Mary sobbed, trying her best not to make a sound.

"Alright, let's discuss the matter of Hannah and Charles' marriage later. I've had enough frustration for today. Roger, help me back to my room." Lorie called out to Roger.

Roger promptly agreed. In reality, it was clear that his mother approved of Mary's suggestion and wanted to discuss it with him. Otherwise, given Mary's position, she would have been scolded for anything she said.

After Lorie and Roger left, Jane couldn't help but mock Mary, "Truly a bastard. You can only come up with these disgusting ideas. Did your mother, who was once a mistress, teach you? Tell me, how many men have you seduced? I bet your body has been ruined."

"Jane, I haven't. I just... truly wanted what's best for you." Mary's eyes reddened again.

“Bitch!” After hurling another insult, Jane left.

Wayne and Esther ignored Mary and left without stopping, leaving Mary alone in the spacious living room. When no one was around, Mary didn't need to pretend to be pitiful anymore. She laughed at these fools. She knew The Cooper family would definitely use her proposal, and of course, she wasn't as well-intentioned as she appeared. She would wait for Jane to dig her own grave, and then she could rightfully eliminate Jane's position. And then, she would eliminate Hannah's position and become the true heir of the Cooper family.

Hannah and her mother sat in their family car on the way back. Sitting in the car, Michelle seemed to regain control of her heartbeat and calmed down. She was somewhat excited, "Hannah, how could you be so... so amazing today? You've truly impressed me!"

Hannah chuckled softly, "Mom, I won't let Grandma bully you anymore."

"But... how did you find the courage to confront your grandma like that, even making her so angry?"

"That's because Grandma pushed it too far." Hannah said, "Mom, you don't have to abide by any morality anymore. Grandma is not worthy of your respect."

You respected her, yet she tried to harm you.

"Although Grandma went too far with me, she is your dad's biological mother after all, and I don't want to make things difficult for your dad."

"Don't worry, I just made sure Grandma won't dare to do anything to you. I won't really..." I won't really take her life!

But Lorie needed to learn a lesson. If she refused to change, Hannah was prepared to make her suffer a bit.