Chapter 397: Mayor Martin Reed Walked Away Without a Second Glance

Hao cents watched as Mayor Martin Reed walked away without a second glance, her heart aching as if slashed by a knife.

When Elena Ward had been wronged, the mayor had immediately rallied the villagers to defend her, ready to beat the offenders to a pulp. But now that her own daughter, Vanessa Ward, was in trouble, he simply dismissed them with a few words and left.

The difference in treatment couldn't have been more obvious!

If Martin Reed knew what Hao cents was thinking, he would have spat in her face.

Who was Elena? A good girl he'd watched grow up. And what was Vanessa? She wasn’t even fit to be compared to Elena.

Trembling, Hao cents reached for Calvin Ward’s sleeve but quickly withdrew her hand. The whole family despised her now. If she hadn’t shamelessly begged for food from the neighbors, she would have starved on the streets long ago.

"Husband, about Vanessa—" Before she could finish, Calvin shot her a furious glare.

"Shut up! This is all because of the daughter you raised!" Calvin stomped his foot in anger. "Didn’t you hear? Derek Harlan came demanding his wife back! From now on, no one mentions Vanessa again. We say she was lost on the Harris family’s watch!"

Just thinking about his daughter made Calvin seethe. She had thrown away a decent life to run off with some scoundrel. Now, she’d dragged the whole family into disgrace.

"You dare blame me?" Hao cents’s eyes reddened. "Where were you when Vanessa was beaten? Did you care when she miscarried? Now that she’s gone, all you care about is money!"

From inside the house, Tessa Wilson’s mocking voice chimed in: "Who can we blame when your daughter ran off with another man? The Harris family already said she eloped with some outsider. Tsk, tsk. If there wasn’t something fishy going on, why would Derek be wearing that cuckold’s badge?"

Calvin exploded with rage and kicked Hao cents to the ground.

"From now on, anyone who mentions that disgrace gets their legs broken!" He glared around the room. "If the Harris family comes making trouble, we say they lost her. No money, no life! Let them find her themselves if they dare!"