Chapter 106: The Truth Will Out

"What nonsense are you spouting now?" Before Samuel Ford could react, Mrs. Ford kicked him and glared. "Are you itching for a beating again? How many times have I told you? If you don’t have a brain, then keep your mouth shut."

She looked at her younger son with utter disdain, wishing she could stuff him back into her womb and start over. She had told him before not to believe those rumors, and now he was bringing them up again, right in front of Amanda Vance.

The thought made her feel embarrassed for him. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and she couldn’t help but kick him again. Shawn Ford yelped. His mom was absolutely ruthless.

Ignoring him, Mrs. Ford walked over to Amanda Vance, took her hand, and said apologetically, "Megan, don’t mind him. He’s just a fool. He believes whatever anyone says and has zero discernment."

She had also heard about what happened that morning. It was just the same old story. She had looked into Amanda’s past long ago and was convinced it was all baseless nonsense. The methods used were too clumsy; a little digging was all it took for her to find out it was all Shirley Vance’s doing. But with so many rumors, they were repeated so often they were mistaken for the truth.

Even with the university incident, she was the victim.

Thinking about what that family had done to her, Mrs. Ford couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the calm-faced young woman before her.

She softened her voice and said, "Megan, we all know the old headmaster. Anyone he speaks highly of can’t be a bad person. We trust him, and we trust you."

Amanda Vance wasn’t bothered by those words, but hearing Mrs. Ford say this sent a wave of warmth through her heart. Her gaze softened as well. "Mm, thank you."

Seeing this, Mrs. Ford breathed a sigh of relief. "Come, you’ve been busy all day. You must be exhausted. Sit down and rest for a bit."

With that, she pulled Amanda toward a chair.

The old headmaster watched her with a smile. He had been angry too, but seeing her reaction, his anger dissipated.

’Megan just seems placid and doesn’t like to fuss over things, but that doesn’t mean she’s afraid. She won’t let herself be taken advantage of.’

Samuel Ford glanced at her. Seeing that she seemed fine, he walked over and grabbed Shawn Ford’s arm.

"Bro?" Shawn Ford was surprised by his brother’s actions. Seeing that he was being led outside, he assumed Samuel had something to say to him. "What is it, Bro? What do you want to talk about?" he asked as they walked.

Samuel Ford said nothing. When they reached the door, he gave a hard shove and pushed his brother out. Then, with a long reach, he slammed the door shut.

Shawn could still feel the rush of air from the closing door, which blasted into his mouth and forced his unfinished words back down his throat. He then choked on his own saliva and started coughing. Speechless, he stared at the closed door, then pressed his face against the window and huffed, "Was that really necessary?"

Samuel Ford didn’t answer. He locked the door from the inside and strode back into the room.

Witnessing this, Mrs. Ford chuckled. "Serves him right. From now on, let’s just lock the fool outside when we talk, so we don’t have to listen to his brainless, annoying chatter."

Amanda Vance: "..."

’He’s definitely her biological son.’

She hadn’t really been angry in the first place, and now, seeing their antics, she let out a chuckle. "It’s alright. I’ve heard those things many times before. Besides, Mr. Ford didn’t say anything malicious; he was just repeating what he saw."

"The internet is full of all sorts of garbage. The fact that he believes that stuff instead of the real person he sees in front of him just proves he’s not only a fool, but blind too. Megan, you don’t have to defend him. This is our failure for not raising him right. I’ll be sure to discipline him properly from now on."

Mrs. Ford was genuinely angry now. Her eldest had always been smart and never caused her any worry. Her second son seemed a bit mischievous, but he wasn’t a troublemaker and never got involved in anything illegal. She used to think it was fine for a child to be lively and often spoiled him. But now it seemed that even as a grown man, he had no discernment whatsoever. He believed anything anyone told him. If he was this easily fooled, wouldn’t he suffer for it later in life?

Seeing that she was determined to teach her son a lesson, Amanda Vance, as an outsider, didn’t say much more. She simply smiled, asked about the old headmaster and Mr. Ford’s condition, and took their pulses. Once she confirmed everything was fine, she left.

"I’ll see Dr. Vance out." Seeing she was about to leave, Samuel Ford, who had been silent until now, stood up and said.

"Alright, go ahead." Thinking about what her younger son had just done, Mrs. Ford thought it was a good idea to have her elder son see her out.

Amanda Vance didn’t refuse. She nodded and headed out.

The two walked in silence all the way to the garage. Finally, Samuel Ford spoke. "Dr. Vance, you don’t need to take those words to heart. The innocent will always prove themselves innocent."

He probably wasn’t used to comforting people, because he fell silent after saying that. Amanda Vance put on an attentive expression, waiting for him to say more. After a moment of silence, she heard him add, "I’ll teach him a good lesson when I get back."

Then he fell silent again.

This time, Amanda Vance didn’t tease him. She smiled and said, "There’s no need. It’s okay, I don’t mind."

"That doesn’t mean they should be allowed to slander you," Samuel Ford insisted.

Looking at his determined gaze, Amanda Vance paused. ’Is he standing up for me?’

Recalling his usual indifferent demeanor, Amanda Vance wasn’t sure if she was overthinking things.

She lowered her gaze slightly and said, "Thank you, President Ford."

Samuel Ford looked at her. After a long moment, he just grunted, "Mm." He opened his mouth, wanting to offer a few more words of comfort, but he didn’t know what to say and ended up remaining silent.

Amanda Vance smiled. "I’ll be heading back now, then."

"Okay. Be careful on the road." Samuel Ford stepped aside and watched her leave before heading back to the hospital room. When he returned, Shawn Ford was in the middle of being scolded by Mrs. Ford, who was twisting his ear.

"I know I was wrong, I know! Mom, go easy on me." With his father present, Shawn Ford didn’t dare to dodge. He even had to cooperatively lower his head to make it less strenuous for her to pull his ear.

’This is torture. Is there anyone in the world more miserable than me?’

Seeing Samuel Ford’s hand reach out, he instinctively shut his eyes, flinched back, and yelped, "Don’t hit the face!"

After he shouted, a good while passed with no pain. Instead, he felt his hands become empty.

He peeked open one eye and saw Samuel Ford looking down at his phone, showing no intention of hitting him. He breathed a sigh of relief. Then, remembering something, he sidled up and said, "Big Bro, look! This is all stuff they said, not me. I just saw it and repeated it."

As he spoke, he rubbed his stinging ear. "Mom, I’m talking to you, too."

Mrs. Ford shot him a look. "But you believed it, didn’t you?"

Now Shawn Ford didn’t dare to say another word. He secretly studied Samuel Ford’s expression and saw his lips were pressed into a tight line, his hand gripping the phone tightly. He quickly went over and took his phone back, saying, "Big Bro, we can talk, but you can’t throw my phone."

Samuel Ford glanced at him but didn’t try to take the phone back. He had pretty much finished reading what was on it anyway.

In fact, he was even angrier precisely because he had finished reading.

Rage surged within him, difficult to suppress. With a grim expression, Samuel Ford made a call, his voice icy. "Get me the legal department."