Chapter 434



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Tanya stared at Hillary.

She would never have expected that this woman, who had merely bullied and humiliated her five years earlier, would come to steal her daughter.

She was only in her early twenties at the time.

Hillary looked a lot like Jill, but she and Tanya were not really alike. Her temperament and personality were also similar to Jill’s. This must be one of the reasons Jill had preferred Hillary and disliked Tanya since they were kids, right?

With that in mind, Tanya grimaced, “We won’t know until we get to the end.”

Hillary’s eyes twinkled.

At that moment, Jill, who had entered a moment after Hillary, spotted the two of them. She immediately walked over, reached out and slapped Tanya across the cheek. “You little bitch! Who told you you could go back to America? It’s your fault things have come to this point.”

Tanya took a step back.

She was no longer the little girl from the past who couldn’t defend herself.

She sneered, “We’re in court, Ms. Jones. Please show some respect, OR I will sue you!”

Jill was furious. “Who are you calling Mrs. Jones? I’m your mother.”

Tanya gave her a smirk. “Really? But didn’t you already tell me some time ago that you’d cut ties with me?”

She pulled out her phone and played an audio recording. It was from five years ago, when she was pregnant abroad. She was having a hard time finding work at the time, so she had taken the bait and approached Jill for some spending money.

Jill’s voice was very calm on the recording.

“$3,000? What are you thinking, I can buy a purse with that money! Besides, you’re of age now, so I’m not obligated to pay your tuition. Think of a solution yourself! Didn’t you work part-time during college to pay for tuition? Didn’t you say you’d never use a penny of my money when you were a kid? Heh… From now on, I will consider that I have never had a daughter like you, while you have never had me as a mother. I hope we never see each other again.”

Those few lines of hers had broken the mother-daughter relationship between Tanya and her. It was also why Tanya had never gone to see the Joneses even though it had been so long since their return to the United States.

When Jill heard the recording, she scoffed, “Hahaha, how ungrateful you are. And to think you remember those things I said so clearly. It doesn’t matter that you don’t want to take on the responsibility of supporting me in my old age, because I haven’t counted on you once either! But how could you have rebelled and frightened us so maliciously?”

Tanya looked at the two of them. She couldn’t help but say, “Who exactly is bullying whom here?”

Her simple sentence caused Hillary and Jill to exchange a glance. Jill then shouted angrily, “Does it matter who is bullying the other? Now you’re the one targeting the Joneses. You’d better agree to settle privately while the trial has yet to begin. Otherwise, I’ll make you pay.”

No one knew what gave her the confidence to say something like that.

When Tanya wanted to respond, Joel asked, “How do you plan to make her pay?” His words made Jill gag.

Joel reached over, slipped his arm around Tanya’s shoulder and looked at Jill. “Mrs. Jones, may I ask what you plan to do to my fiancée?”.

Jill was surprised. “When did you two get engaged?”

Joel looked down. “You don’t have to bother with that, Mrs. Jones. I think the two of them should use this time to discuss the case with each other instead of looking and saying mean things to my fiancée.”

When Jill wanted to respond, Mr. Jones came over and held Jill with Hillary. He smiled and said to Joel, “Look at what a big fuss this has become, Mr. Smith…. It’s all because the children are so insensitive. Please forgive us.”

Joel said no more. He took Tanya back.

When the two entered, Mr. Jones flew into a rage as he stared at Jill and Hillary. “Will you two please stop making so much trouble! We’re already about to go to court, so stop provoking them and making trouble in private!”

Hillary curved her lips in disdain. “Dad, all you know how to do is blame me every time we have problems! It’s obvious they’re the ones in the wrong! You’re just afraid of Mr. Smith’s power, aren’t you? But you don’t have to be anymore.”

Jill lifted her chin slightly at Hillary’s words, and also said impatiently to Mr. Jones, “Okay, that’s enough. Karl has already agreed to step in, so nothing will go wrong!”.

Mr. Jones glared at the two women and pointed angrily at them. “Karl will eventually leave. Once he leaves, the Smiths have a thousand and one ways to make us pay for it! The two of them have created a lot of trouble for the Joneses.”

However, Jill and Hillary ignored him completely and even curved their lips in disdain.

Jill even said, “At worst, the whole family can emigrate to Switzerland. Karl has both power and authority there, so he can protect us!”.

Mr. Jones: “!!!”

He glared at Jill and shouted angrily, “Emigrate to Switzerland? The way I see it, it’s more like you and him still in love, isn’t it?”

Fearing that the others would hear what he had said, Mr. Jones turned and stormed off angrily.

Hillary glared at him from behind and pursed her lips. She said, “Look at him, Mom. Why do I have a father who is so easily intimidated? He doesn’t even have the courage to stand up for his daughter. If Karl were my father….”.

Jill’s eyes twinkled the moment she said that.

She patted Hillary’s hand and said, “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Then she and Hillary walked into the living room.

Soon it was time for the trial.

Both parties entered the courtroom and sat across from each other.

Karl had found a very famous lawyer for Hillary. After both parties were seated, the judge asked the plaintiff to speak. The attorney immediately stood up and said reproachfully.

“Mr. Smith, where is Young Miss Mia Smith? The court had ordered you to bring her in to ask her whether she wanted to stay with her father or with her mother. Why have you not brought her in?”

He looked at the judge and continued. “Or is it because you have no respect for the court? And you think you can do whatever you want because of the Smiths’ power?

It’s been a long time since my client last saw his daughter. By separating mother and daughter from each other, and showing no respect for the court, your actions are simply appalling!”

Because Hillary had made such a big fuss and had blown up the lawsuit before the trial, everyone feared that the Smiths would bribe the judge, so they had vehemently demanded that the court proceedings be live-streamed.

After some thought, the court agreed to the public’s request.

Thus, the trial was being broadcast live.

People commented fiercely on the live broadcast:

“Isn’t he showing very little respect for the law?”

“He’s so arrogant! But with so many of us watching, the court won’t cover up for the Smiths!”

In the midst of the argument, the judge frowned. After all, Joel’s failure to bring Mia had gone against his wishes. His actions were indeed quite disrespectful to the court.

He frowned. At that moment, the defendant’s attorney rose.

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