Chapter 104: Do Not Insult My Mother

Julia immediately recognized the angry old woman standing before her as Sephina Ford—the very woman who had made her granddaughter’s life so difficult. Behind her stood Jay Ford, the scoundrel who had married the woman her son had loved. Next to him was his mistress, Clara Ford, standing silently.

Julia’s grip on her cane tightened.

She walked forward with purpose.

Natalie kept her gaze lowered, her posture that of someone bearing the weight of guilt. Even after being slapped, she didn’t retort, allowing her tears to fall like a silent confession.

The hospital staff in the VIP area watched in stunned silence. John, arriving just then, hadn’t expected the old woman to hit Natalie again.

"Ms. Natalie..." he started, concern in his voice.

Natalie lightly raised her hand, signaling him to stop. She knew she was at fault this time and felt she needed to accept it. Involving outsiders in her family matters was the last thing she wanted.

"You shameless bitch, last time I told you to stay away from Albert, but you are adamant on killing him," Sephina’s angry voice echoed in the corridor once more. "You and your mother, both are nothing but bad omen to my family..."

Before Natalie could respond, Julia reached there, her face twisted in fury. "How dare you raise your hand on her?"

Sephina whirled around, glaring at Julia, sizing up the slightly older woman. "And who are you to dare interfere?" she spat, then turned back to Natalie. "What kind of people are you surrounding yourself with, collecting more shameless and wicked individuals to defend you? First that useless husband of yours and now this old hag."

"You foul-mouthed, uncultured woman!" Julia growled, her voice cutting through the tension. "Don’t you dare raise your voice at my granddaughter, or I will make you regret it."

Before Sephina could spew more insults, Natalie, her voice fragile yet firm, intervened. "Grandma Julia, please... stay out of it."

Julia was clearly displeased. "Natalie, she’s hurting you and insulting you..."

"It’s my fault this time, Grandma Julia," Natalie’s voice trembled as she spoke, her tears barely contained. "Please..."

"So you admit your fault?" Jay Ford chimed in, his tone sharp. "If something happens to my father, I swear I’ll make you pay for it. You’ll regret even being born. I should’ve let you die with your mother—then none of this would’ve happened to our family."

Clara stood by, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

she thought.

Julia’s gaze snapped to Jay. "You! A man like you never deserved Caryn. You should be grateful she ever considered you and gave you the title of her husband."

"Whoever you are, get the hell out of here," Sephina growled at Julia. "I’m talking to my granddaughter, who has clearly lost her mind and needs a good lesson. And here you are, praising her slut of a mother and insulting my son?"

"You’re the one who’s lost your mind," Julia shot back, her voice full of anger. "Your son is worthless. You’re living this good life thanks to Caryn. Without her, the Ford family would be nothing but a pile of trash."

Natalie, desperate to stop the escalating conflict, turned to Julia, her voice hoarse and choked with emotion. "Grandma, please... I beg you, don’t meddle. I don’t want them to insult you. Please, listen to me."

Sephina’s voice cut through, dripping with venom. "You care more for this outsider than your own grandfather, who you almost killed today?" She spat, her words laced with cruelty. "Your mother was a shameless bitch, and you’re no different. Seeing you, I even doubt you’re my granddaughter. Your mother probably brought some bastard into our family. She was a whore, and so are you, with rich men crawling around you."

Natalie turned to Sephina, her eyes blazing with anger. "Say whatever you want about me and punish me if you must, but don’t you dare say a single bad word about my mother. She was a great woman who gave everything to this family selflessly."

"Great?" Sephina scoffed, her voice dripping with hate. "You have no idea how many men she must have slept with to make the Ford Group as successful as it is..."

"Grandma!" Natalie’s voice rang out, filled with pain and fury. "Don’t insult my mother. She loved her husband, but he’s the one who betrayed her—he had a mistress behind her back! Your son is the one who should be called what you’re calling my mother—a whore!"

Jay’s face turned red with rage, but before he could react, Sephina’s fury erupted first.

"You dare call my son a whore?" she shouted, raising her hand to strike Natalie again.

But this time, her wrist was caught mid-air.

Sephina glared up at the tall man in the black suit, her eyes flashing with anger. "Who are you, and how dare you touch me? Another one of the men this whore sleeps with?"

The man let go of her hand, politely but his gaze and words were anything but polite. "I am Ms Natalie’s bodyguard. I request you to refrain from hurting her anymore or the consequences would be worse for you. You have already hit her once and I am holding back simply because you are a old woman."

Sephina could sense the cold warning in him and rubbed her hurting wrist while Jay Faced him, "How dare you treat my mother this way? Do you know who we are..."

"I let your mother go because she is a woman, but I might not be that generous with you," John spoke coldly, "And whoever you are, I do not need to know you. You are simply a nobody in front of my boss."

Julia, standing nearby, nodded in approval. "Good job, John."

"Who is your boss?" Sephina asked, "the one who spent two billion on this whore to dance with or that actor or another of one whose bed she warms."

John ignored her blatantly and turned to Natalie. "Ms. Natalie, I apologise for failing to stop her from hitting you. I was late."

"And you’ll be punished for that," a cold voice echoed down the corridor, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps.

John immediately lowered his head as Justin appeared, whose gaze was fixed solely on Natalie.

"I’ll accept my punishment," John said quietly.

"Take Julia away," Justin ordered, his voice sharp and authoritative.

Julia resisted. "But—"

"Listen to me," Justin’s cold gaze was enough for Julia to agree to it. Though unwilling, she quietly walked away with John. She could throw tantrums at him and Justin would obey her, but when he was like this, so seriously cold, Julia knew better than anyone that it was time for her to give in.

Justin stood beside Natalie and gently turned her to face him. Her teary eyes, swollen with emotion, met his, and the red imprint of fingers on her cheek was painfully clear. His deep gaze darkened with icy fury at the sight.

"You...should...stay out of it...too," she murmured weakly, though she felt a flicker of strength returning with his presence near her.

"That’s not going to happen," he replied firmly, his thumb gently wiping the tears from beneath her eyes. Though his gaze remained cold, there was a quiet comfort in his touch that only Natalie could feel.

Justin’s attention shifted to Sephina, who was now rubbing her wrist, clearly feeling the sting of John’s earlier grip, and to Jay, who was visibly unsettled by Justin’s sudden presence.

"Looks like you’ve forgotten the warning I gave you last time," Justin’s voice dropped, deep and menacing, reverberating through the corridor like a threat.