Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 297

Chapter 297: The Purpose of the Hammer
James trembled all over, cold sweat breaking out on his skin.

The speaker was Logan—the one person he couldn’t afford to offend.

“Mr. Reid, I…”

“The last time, someone claimed Selina seduced a judge.” Logan spoke slowly, his tone calm, but it sent chills through everyone. “Where’s the evidence?”

Evidence?

Everyone thought back. Honestly, barely anyone had actually seen any evidence. But the rumor came from the Clark family. Mr. Clark and Grandpa Clark were Selina’s relatives. Surely, they wouldn’t lie.

James’ throat tightened. He wasn’t sure what Logan was getting at. “The evidence… it’s all with Ellis…”

Logan let out a cold laugh. “With Ellis?”

“Yes, yes.” James snapped back to his senses, quickly trying to please him. “Mr. Reid, Selina was out of line last time. Sleeping with a judge? That’s a fact. We have the person involved—what more proof do you need?”

Ellis was the person involved. He said it himself—Selina woke up in his bed. That was the proof!

“The person involved?” Logan nodded lightly. “Then this time, with Ellis not even present, who exactly did Mr. Clark hear it from?”

Ethan chuckled. “Great question, Logan. Mr. Clark, last time Ellis said your daughter seduced him and you believed it—no other evidence needed. You said it was because the witness himself testified? Fine.

“But this time, Ellis hasn’t shown up once. Someone tells you Selina seduced him, and you believe it again? What, anyone says something bad about your daughter and you just take it at face value? That’s what you call being a father?”

“Starting to think those rumors are true—maybe Selina’s not even your daughter…”

“It was Angelica who told me!” James blurted, scared Ethan would say something even more damning.

“Angelica’s kind-hearted. She’s always had Selina’s best interests at heart. You think she’d lie to me?!”

“Oh, Angelica,” Ethan nodded. “That’s funny. And how exactly did Miss Angelica find out? You’ve got that much pull in the design competition that you even know who the judges slept with last night?”

The people around them started looking at Angelica strangely.

Yeah… how did Angelica know something nobody else did? Was she spying on the judges? Or making things up…

James suddenly realized they’d walked into a trap. “Angelica… she just…”

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

Angelica burst into tears, shaking her head. “Mr. Reid, my manager saw Ellis with a woman last night… I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I was just too worried about Selina…”

Joe frowned, clearly distressed by his daughter’s tears. “Mr. Reid, Angelica meant well.”

Logan didn’t even bother looking at Joe. He said lazily, “So you’re saying Miss Clark saw Ellis with a woman, and just assumed it was Selina?”

Angelica bit her lip, not realizing she was walking right into it. “Y-yes, that’s what happened…”

Luke chimed in mockingly, “Wow. All that talk on Twitter about ‘believing in your sister,’ but the second Ellis is seen with a woman, you assume it’s her. Can’t wait to tell the world she seduced another judge, huh? That’s some real ‘trust’ right there~”

Everyone could hear the sarcasm—and even Joe had nothing to say.

Angelica looked flustered. “I didn’t mean…”

“In that case, Miss Angelica,” Logan said coolly, eyes sharp, “why don’t you come with me to find Ellis? Best to clear things up properly, don’t you all agree?”

Selina nodded. “Exactly. I’m right here, yet this kind of rumor’s already out there. If we don’t clear it up, what if a lie turns into the ‘truth’ later?”

Alice and Ethan also chimed in: “Exactly. Mr. Clark should see for himself who’s actually in Ellis’s bed—so he doesn’t suddenly ‘forget’ later and try to pin it on Selina again.”

That line called James out by name. His face went pale. “No, no, I care about Selina a lot! It was all just a misunderstanding…”

Too bad. Logan had already asked the hotel staff to lead the way. The whole group headed straight for Ellis’s room.

James and Angelica gritted their teeth and hurried to catch up.

…

Outside Ellis’s door, Selina gave Angelica a long, meaningful look—then knocked.

Angelica had a bad feeling in her gut.

But before she could think it through, a woman’s voice came from inside the room.

Everyone’s expression shifted. Then a few contestants burst out in anger.

“Someone really is sleeping with Ellis?”

“The competition’s about to start and someone’s shamelessly seducing the judges? Trading sex for favors? What are we, a joke to them?”

“We have to see who it is!”

James knew something was off. “That’s enough, Selina. Stop stirring up trouble!”

He was starting to realize what this whole situation actually was. Trying to get rid of this worthless burden had backfired—now even Ellis was pissed. Totally not worth it.

Selina raised an eyebrow slightly. “I’m just trying to clear my name. How is that ‘stirring up trouble’? And honestly, I’m curious too. Who’s in that room? Why would Angelica think it was me?”

“Pretty sure everyone else is curious too, right?”

With that, Selina grabbed a mallet and smashed the lock open in one clean hit.

Angelica snapped. “No—!”

Click—Selina flipped on the light. The dim room was instantly lit up, revealing the two people in the bed.

The man, eyes half-lidded and face flushed with pleasure, was unmistakably Ellis.

And the woman clung to him, grinding on him, totally unbothered by the crowd outside.

Absolutely shameless.

Angelica’s heart was pounding in her throat. Suddenly, she remembered—Katie never came back last night. Selina didn’t take the bait. So who else could that woman be?

No. No way!

Angelica panicked. “Selina, wait—Judge Lee can sleep with whoever he wants, you don’t need to—”

Before she could finish, the woman on the bed turned around.

Her face now fully visible—eyes shut, but everyone recognized her.

Selina spoke slowly and clearly: “Angelica, Judge Lee sleeping with your mother—is that ‘his freedom’ too?”

The words dropped like a bomb.

It was Katie.

The woman in Ellis’s bed was Katie.

What the hell?! Katie??

If that’s Katie, then what was Angelica’s whole setup for?

Selina hadn’t done anything. The one sleeping around was someone else entirely.

Even if Angelica was now the young lady of the Morris family, Katie had raised her for over twenty years. She didn’t know what kind of person Katie really was?

Angelica’s mind blanked out for a solid three seconds before she let out a scream, rushing forward to cover Katie with a blanket.

Selina looked at her, half-smirking. “So the one sleeping with the judge is Ms. Bryant. No wonder you tried to throw it all on me. You’re being a good daughter, huh? Couldn’t stand to see Katie dragged through the mud. I get it.”