Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex's 'Uncle' novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Reclaiming What's Rightfully Mine

James looked at Selina with a pained expression, his voice heavy with disappointment. "Sending you to the countryside for those years truly ruined your character. You've become so ruthless!"

Katie, who had just arrived, rushed forward and tried to slap Selina. "You wretch! How dare you harm my daughter!"

Selina sidestepped her easily, her face calm. She had long known that no matter what Natalia did, James, Katie, and Ryan would always believe and protect her unconditionally. By now, their biased reactions no longer fazed her.

She let out a cold laugh. "Harm your daughter? Katie, everything Natalia knows about scheming, she must have learned from you. Like mother, like daughter!"

With that, Selina pulled out her phone and played a video for everyone to see. The footage showed Natalia meeting the man who had caused the scene at the engagement party. They were seated in a café, the surveillance footage capturing every detail. Though there was no audio, the image of Natalia signing a check and handing it to the man was crystal clear.

Natalia's tearful expression froze in an instant, her face going pale. How is this possible? She had personally ensured the café's surveillance footage was deleted, even wiping all backups.

Selina caught the fleeting panic and confusion in Natalia's eyes and smiled faintly. Her gaze, however, was ice-cold. To her, bypassing a few firewalls and decrypting a simple protocol was child's play—it was just a matter of accessing residual data.

Still, Natalia maintained her facade of innocence, tears welling up again as she looked pitifully at the crowd.

Ryan, moved by Natalia's performance, stepped forward in her defense. "Selina, all you do is play these petty games. Don't think you can bully Natalia and frame her like this! I won't let you get away with it!"

Selina sneered, then walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face. "Ryan, if you're not going to use your brain, donate it! You can't tell right from wrong, you're ungrateful, and you've been sneaking around with Natalia behind my back. You're the worst kind of scum! I must've been blind to have ever fallen for someone like you!"

Before Ryan could react, Selina turned and slapped Natalia just as hard. "And you, Natalia, spreading false rumors about me. You're just as despicable as Your mistress of a mother!"

She glared at the pair, her voice dripping with venom. "You're a perfect match—scum and trash. I wish you both a long, miserable life together, sparing the rest of us from your filth!"

Ryan, humiliated and enraged, raised his hand to strike her back, but Selina caught his wrist and twisted it sharply.

"Ah!" Ryan let out a scream of pain.

Selina released him with a look of disdain, her sharp gaze catching the familiar jade necklace hanging around Natalia's neck. Without hesitation, she yanked it off.

So they had already given the necklace to Natalia within a day? If she had come even a little later, she might never have seen it again.

The jade necklace had once been a gift to her mother from a prominent figure in City N, someone who owed her mother a great favor. It was said that presenting the necklace to this figure could secure a request, no matter how significant.

Her mother had entrusted Selina with the necklace on her deathbed, telling her to take it with her when she married into the Carter Family. The necklace was meant to ensure the Carter Family treated her with respect.

But her mother had not foreseen the Carter Family's cold and calculating nature. They didn't care about Selina; they only wanted the necklace to claim the favor for themselves.

Selina held the jade necklace tightly, running her fingers over it to ensure it wasn't damaged. It wasn't the favor she cared about—it was the fact that the necklace was her mother's cherished keepsake.

With her goal accomplished, Selina saw no reason to linger. She turned on her heel and walked away without a backward glance, leaving the Clark Family and Ryan behind, cursing at her retreating figure.

Selina hummed a cheerful tune as she turned a corner, only to be startled by the sight of Logan standing regally in the hallway, accompanied by a strikingly handsome man in a white coat with gold-rimmed glasses.

Ethan Drake, who had just witnessed the earlier drama unfold, blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected to run into the main players so soon. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he was about to suggest that he and Logan walk away when Selina spoke up, her voice tinged with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting a patient," Logan replied evenly.

Ethan's eyes darted between Logan and Selina, gleaming with open curiosity. These two know each other?

Sensing Ethan's unspoken question, Logan introduced her with his usual calm demeanor. "This is Selina, my wife."

Ethan's eyes widened in shock. "Your wife?!"