"Mdm. Hebert, don't blame Judy since that's all in the past. She was young and naive back then. That's why she was confused…"

Jenna pretended to plead for Judy, but she was actually adding fuel to the fire. Sure enough, Sally's anger erupted instantly.

She grabbed Jenna's hand and interrupted her, "Jenna, why are you still speaking up for her? She schemed to ruin your marriage, yet she's shameless enough to act like this. Such a  scheming woman would only tarnish the reputation of the Reid family!"

The more Sally spoke, the more agitated she became.

Pointing at Judy, she continued, "You, get out of here now! You—"

She wanted to say more, but Clark stopped her with a gesture. 

Lowering his gaze, he firmly grasped Judy's wrist and ordered, "You, come with me."

He did not even give Judy a chance to react.

Clark's grip was strong as he crushed her wrist in his hand, making her feel like it was going to snap. He pulled her all the way to the room before forcefully closing the door and throwing her onto the bed.

Judy fell awkwardly, feeling a sudden weightlessness that made her dizzy. She tried to get up from the bed, but Clark pinned her down firmly.

What did he want to do?

Panic flashed in her eyes. She instinctively tried to shrink back, but under his restraint, she had nowhere to escape.

The man was emanating an aura of danger, making her very uneasy.

"Why are you trying to hide? Feeling guilty?" he sneered coldly, his sarcasm becoming more intense.

After Judy noticed his expression and heard his words, she widened her eyes in response. 

A prelude to his fury, Clark stared at her and said from above with an icy voice, "You're indeed a well-trained and obedient dog raised by Matthew Blake."



Judy froze for a moment as she held tightly onto the bedsheet. She shook her head and gestured, "I didn't do it."

She was not Matthew's dog. She despised the Blake family. She had to marry into the Reid family because of her grandmother.

"What? Do you expect me to believe you when you're just shaking your head?"

Clark's voice grew deeper. He raised his palm and acted as if he could snap Judy’s neck at any moment.

He was outraged. Since this mute girl came to the house, there had been no peace in the Reid family, and she had caused such a huge scene now. 

She was just a mute, but he had underestimated her.

Judy's face flushed red as she struggled against his strength. She did not want to die. She would not allow herself to die because her grandmother was still waiting for her.

"It seems that without some punishment, you won't confess!"

Seeing her stubborn resistance, Clark snorted coldly and suddenly exerted force to lift her entire body.

She screamed in fear. Even though she could not speak, her throat made a dry, raspy sound of terror, which only disgusted the man even more.

He carried her straight into the bathroom and threw her into the spacious bathtub, commanding in a cold voice, "Take off your clothes!"

Judy froze. What did he want to do?

She lifted her head, only to meet Clark's steely eyes that were devoid of any warmth. At this moment, any explanation from her seemed powerless.

She closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip. After some hesitation, she resigned herself to her fate and slowly began to undress. She removed her clothes one by one, until finally, she was left with just her underwear.

Her body was exposed in front of the man, and at that moment, she felt like nothing but a plaything without dignity.

In the next moment, Clark turned on the faucet. The icy water poured down from the pipes, ruthlessly washing over her entire body.

Instantly, her body warmth dissipated with the water, and Judy shivered violently, her face devoid of any color.

The water was freezing.

"I shall ask you again. Is the news true?" he questioned with a lowered voice, each word striking fear into her heart.

Shuddering, she shook her head. Even her teeth were clattering due to the cold. She had not done anything, and she would not admit to it.

"No, it's not true," she signaled while trembling all over from the cold water, a sight that would move any man, including Clark. 

After he turned off the tap, Judy hugged herself. She was still shivering, her face already bruised.

"As long as you admit it, I'll let you go," he said coldly, giving her one last chance.

However, she continued to shake her head. 

Forcing herself to move through the pain and cold, she gestured, "I haven't done anything. Can you believe me?"

Clark did not understand sign language, but he could see her efforts to deny it. If she was not from the Blake family, he would not have continued like this. 

He had other ways to find out the truth. There was no need for this, but she was indeed a member of the Blake family and she refused to stay put until she caused such trouble.

What good could come from the Blakes?

Driven by these thoughts, his anger flared up again, and he turned on the faucet once more.

"You're still being stubborn, huh? Then stand here until you admit it."

The water rushed down again, and Judy's shoulders tensed up. Clark stepped back and checked the watch on his wrist, expressionless. He wanted to see how long she could hold out.

Time passed, second by second…

Still standing in the bathtub, Judy was almost delirious from the cold water. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably. Several times she nearly lost her balance as her body swayed.

But even so, she showed no intention of compromising. She would not admit to something she had not done!

It was just cold water. She was not afraid.

Not sure how long had passed, but amidst the rushing sound of water in the bathroom, Clark's expression grew increasingly grim as he glanced at his watch.

Unable to hold on any longer, Judy collapsed into the water. With a loud bang, her knees fiercely collided with the edge of the bathtub, and her vision darkened as the intense pain hit her. She fell and passed out.

Clark furrowed his brows, his expression becoming even more complex. His tall figure made the entire bathroom feel extremely cramped.

Judy had refused to say anything until she fainted. There must be something else to this matter.

Finally, he scooped the petite woman out of the bathtub, wiped her down with a towel, and carried her back to bed.

…

Her head was pounding, and her throat was itchy. When Judy woke up, she felt weak all over, breaking down with waves of cold sweats.

Suddenly, the door was forcefully pushed open with a bang, startling her.

Lora looked at her with disgust and disdain before casually tossing a glass in her direction.

"Mr. Reid wants you to drink this."

The drink splattered everywhere, making a mess on the bedside table. Judy silently pulled out two tissues and wiped up the spilled water.

It smelled… like lemon and honey.

"How unfortunate. You just got married not long ago and now you're ill. A disabled person will forever be a handicap," Lora snorted coldly before turning to leave.

Judy's head was throbbing. It was too painful for her to pay any attention to the housekeeper's spiteful words. She mustered up the strength to lift her hand and toss the tissues into the trash can nearby.

As for the honey lemon tea… she had not taken a single sip. Who knew if someone had tampered with it? Too many people in this house would wish for her death, so she had to be cautious.

Not long after she put down the honey lemon tea, the door opened again, and in walked Clark.

As soon as she saw him, she couldn't help but shiver, remembering everything from last night. Every pore on her body exuded a chill as if she had been submerged in icy water again. Fear was all she felt.

"I was framed," she gestured desperately while forcefully suppressing the fear in her heart.

Unfortunately, Clark couldn't understand.

With an indifferent tone, he said, "There's no need to sign. Since you don't admit it, then prove it to me that it has nothing to do with you."

Judy froze. What did he mean?

"Put on your clothes."

Leaving these words behind, Clark turned away while saying, "I'll be waiting for you downstairs."

He then drove her directly to the private high school she had attended before. In the teacher's office stood the principal and the P.E. teacher who was involved in the incident.

"Mr. Reid, there may have been some misunderstanding about what happened back then," the principal said to Clark with a deferential attitude.

He was afraid of offending the Reid family because of an old incident.

Clark raised his hand to interrupt the principal. He looked at Judy expressionlessly and asked, "Is it him?"

Separated by Clark and the principal, Judy glanced at the bald P.E. teacher, Max, and memories of the unpleasant experiences from high school flooded her mind. She instinctively hid behind Clark.

Clark saw her reaction and his heart tightened inexplicably.

"Yes," she gestured while nodding.

"Explain everything from the beginning until the end directly in front of me," said Clark with a cold voice.

There was no trace of husbandly warmth in his gaze toward Judy. The men in the office exchanged glances. It seemed that the rumors were true. What position could a mute woman have in the Reid family?

"My goodness, how exciting! That's Mr. Reid's wife! What a cheater!" One comment wrote.

"But why did the high and mighty Mr. Reid marry a mute? That makes no sense," said another.

"That woman looks quite pretty, what kind of horrible taste in men must she have to like that bald teacher? That's disgusting!"

An endless row of comments shot into Clark Reid's vision like an eyesore.

He shot up abruptly and marched out of the office after grabbing his jacket. 

Jeremy followed closely behind and thought to himself, "It's over for Mrs. Reid… "

Shortly after, the Maybach pulled into the manor. 

Clark chucked his phone in front of Judy as soon as he entered the manor. 

Judy was taking a nap, and was groggily woken up by his abrupt actions. She sat up hurriedly and picked up the phone in a daze. Then, she clicked on the link that was displayed on the phone. 

Her face gradually darkened as she scrolled down.

Who posted these things online? 

Quite a few people knew about the incident in highschool, but nothing has ever happened all these years. Why is it blowing up now?

The man's cold voice rang from above her. "What is the meaning of this?"

Judy pursed her lips tightly. She felt extremely stressed. She hurriedly jotted her explanation on paper.

"I don't know what's going on either." It read.

The bald teacher's crude statement, as well as the disgusting rumors of her seducing her teachers were all false and made-up!

He didn't get a chance to reply before Sally stormed in with Jenna in tow.

The older woman was fuming. She pointed a finger at Judy and started yelling, "You shameless woman! The Reid family's reputation is completely ruined because of you! Look at all those scandals of yours on the Internet right now!"

Jenna stood behind her. A hint of triumph flashed across her eyes at the sight of her sister's pale expression.

She pretended to be concerned for her and asked, "What's going on, Judy? Isn't that man your high school gym teacher? Why would he say such a thing? Is he trying to get back at you for breaking up with him?"

Jenna intentionally emphasized the words "high school gym teacher" and "break up." 

Sally blew up upon hearing this. "Even Jenna knows about this, how are you supposed to explain yourself now!"

Judy turned toward Jenna and wrote: "You're lying. Can you swear I broke up with that PE teacher?"

Jenna didn't care for details like these. She put on an aggrieved expression and said, "How could you say that to me, Judy? I'm just worried about you."

She was so committed to the act that Judy thought her sister should've become an actress—her talents would've been wasted otherwise.

Hence, she turned to look at Clark instead. His eyebrows were deeply furrowed as he eyed her with an analytical expression. She thought for a moment before writing again:

"I didn't do any of those things, please believe me."

Sally pointed a finger at Judy's nose and said, "You mute, this was clearly something you did out of your own free will, now you're claiming that you're being set up?

"I'll have you kicked out of the manor by today. We don't want women with no self-respect like you!"

Judy knew that she clarified everything that needed to be explained. It didn't matter if Sally Hebert believed her or not, what mattered more was whether or not Clark believed her.

Only Clark has the ability to help her prove her innocence! That's why she kept eyeing his expression.

Upon being ignored, Sally was fuming. Her words became more demeaning by the second.

"Why would they talk about you in particular instead of others? The way you behave is the problem! I'd advise you not to defend yourself anymore.

"This incident has been spreading like wildfire—Everyone knows about it. Don't blame me for being heartless, but there's no room for you here at the Reid family!"

Sally abruptly shoved her.

Judy was taken aback by her sudden push and struggled momentarily to regain her balance.

She subconsciously looked toward Clark, only to be met with cold and unfeeling eyes. His gaze didn't waver at all.

Judy's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.


"Mdm. Hebert, don't blame Judy since that's all in the past. She was young and naive back then. That's why she was confused…"

Jenna pretended to plead for Judy, but she was actually adding fuel to the fire. Sure enough, Sally's anger erupted instantly.

She grabbed Jenna's hand and interrupted her, "Jenna, why are you still speaking up for her? She schemed to ruin your marriage, yet she's shameless enough to act like this. Such a  scheming woman would only tarnish the reputation of the Reid family!"

The more Sally spoke, the more agitated she became.

Pointing at Judy, she continued, "You, get out of here now! You—"

She wanted to say more, but Clark stopped her with a gesture. 

Lowering his gaze, he firmly grasped Judy's wrist and ordered, "You, come with me."

He did not even give Judy a chance to react.

Clark's grip was strong as he crushed her wrist in his hand, making her feel like it was going to snap. He pulled her all the way to the room before forcefully closing the door a

Chapter 18