Chapter 45: You have to take action
"This is unacceptable! Look what Clara has done to my son!"
Helena’s furious voice echoed throughout the Pearl Mansion’s living room.
She deliberately raised her voice, making sure every word settled into the minds of those seated across from her.
The room fell into an uneasy silence.
Nicholas sat at the head of the room, his expression unreadable, while Jonathan and Grace exchanged uncertain glances.
Eric sat beside his parents with his head lowered.
His swollen eye, split lip, bruised jaw, and bandaged ankle made him look utterly miserable.
Alaric let out a heavy sigh before looking at Nicholas.
"I admit Eric was wrong."
His voice remained calm and measured.
"He shouldn’t have confronted Clara after seeing her with another man. He acted impulsively, and we’ve already reprimanded him for it."
He paused before his tone hardened.
"But does making a mistake justify this?"
He gestured toward Eric.
"Look at him. He can barely walk. What if the injuries had been more severe? What if Clara had accidentally taken his life?"
Helena lowered her head, wiping away imaginary tears.
"I’ve never defended Eric when he’s wrong."
She gently held her son’s hand.
"I know he made a foolish decision. But he’s still my son. What mother could sit here and pretend everything is fine after seeing her child beaten like this?"
Jonathan remained quiet.
Grace glanced at Eric before lowering her eyes. Regardless of what had happened, his injuries were undeniably serious.
Seeing the hesitation on their faces, Helena knew she had successfully planted the first seed of doubt.
The truth was...
The moment Eric returned home and told them everything that had happened at the club, both she and Alaric had been furious.
Not because Clara had beaten him.
But because he had been foolish enough to confess his true intentions for marrying Hannah while Clara was recording everything.
If that recording ever surfaced...
Eric would be finished.
Their relationship with the Sterling family would be ruined, along with every benefit that came from being their in-laws.
Rather than waiting for Clara to make the first move, Helena decided it was better to strike first.
If everyone believed Clara was violent, manipulative, and unstable, then even if she produced evidence later, people would instinctively question her motives.
Eric lowered his head further before speaking in a weak, trembling voice.
"I... I only wanted to stop her."
His voice sounded pitiful.
"I told her she was making a mistake. I begged her to calm down. But..."
He swallowed hard.
"...she thought I’d become a problem."
His shoulders shook as though he were reliving the memory.
"So... she sent a group of men after me."
Everyone frowned.
Eric slowly touched the bruise near his eye.
"They surrounded me."
"I couldn’t even fight back."
"They just kept hitting me..."
"...until I blacked out."
Silence filled the room.
Grace instinctively frowned.
Something about his story felt off.
She had only spent a short time with Clara yesterday, but from what she had seen...
Hiring a group of thugs to beat someone?
That didn’t sound like Clara at all.
Helena immediately spoke before anyone could question Eric further.
"My poor son."
She looked toward Nicholas, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Uncle..."
"Can you imagine how terrified he must have been?"
"He could have died."
Nicholas remained silent, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of his chair.
Helena mistook his silence for hesitation and immediately pressed on.
"I understand Dominic loves his wife."
"No one blames him for protecting her."
She sighed deeply.
"Even after so many people advised him against this marriage, he still insisted on marrying Clara."
"And we respected his decision."
"But now..."
She gestured toward Eric.
"Look at what’s happening."
Alaric nodded solemnly.
"Exactly."
"We accepted Clara into the Sterling family because we believed she would eventually mature."
"We hoped marriage would make her more responsible."
"Instead..."
He shook his head.
"She’s become even more reckless."
Helena continued without missing a beat.
"Uncle, being the Sterling family’s daughter-in-law isn’t just a title. It comes with responsibility. Every decision she makes reflects on this family. Yet she acts however she pleases. She gets into fights. She humiliates family members. And now she’s resorted to violence."
Jonathan finally spoke.
"Helena, don’t you think you’re making assumptions before hearing Clara’s side?"
Helena turned to him with a helpless smile.
"Jonathan, I’m looking at the evidence."
She pointed toward Eric. "My son’s injuries aren’t assumptions. They’re real. Can anyone deny what we’re seeing?"
Jonathan fell silent.
Helena seized the opportunity.
"If Clara truly believed Eric was wrong, she could have brought the matter to the family. She could have let Uncle decide. But instead, she took matters into her own hands."
She slowly shook her head.
"What does that say about her respect for this family?"
Grace quietly lowered her gaze. She couldn’t deny that Helena’s words sounded reasonable.
Yet... Something about them felt carefully calculated.
As though every sentence had been chosen to shift all the blame onto Clara while minimizing Eric’s own actions.
Helena turned back toward Nicholas.
"Uncle..."
Her voice softened.
"I don’t want this family to fall apart. I don’t want conflict between our children. But if no one corrects Clara now... I’m afraid she’ll become even bolder."
She took a slow breath before saying firmly,
"I believe she owes Eric an apology."
The room became completely still.
Helena continued,
"And not just a private apology. She should acknowledge what she did in front of the family. She needs to understand that no one—not even Dominic’s wife—is above the family’s rules."
Alaric nodded in agreement.
"If today’s actions go unpunished... What message are we sending to everyone else? That violence is acceptable as long as you’re married to Dominic?"
Helena looked directly at Nicholas.
"Uncle...as the head of the Sterling family, this is your responsibility. You have to take action. If Clara refuses to apologize..." She paused deliberately before finishing.
"...then I honestly don’t know whether I can allow my son to remain in a family where the daughter-in-law can assault someone without consequences."
The room fell into a heavy silence. No one spoke. No one moved. Even Eric kept his head lowered, hiding the smug smile threatening to appear on his lips.
Everything was going exactly as planned. But what amused him was Hannah’s absence.
’Just where is she?’ he wondered.
Just as Helena opened her mouth to continue, a cold, authoritative voice cut through the room.
"I wasn’t aware the Sterling family now reached verdicts without hearing both sides."
Every head turned toward the entrance. The butler had just opened the grand doors.
Dominic walked in with his usual composed stride, dressed in a charcoal suit that only emphasized his commanding presence.
Beside him was Clara. Unlike the anxious expression everyone expected, she appeared remarkably calm.
Her posture was straight, her face expressionless, and her eyes swept across the room before finally landing on Eric.
For a fleeting moment, the corners of her lips curved into the faintest smile.
Eric’s smug expression instantly disappeared. A glimpse of what happened yesterday crossing his mind.
Dominic stopped beside Clara, his gaze moving from Helena to Alaric before finally settling on Nicholas.
"Grandfather."
Nicholas gave a slight nod.
Then Dominic looked back at Helena.
"I’ve only been standing outside for a minute," he said evenly, "yet somehow my wife has already been declared guilty, sentenced, and ordered to apologize."
His voice remained calm. Too calm. It was the kind of calm that usually came before a storm.
He slipped one hand into his pocket.
"So..."
His sharp eyes swept across everyone in the room.
"Now that the prosecution has finished presenting its case..."
He glanced at Clara before looking back at the others.
"...would anyone mind if the defense finally had a chance to speak?"