The middle-aged man held the invitation card and returned it to Ethan with both hands, bowing and apologizing simultaneously. "My apologies, Mr. Knight this invitation card is legitimate. I apologize for unintentionally insulting you just now! I did not mean to. Please forgive me. I hope you will not hold this against Carrolls."
Then he straightened his body and gave Brendan a hard stare.
Brendan was blamed for pressuring Ethan to produce the invitation card for review. He was simply a steward for the Carrolls, and offending an honored visitor would get him in trouble!
Brendan took two steps back, mouth wide open in shock, saying constantly, "How can it be authentic?" How could he possibly have received an invitation from the Carrolls? No! This is impossible! "He must have stolen it from someone." Brendan is still stuttering from his surprise.
Smack!
Brendan received a firm slap on the face, interrupting his nonsensical rambling!
Thaddeus had strolled over at some point. After smacking Brendan to silence him, he brought his hands together and faced the middle-aged man and the other guests around him. He apologized in earnest, saying, "Sorry, everyone. Brendan Reed, my grandson, made a mistake out of rashness. We apologize for upsetting all of you."
Ethan gently sipped his tea and casually tossed the invitation card the middle-aged guy handed him onto the table.
In actuality, Ethan did not own the invitation card. Dylan had stolen it from Seth Clay, who had just made a fuss with them. Gideon Boysen had a few invitation cards but didn't give them to Ethan because he had previously refused to attend the baby shower. But still, they are still invited to this party.
After hearing Thaddeus's words, the people around them instantly began talking among themselves. Brendan Reed, the heir of Reed Corporation, is truly brazen in offending a prominent figure.
Everyone could tell Brendan wasn't acting rashly; he clearly had a rivalry with Ethan and was thus domineering with the latter!
They reasoned that Ethan had once been the Reeds' live-in son-in-law but had been chased away along with his wife and her family, so there must have been some compelling tale behind it. Of course, it's a family issue and they could not dwell much to it.
Almost everyone in attendance came from prestigious families in Emerald Coast County, and every wealthy and esteemed family had dark secrets.
For a while, people's imaginations were filled with innumerable speculations. Speculations that are baseless and for the sake of discussion were being brought up.
A few young people who knew Brendan started laughing and saying, "Mr. Reed, surely the man in front of you isn't the one who got involved in a scandal with your cousin Anastasia Reed, is he?"
Brendan grew agitated upon hearing the dismissive tone in the word "scandal." He believed he'd found a backer. "He's exactly that penniless punk. We had to convince Anastasia, who had wrecked the family's reputation, to marry him. We let him take advantage of us and supplied for him completely, but this jerk doesn't understand gratitude!"
Brendan yelled loudly and even looked at Ethan scornfully as if Ethan owed the Reeds a considerable favor.
"Oh? "How is he an ingrate?" someone inquired.
"Hmph, not long after he married, he fled with hundreds of thousands of dollars from his father-in-law and returned only seven years later. After blowing all that money, he still dared to return and demand that we continue caring for him. That's not everything. He's also incredibly arrogant and cruel. He spoke back to my grandfather multiple times, forcing him to pass out. He even dared to strike me simply because he had been in the military for a few years. Look, this jerk broke my wrist! He doesn't deserve to be part of the Reeds."
Brendan displayed his gauze-wrapped wrist as "evidence" of Ethan's wrongdoing. "Unfortunately, that shameless woman Anastasia Reed was somehow bewitched by him and insisted on conspiring with this jerk to enrage us." So, in the end, we had no choice but to kick them out of the family and disown them because we couldn't take it anymore! They are ingrate to the core and black sheep of the family."
Brendan distorted facts to make the Reeds appear to be kind-hearted souls. He even accused Ethan and Anastasia of being ungrateful and unfaithful.
Brendan felt relieved after making this statement. He felt like he was once again superior to Ethan. He was able to bark all his grievances to Ethan.
Snap!
Suddenly, a clear and crisp breaking sound filled the air, halting Brendan's attempt to continue framing Ethan.
Ethan broke the teacup in his hand, causing the bits to tumble on the table.
Everyone became silent and stared at him, stunned. Despite the total hush, he replied, "Nonsense. You even disrespected my wife. It appears you have forgotten the warning I gave you earlier. You are like a dog barking to a tree non-stop."
Ethan's gaze was cold, and his eyes were full of a keen sparkle. He looked daggers at Brendan with a menacing aura capable of crushing people to bits.
The air surrounding Ethan appeared to freeze, and several people took a few steps back as they felt a shiver in their hearts. This guy is not someone you can easily offended.
Brendan was terrified as he faced Ethan's stern glare. Ethan's eyes were like daggers piercing his heart, causing him to shake and sweat profusely. Even his legs went to jelly.
Brendan leaned against the chair beside him, insisting, "I-I'm not spewing gibberish. You and Anastasia Reed had certainly screwed about and became entangled in a scandal. Do you claim you had nothing to do with what occurred to the Reeds recently? Are you that clean?"
Ethan looked at Brendan coldly. "Since you mentioned what happened then, how come you don't remember that the scandal only happened because you and the Reeds had deliberately set Anastasia up in a bid to encroach on the Spark Enterprises? Did you forget easily? Or are you that stupid to forget your own deeds?"
Ethan's words astounded everyone!
Almost everyone in Emerald Coast County knew of the scandal involving Anastasia and Ethan, a chauffeur, at the time, everyone thought Anastasia was a beautiful and respectable woman on the outside but desperate and indecent on the inside, to the point where she got connected with a poor chauffeur. Anastasia bears all the humiliation because of this scandal.
Anastasia's reputation was shattered overnight, and despite the Reeds seizing control of the Spark Enterprises, which she had founded and developed on her own, many believed she had earned it. They even thought that the Reeds had made the correct decision because she would only further discredit the Reeds if she remained chairperson of the Spark Enterprises.
However, they have now heard something shocking. It revealed that the Reeds were the ones who orchestrated the controversy to seize the Spark Enterprises from Anastasia. This is new to them.
The news was shocking!
Brendan and Thaddeus's expressions changed dramatically. They never anticipated this rascal would find out about the matter, which they had kept very private and only told a few individuals. Now it is out in the open.
But no matter how Ethan learned, they couldn't admit to being the masterminds!
Otherwise, not only the two of them but also the Reeds would be deeply mortified. Their firm, which had finally recovered after years of hard work, would suffer another setback! They will not allow it.
Who would be willing to work with a corporation that had no bottom line and would go to any length to maximize profits?
Brendan and Thaddeus exchanged glances, clearly knowing one other's thoughts.
Brendan felt encouraged after gaining Thaddeus's support and yelled, "Bullshit!" The Reeds have never done something like that. You're just smearing us, you worthless jerk! You only bark worthless words. You don't have any proof yet, you spout nonsense."
He took up a bottle of white wine and repeatedly try to smash it against Ethan's head as he talked!