Chapter 11: Caught in the Act

Upon hearing the sudden inner voice, Dominic Vane and Arthur Vane both frowned and looked at Jasper Vane. "Didn't you tell us you were first in every exam at school? How did you end up in last place?"

{Is last place not still a 'first' place?} Seren thought. {Just tell me if the word 'first' is in the ranking or not.}

Jasper’s handsome face turned beet red. He hadn't expected his long-hidden grades to be exposed so easily by Seren. While Jasper’s grades hadn't been top-tier in the past, he had at least gotten into a key middle school on his own merit and usually ranked in the middle.

Dominic hadn't realized that his son had already been poisoned by Vivienne to such an extent without his knowledge, and his anger flared even higher.

"This Vivienne is truly a venomous woman! I’m going back to deal with her right now!"

As Dominic made a move to leave, Jasper quickly blocked his path.

"Dad, the matter hasn't been cleared up yet. No one can prove Mom really cheated, and the poison in the cups might not have been her doing. You're not allowed to bully her!"

Seeing Jasper’s stubbornness, Dominic was fuming. "You want evidence? Fine. I’ll go back and do a paternity test with the fetus in Vivienne’s womb. We’ll see what excuse you have to protect her once the results are out!"

Vivienne was four months pregnant, and with current technology, a paternity test was already possible.

Jasper was certain Vivienne wouldn't cheat or harm them, so he immediately nodded in agreement. "Fine. I’ll call Mom right now and have her go to the hospital with you for the test. If the results show the baby is yours, you must apologize to her!"

Just as the father and son were about to call Vivienne, Seren spoke up unhurriedly.

"No need for all that trouble. Second Uncle, didn't you just tell Vivienne that you weren't coming home tonight and let her go back first?"

Dominic didn't know why Seren suddenly brought this up, but he answered honestly, "Yes. I was worried she’d find out I was testing the cups for poison, so I told her Jasper and I wouldn't be home tonight. Why?"

Seren said, "Taking advantage of your absence, she just invited her precious 'Old Wang' over to play on the living room sofa. If you go back now, you can catch them in the act. But you’d better hurry. Old Wang’s stamina is a bit short; they've already started their 'workout,' and the whole set will probably be over in ten minutes."

As her words fell, Arthur’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. This grandson’s wife of his was certainly wild, blabbing about everything.

Dominic’s face, meanwhile, was livid. He never imagined that Vivienne, having just been nearly caught this morning, would dare to bring a man home!

No longer wasting time on anger, he hurriedly called the driver, brought the whole family along, and rushed back to catch them.

With the gas pedal floored, they blew through several red lights and managed to get home within ten minutes.

Along the way, Jasper was still defending Vivienne, thinking Seren was just slandering his stepmother out of spite. But when the villa door was pushed open and those ear-reddening sounds drifted out, he couldn't say another word.

Dominic flicked on the lights. Seeing the two figures entangled on the sofa, his blood boiled. He grabbed a shoehorn and began whipping the two of them.

Smack! Smack!

"You despicable pair! I’ll teach you to cheat! I'll beat you to death!"

Since Vivienne was pregnant, Dominic didn't dare use heavy force on her out of traditional moral concerns. But he wasn't nearly as gentle with Rick. The shoehorn came down repeatedly, leaving blue and purple welts across Rick’s pale, flabby flesh.

Vivienne and Rick hadn't expected Dominic to return at this time. They only had time to hurriedly pull on their underwear before scurrying around the room, shielding their heads while begging for mercy.

Seren watched from the side, clicking her tongue.

{I thought only ordinary people went crazy when facing a cheating partner; I didn't expect these high-society elites to be the same.}

{Honestly, this Rick isn't even that good-looking. He’s miles behind Second Uncle. His stamina is short too—what was Vivienne thinking?}

{That beer belly is bigger than Vivienne's baby bump. Truly an eyesore.}

While Seren was enthusiastically enjoying the drama, her eyes were suddenly covered by a large, warm palm.

A faint woody scent accompanied a man’s deep voice: "Keep your eyes off things you shouldn't see."

Seren curled her lip.

{I’ve already seen everything; what’s the point of covering them now?}

{But speaking of which, Rick really is nothing to look at. If I'm going to look, I should look at Alaric.}

{Those eight-pack abs, that height, that 'thermal flask,' that long-range battery life... slurp.}

Thermal flask? Long-range battery life?

Was it what they thought it was?

Every member of the Vane family present whipped their heads around to look at Alaric. Even Dominic, who was busy pummeling the couple with a shoehorn, paused mid-swing to instinctively glance at Alaric’s lower half.

Arthur: As expected of my grandson, he has my youthful vigor.

Jasper: Aghhh! Stop corrupting a minor!

Dominic: Show some respect, I’m in the middle of a bust here, thanks.

Alaric felt the tips of his ears burn under the scorching stares. His usually cold and indifferent expression nearly crumbled.

That damn woman! Is there nothing in her head besides smut?

With a darkened face, he shifted his hand from her eyes to her shoulder, hooking it to drag her outside lest she continue thinking about "adult-only" content on the spot.

"It’s late. Go back and sleep. Let Second Uncle handle his own family matters."

"No way, I haven't finished the drama yet, you... ah!" Seren’s protest was useless; she was hoisted onto Alaric’s shoulder and carried away.

Arthur coughed and prepared to leave as well. Before going, he instructed Jasper: "Keep an eye on your father. Vivienne is a pregnant woman after all, tell him to take it easy. As for that lover, just crippling him is enough; don't actually kill him."

Jasper, still immersed in the painful realization of his mother's betrayal, nodded silently.

...

Dominic’s villa wasn't far from the manor. Alaric carried Seren all the way back and didn't set her down until they entered the manor gates.

Having been carried the whole way, Seren felt like her dinner was about to be shaken out of her. Upon landing, she gagged a few times and shot several angry glares at Alaric.

"I have feet, you know! Couldn't you let me walk? You nearly bounced my dinner right out of me."

Alaric ignored her and headed upstairs. Seren shot a few more secret glares at his back before following.

At the bedroom door, they saw Mother Wang busy inside, seemingly having just finished laying down a carpet.

Seren asked in confusion, "Mother Wang, why is there a carpet now?"

Usually, in billionaire novels, carpets are laid down because the heroine likes to walk barefoot and the CEO worries she’ll catch a cold. But no one in the Vane family seemed to like walking barefoot, right?

And she and Alaric weren't even the leads.