THE CASTAWAY HEIR: POWER UNSEEN

CHAPTER 8

Ava Bennet’s piercing stare lingered even after Jessica had forced a smile and murmured a polite greeting.

The air in the corridor seemed to shrink with hostility.

Jessica had never liked conflict and wanted no part in any misunderstanding or drama.

Brandon, standing beside her, slid his hands into his pockets with a cold expression.

“Maybe the same way you ended up here. I've got nothing more to say. I’m leaving.”

Jessica almost sighed with relief, grateful that he wasn’t interested in prolonging the encounter.

But just then, a voice rang out.

“Stop right there.”

It was Ava. Her voice cracked like a whip across the corridor.

The sharp command echoed against the marble walls, drawing curious glances from passing hotel staff.

Jessica froze while Brandon turned slowly.

“Did I say you could go?” Ava’s tone dripped venom with her chin tilted high as if she were addressing a servant.

Jessica’s stomach clenched. The sheer arrogance in the older woman’s posture made her uneasy.

She was about to explain, but Brandon’s voice broke the tension first.

“I’ve already discussed the divorce with Sophia,” he said firmly.

“From now on, wherever I go, whatever I do, has nothing to do with your family.”

Jessica’s heart skipped.

Divorce?

So it was true.

The gossip she’d overheard in whispers—Brandon walking away from Sophia—wasn’t just rumor.

Ava’s lips curled into a sneer.

“How dare you? So just because you’re divorced, you think you can do whatever you want? That you can disregard your elders?”

Her eyes gleamed with malice as she leaned closer with her voice rising, drawing her friends into the drama.

“It’s only natural for someone my age to worry about what the younger ones are up to,” she said, her tone dripping with mock sweetness. Then her eyes hardened.

“Or is there something you’re hiding, you pathetic excuse for a son-in-law?” she snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut glass.

“Look at you—standing there like a useless stray. You're so shameless that you’ll take anything desperate enough to throw itself at you.”

The way she lingered on him was like spitting poison. Then, with calculated cruelty, her gaze slid toward Jessica.

“So this is your mistress?” she asked mockingly. “You really aren’t picky, are you? You’ll take anything that throws itself at you.”

Jessica stiffened, heat rushing to her cheeks.

Her throat tightened, but she forced herself not to speak. This wasn’t her fight.

Just then, she heard Brandon’s voice cut through the air.

“Has anyone ever told you that respect works both ways?”

The authority in his tone should have silenced the corridor.

But Ava reacted as if he’d just told the funniest joke in the world. She burst out laughing, her back bending with the force of her mockery.

“Respect?” she repeated with a sharp, mocking laugh.

“You? A leech who’s been living off my daughter’s hard work for years? Don’t make me laugh.”

Her words dripped with venom as her friends snickered, whispering among themselves, their gazes flicking between Brandon and Jessica like spectators at a cruel show.

Jessica’s pulse quickened and her hands clenched at her sides as anger and humiliation burned in her chest.

She couldn’t bear it anymore.

“Enough!” she burst out.

“You will not talk to him like that. Whether he’s your son-in-law or not, Brandon is a man who’s earned respect—and he deserves far better than your cruelty!”

The words tumbled out before she could stop herself.

Ava’s head snapped toward her, her smile twisting into fury.

“Shut up!”

The slap of the words stung more than any hand.

Jessica recoiled as Ava’s voice boomed through the hall.

“Who are you to butt in while I’m teaching a worthless junior a lesson?”

Ava hissed with her eyes ablaze. “Know your place!”

Jessica’s lips pressed together. She didn’t want this. She had no desire to stand between a mother-in-law and her former son-in-law. But Brandon had saved her life.

Watching him slandered and humiliated like this, gnawed at her conscience.

She took a careful breath, trying again.

“Maybe there’s some misunderstanding between you, Sophia, and Brandon. I don’t know the details, but—”

“Misunderstanding?” Ava cut her off, her laugh sharp and cutting.

“Oh, I see what this is now.”

Her eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a mockery of a smile. “You two have slept together, haven’t you?”

Jessica’s heart lurched, her face burning.

“And he’s given you money too, hasn’t he?” Ava pressed on, her voice loud enough to echo. “That’s what this is all about. A shameless slut clinging to scraps!”

Before Jessica could react, Ava shoved her hard.

Jessica stumbled back a step, catching herself against the cold wall.

“Hand it over,” Ava snarled, her voice dripping with contempt. “Whatever he’s given you—it’s all my family’s money! You think you can pocket it? Think again!"