Chapter 142

At that moment, Springer felt like he finally got it and had to step up his game to match Horace. So Springer chimed in with a compliment too. “Well done, Winnie! You own your actions like at boss!”

The other elders of the Bryant family were speechless.

They couldn’t help but notice that with their reduced presence at home, the younger members of the Bryant family seemed to have changed.

Leonie cleared her throat and looked at Winnie, but instead of accusing her outright, she said, “Winnie, did Hobson upset you? If he’s been bullying you, you can talk to me, you know.”

Even though Leonie wasn’t openly blaming Winnie, the implication was that Winnie had retaliated against a family member over some petty grievance.

It was too easy for the rest of the family to become wary of Winnie.

Cutler, who had been silent until now, frowned and confronted her. “Winnie! No matter what, Hobson is still your family! You lash out at him just like that. Are we not family to you anymore? If someone else ticks you off, are you going to go after them, too?”

Cutler hit the nail on the head.

Even the others didn’t have a grudge against Winnie who had returned out of the blue, they couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive now.

When Winnie took action against Hobson, she had already anticipated this reaction.

Once you crossed certain lines, even if you did nothing more, others couldn't help but fear you.

But Winnie was indeed fed up. She had put up with Kathryn for eighteen years, but now that the karmic ties with the Henderson family were severed, she was done with playing nice.

To make an example of someone, Hobson had to be sacrificed today.

“Don't worry, this spell won’t harm him. As long as he doesn’t try to talk to me, he can speak normally to anyone else.”

“Is this about whether or not he can speak?” Cutler raised his voice, “This is about you raising a hand against a family member!”

Janet, trying to be the peacekeeper, chimed in, “Winnie, | know you wouldn’t hurt Hobson, but this isn’t right. Maybe you should lift the spell.”

Winnie pursed her lips but looked towards Bacchus and Clifford.

Bacchus and Clifford were surprised that Winnie was indeed responsible for the incident, but they didn’t take a stand right away, clearly waiting for her explanation.

1/4 Chapter 142 Winnie turned to Cutler, mimicking the tone Hobson usually used on her, “What’s with your fucking attitude when you talk to me?”

Her sudden snark left the family stunned. Before Cutler could retort, Winnie was back to her normal tone, asking the others, “How does that sound? I’ve heard that tone and those words no less than ten times since | came home. Does Hobson talk to you guys with the same disrespect?”

In one fell swoop, she had the Bryants dumbfounded.

How could that be possible? Although Hobson wasn’t the friendliest, he was generally courteous, even if disinterested, towards his siblings.

Now, with Winnie’s pointed question, the family began to understand where she was coming from.

“Even so, you shouldn't have...” Leonie couldn't help but start to object, but Winnie didn’t give her the chance to finish.

“Why is he always treating me differently? Because I’m seen as an outsider, so there’s this air of superiority? Why should |

tolerate that?” she said icily.

Everyone knew what she referred to.

Winnie rarely took such a firm stand in front of her family, and even Cutler, who had been eager to catch her on her behavior, suddenly lost his voice under Bacchus’s stern gaze. But Winnie wasn’t about to let him off easy.

Still addressing Cutler, her voice was sharp and cool, “You just said | shouldn't take action against family. Cutler, when you took action against me, did you ever consider me family?” With that, both Horace and Clifford turned frosty, their gazes cutting sharply towards Cutler. Feeling a chill, Cutler stood up abruptly, denying furiously, “Nonsense! When have | ever laid a hand on you?”

At most, he had been as sarcastic to her as Hobson occasionally was.

But then... the memory of the smear campaign he had orchestrated against her in the live stream chat made Cutler’s heart race.

Winnie continued, her voice hauntingly calm, “You hired trolls to trash me online. Although they didn’t cause me any real harm, doesn’t that count as attacking a family member? If you can do that, why are you so upset about a harmless spell | put on Hobson? Or do you have one set of rules for yourself and another for me?”

Hobson was at a loss for words. Was he just an innocent pawn in Winnie’s game against Cutler?

Meanwhile, Cutler was flashed with panic when she mentioned the trolls. Though he quickly tried to mask it, the elders of the Bryant family, with their sharp eyes, saw right through him.

2/4 Chapter 142 Cutler had been caught red-handed.

Clifford’s face grew even darker as he turned and demanded, “Cutler, did you orchestrate the online smear campaign against Winnie?”

Clifford had noticed the toxicity in the live stream comments and thought those trolls were just rabid fans of other celebrities, only instructing his people to clean up the online mess.

He had never imagined that it was Cutler’s doing!

Under the weight of Clifford's glare, Cutler twitched his lips as he tried to defend himself, but Winnie spoke again, her voice echoing with an eerie finality.

“You probably don’t realize this, but you can actually tell a lot about a person’s karma just by looking at their face. Sure, plenty of folks online have been badmouthing me, but all those negative vibes are all shown on your face now.”

Winnie’s words hit Cutler like a punch to the gut. Instinctively, he clutched at his face, his complexion turning ashen.

The Bryant family observed his reaction, which was as good as an admission of guilt.

Springer was already feeling mortified by what Winnie had just revealed.

Springer had been no kinder to Winnie than Cutler had, maybe even worse.

But even his jabs were just behind closed doors, nothing that was meant to truly harm her.

Hearing that Cutler had gone so far as to involve outsiders in their family drama, Springer slammed his fist down on the table, standing up in a burst of young fury.

“Cutler, that’s way out of line! How could you bring strangers into this to go against Winnie?!” Family squabbles should stay within the family. Cutler couldn’t just bring in outsiders against his own blood!

This sentiment was something the Bryant family all inherently agreed upon.

Their gazes turned towards Cutler, tinged with clear disapproval.

They had always thought of him as one of the most level-headed and sensible kids in the family, next to Horace, but behind their backs, he even had been up to this.

Thanks to the media frenzy these past few days, even those who hadn’t followed Winnie’s livestream had seen enough of the online vitriol targeting her.

Online comments could sometimes cut deeper than those in real life.

The anonymity of the internet emboldened people to be more ruthless with their words. Cutler couldn’t fathom why the tables had turned from Winnie to him, but facing the disapproving stares of his parents and relatives, be had no choice but to defend himself.

“|... | didn’t mean any harm. | just wanted her to get a reality check about the showbiz industry Chapter 142 and stop chasing some pipe dream of being a star... | was doing it for her own good.”