From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent (Anthea )

After returning to the office, Nanson wasted no time in getting on the phone with a private detective agency, instructing them to dig into Hancock and Wendy's affair.

He then sifted through his inbox, organizing the evidence Anthea had sent him, and with a cloak of anonymity, he forwarded it to the victims' families.

The detective agency was remarkably efficient. By the next day, they had snapped a series of incriminating photos of Hancock and his mistress.

Nanson bundled up the photos and shipped them off to Elaine.

When Elaine got her hands on the pictures, she was seething with rage, a storm of fury brewing in her heart. She wanted nothing more than to kill the treacherous couple.

"Hancock, you son of a bitch! When I was with you, you didn't have a penny. And now you dare to betray me?" This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

The idea of him playing around was bad enough, but a kid too? That was a whole new level of hurt.

Elaine could hardly contain herself. In a frenzy, she dashed over to Wendy's place and started hammering on the door with the force of a hurricane.

If she could, she'd have torn the house down brick by brick.

"Who's there?" Wendy called, coming to open the door.

"You fucking bitch! Home-wrecker!" Elaine didn't hesitate to slap Wendy across the face.

Stunned, Wendy clutched her cheek and screamed, "Who the hell are you? What gives you the right to hit me?"

"Bitch, I'm Hancock's legal wife! You have some nerve! I'll make sure you pay for this today" Elaine lunged at Wendy, fists and feet flying.

Wendy, frail and petite, was no match for the towering Elaine. It didn't take long for Wendy to be pinned to the ground, her face reddening with each slap, soon resembling a swollen balloon.

In the chaos, Wendy's sleeping child was jolted awake and stumbled out, barefoot and bewildered.

Seeing Wendy being attacked, the six-year-old burst into tears.

"Mommy. Mommy."

Elaine, in a fit of rage, grabbed a mug and hurled it towards the child, "Stop your crying. Your mother's a shameless bitch, and you're no better."

The child's sobs grew louder.

"Go find your grandma." Wendy managed to yell.

But the six-year-old was frozen in fear, unable to move.

Suddenly, a loud thud echoed through the room.

Elaine looked up to see an elderly woman at the door. The 'thud' was the sound of her watermelon hitting the ground.

"Mom?" Elaine asked in disbelief, seeing her mother-in-law Haley.

"Grandma." The child, seeing his savior, ran towards her.

"Carl. Are you okay?" Haley scooped up her precious grandson and glared at Elaine, "What are you doing here? Get out, now."

"Mom. Are you taking their side? Did you know about this all along?" Elaine rose to her feet and confronted Haley.

"You're the real disgrace. A barren woman." Haley hugged Carl tight, "If you have any sense, you'll leave right now. Let's end this here before I get Hancock to sort you out."

"Mom. How could you do that? I'm Hancock's legitimate wife." Elaine was shattered. The woman she'd respected for over two decades had turned on her, and was it all because she hadn't borne a son for the Lyons family?

"So what? You can't bear a son, but you won't allow someone else to? Now that you know, let's lay everything out. My grandkid is Carl, the one who'll carry on our family name. Everything in our family will belong to him. If you dare, divorce Hancock."

Haley was itching for Elaine to divorce Hancock.

If she did, Carl could take his rightful place in the Lyons family without any more hiding.

Elaine stood there, watching Haley with a mix of despair and disbelief, "Mom. What about Sallie and Stella? Aren't they your granddaughters too? What happens to them if Hancock and I divorce?"

"Those two are nothing but liabilities. They can go with whoever wants them." Haley's only concern now was Carl.

To her, Sallie and Stella were nothing more than burdens on the family.

Elaine couldn't take it anymore. She collapsed to the ground, her world crumbling as she wept uncontrollably.