Meanwhile, Zoe experienced dizziness in the aftermath of the p. The taste of blood lingered in her


    mouth. She grimaced from the excruciating pain in her ear. Due to the pain, she abandoned her


    attempts at maintainingposure in the public eye.


    "Ouch! My ear! It hurts!" After being pped twice on the right cheek, her ears rang, causing her to


    yelp in pain.


    "Zoe! My dear Zoe!" Cornelius wailed and rushed toward his granddaughter without carrying his


    walking stick. His eyes widened in shock as he tried to help her up from the floor, but she was too weak


    to get up after Landon''s powerful ps.


    Sitting on the ground and looking frail, she sobbed. "Grandpa, my ears hurt. I can''t hear anything in my


    right ear."


    "What did you say, Zoe?" Cornelius was frightened. Despite raising his voice by her ear, she couldn''t


    hear him very well. Unfurling a trembling hand from her right ear, she gasped at the sight of blood on


    her palm.


    She cried out, "My ear! I''m going deaf!"


    All the Harpers'' bodyguards and assistants rushed up to her, calling the doctors and the ambnce in


    a frenzy. Landon, standing aside, observed the chaos emotionlessly, as if an invisible barrier separated


    him from his family.


    Once proud of being Cornelius'' grandson, he now felt nothing but shame.


    "Landon, are you insane?" Cornelius glowered at him in disbelief, momentarily disoriented by the


    shock. "Zoe is your only sister and the sole daughter of your parents! How could you hurt her?"


    Landon sneered. "Dad''s not around anymore. As her brother, don''t you think I should be the one to


    instill some morals into her?"


    The guests were surprised by Landon''s deration, which sounded pretty convincing.


    "Y-You brat!" Cornelius cussed him out, "Zoe is my granddaughter! I''m still in power in the Harper


    Group. Do you have any respect for me when you hit your sibling in front of my eyes?"


    "Of course I respect you," Landon replied with a chilling look. "That''s why I stopped after pping her.


    Otherwise, I would have done worse."


    The guests fell into a hushed silence.


    Jonah stared silently at Landon. Before this, he had regarded Landon as a yboy and a loyal friend of


    Jasper''s. However, he now saw Landon in a new light.


    He was grateful that Landon courageously went against his family to teach Zoe a lesson for Alyssa''s


    sake. At the same time, he felt guilty for having looked down on Landon in the past.


    Hearing Landon''s threat, Zoe trembled and clung tighter to her grandpa. Cornelius choked with anger,


    stammered, "Y-You—"


    Javier, who reveled in the unfolding events, hated it when Landon intervened. He reluctantly assumed


    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.


    the role of peacemaker. "Landon, Zoe is your sister, after all. You shouldn''t have said that. It reflects


    poorly on you and damages your rtionship with your family. It''s a lose-lose situation."