At that moment, Keen''s mind was a chaotic mess.


    Marvin''s actions caught him off guard, and he waspletely unprepared. He had never dealt with anything like this before. Marvin''s words mixed truth and lies, leaving Keen, who had always been taught to be honest, unsure of how to handle such ambiguity.


    Keen''s hesitance and uncertainty were written all over his face, impossible for anyone to ignore.


    Ste knew Keen too well; she could tell in an instant that Marvin wasn''t making things up.


    Unable to keep her emotions in check any longer, Ste pped Rachel hard across the face.


    The sound of the p echoed in the room.


    Rachel stumbled backward, her pale cheek instantly swelling with the impact. She clutched her face, a scream escaping her lips. "How dare you hit me?!" Ste''s eyes glinted with an icy sharpness. "You''re damn right I hit you! Just tryying a hand on a kid again."


    In Ste''s view, if a man was unfaithful, the mey with him; the mistress was just a trigger. While she detested Rachel, Ste hadn''t nned on taking any extreme actions.


    Rachel had already been poisoning Keen''s mind, which was troubling enough. But now, by targeting an innocent child, she had gone too far.


    Did Rachel really think Ste was someone who could be easily pushed around?


    Rachel, having been sheltered by Haynes and Jasper since returning home, had never faced such humiliation. Now, she was fuming, charging at Ste with ws out. "Ste, I''ll kill you!"


    Ste scoffed, catching Rachel''s wrist as if to deliver another p. But suddenly, her own wrist was caught in a tight grip.


    "Ste, that''s enough," came Haynes''s deep, cold voice.


    With Haynes'' intervention, Rachel broke free from Ste''s hold and retaliated with


    a p of her own. Ste, with her hand restrained by Haynes, couldn''t dodge and took the hit.


    Haynes'' expression shifted slightly, "Rachel, stop it."


    But Rachel, lost in her fury, paid no heed. She lunged at Ste, wing wildly.


    Ste stood her ground, waiting for the right moment. Then she seized Rachel''s long hair in a firm grip.


    "Ahhh!!!" Rachel''s scream was piercing as she scratched at Ste''s hand, but Ste didn''t flinch or let go. With one hand caught by Haynes, she couldn''t strike back, but she managed to drive her knee into Rachel''s.


    Another scream echoed as Rachel crumpled to the floor, unable to maintain her bnce.


    The fight was clearly one-sided; without Haynes'' help, Rachel was no match for Ste.


    Seeing this, Haynes'' eyes darkened. Just as he was about to restrain Ste''s other hand, another hand intervened, stopping him.


    A smooth,zy voice echoed through the room, dripping with nonchnce. "Mr. O''Brien, stepping into a catfight isn''t very gentleman-like. Taking sides with an outsider over your wife-do you think that''s the proper move?"


    Marvin''s eyes lit up and he shouted, "Dad, you''re here!"


    Neville cast a fleeting nce at the teachers and Rachel. "If I didn''t show up, it seems anyone could step on my son."