Nathan scrambled to stop her. "Wendy, we were set up! We... we..." He faltered, unable to finish. The truth was, he had walked in here of his own free will.


    Wendy shoved him away, her voice icy. "Nathan, after all these years of marriage, you''ve finally shown me your true colors. To humiliate me like this, in this ce... you''re truly something else."


    She stared at him, her jaw tight, her eyes zing with fury, yet her expression was one of a deeply wounded victim.


    Seeing her like this, Nathan was terrified. He had never seen her so enraged.


    But Wendy was done with him. She ripped the covers off the bed, grabbed the other woman by the hair, and pped her with all the force she could muster.


    SLAP! SLAP!


    Each blow carried the weight of two decades of pent-up rage.


    "Ahh! Help me! Nathan, save me!" the woman screamed. "It hurts! Stop! Help!"


    The onlookers stood in stunned silence.


    Marshall leaned close to Natalie''s ear. "Now this is a show," he murmured. "Seeing Joanna look like aplete fool is so satisfying." After all, the Scott family had been so blind to her obvious maniptions, ming Natalie for everything. It just proved you can''t wake someone who''s pretending to be asleep.


    Natalie finished herst bite of cake, feeling a little disappointed. "This would be perfect with a chicken leg."


    Marshall stared at her, then broke into augh. "What is it with you and chicken legs?"


    Natalie raised an eyebrow. "They''re delicious."


    He got it. Watching a good show made everything taste better.


    "That''s enough, Wendy!" a furious voice boomed from inside the room.


    Wendy, exhausted from the beating, let go. The womany motionless on the bed. Wendy spotted a basin of water nearby, picked it up, and dumped it over Nathan''s head.


    Nathan stood there, dripping and humiliated. This was the most mortifying moment of his life. Why had he walked into this room? H?


    had seen his old nge go in and feeling a sudden surge of vitality he hadn''t felt in years, he couldn''t


    resist...


    But with so many people at the party and the music so loud, how had anyone heard them?


    Wendy''s voice was a low, furious


    hiss, deliberately loud enough for everyone to hear. "Enough? Nathan you thin this is enough? You


    humiliate me in front of all these people, and you think this is enough? Do you have any respect for me at all?"


    She then turned to Mr. Wilson and bowed her head in apology. "Mr. Wilson, I am so deeply sorry. I never imagined this disgusting pair would pull such a stunt at your g. Do with them what you will."


    With that, Wendy turned and walked out, leaving the mess for others to handle.


    Nathan was frantic. He shot Joanna a desperate look, silently begging her to save them.


    "Mr. Wilson, I... we were set up!" Nathan pleaded, trying to salvage the situation. "Why would I do something like this at your party? It has to be a setup!"


    Mr. Wilson remained silent, his eyes burning with fury.


    It was only then that the reality of the situation seemed to dawn on Joanna. What have my father and mother no, that woman-done? Why them? Why? She had worked so hard to gain Me Wilsonstrust, and now this. A man who had


    navigated the corporate battlefield for decades could easily see through her scheme.


    "Father," Joanna demanded, her voice sharp, "if you were framed, who framed you?"