Chapter 84
Ethan and Ryan quickly stood up to intervene.
“Wait!*
Ethan said, “This is just a quarrel between girls. Let’s not blow this out of proportion.”
Ryan added, “Janie, please be the bigger person and forgive Xena this time.”
Janie looked up at them, making them lower their heads in shame.
They knew how ridiculous they sounded, especially with so many witnesses present.
They felt both angry and embarrassed, wishing they could disappear.
Jackson laughed bitterly. “A quarrel between girls? This is clearly deliberate defamation! The Jenkins family’s audacity is truly remarkable today.”
The crowd’s murmurs grew louder.
Ethan bit his lip, struggling to speak. “We don’t know the whole story, maybe…”
He couldn’t continue.
How could he accuse one sister to defend another, especially when they had already wronged Janie?
Jackson clenched his fists.
Janie smiled faintly, “Actually, there’s some more context, but it’s rather private. I can share it with you now, or we can all go to the police station.”
Her relationship with the Jenkins family was truly exasperating.
For now, she preferred to keep certain details private.
Jackson understood. He was even more reluctant to reveal the information, so he skipped that part.
He turned to Xena coldly, “Get up now.”
Xena, who had been pretending to be unconscious, suddenly jumped up as if stung, startling both Kathy and Zion.
Everyone was shocked by her sudden movement.
Xena was mortified.
She had felt an unbearable sensation that forced her to spring up.
Jackson looked at her with contempt. “Now that you’re ‘awake,‘ take responsibility, or we’ll press charges.”
Xena was seething.
Years of carefully crafting her image were destroyed in one day because of Janie and Jackson.
Xena’s face was full of confusion, “What happened just now? Why do I remember nothing?”
Everyone fell silent.
1/4
10:42 Sat, 12 Apr WWW
Chapter 84
Jackson rolled his eyes. “Playing dumb won’t help. We have witnesses and evidence!
“Mr. Moore, what are you talking about?” Xena continued her act
David spoke bluntly, “Stop pretending, Xena. Everyone knows the truth. Apologize and face the consequences?
He added, “And please stop calling yourself my fan?
Xena’s face turned pale,
“Mom, I really don’t know what happened… she pleaded.
As the Jenkins family remained silent, Tyler explained everything
“This is disgusting, Jackson said with revulsion.
Thank God Janie isn’t part of their family Jackson thought.
Janie smiled. “Let’s go. They can wait for the court summons.”
Jackson immediately brightened. “Yes, let’s leave. I can’t stand another second here.
David offered, “Let me walk you out.”
Mr. Smith and others also began to see off the guests.
Xena suddenly screamed, “How could I do such a thing!”
Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Kathy, “Mom, am I, am I cursed?”
The crowd stopped in their tracks.
It did make a twisted kind of sense.
Secrets always had a way of leaking out, and whispers of the strange events that plagued the Smith family had spread like wildfire.
A shiver ran through the guests; was there some dark magic at play? Was the Smith family truly cursed?
The Smith family’s faces darkened under the weight of the stares.
f1
Hearing Xena’s words, the Jenkins family turned their attention to her, their belief in her innocence growing stronger by the second.
Even if they didn’t fully buy it, they had to pretend they did, and make everyone else believe it too.
Otherwise, the Jenkins family would really become the laughingstock of the town.
Kathy gasped, “Oh my God, this can’t be happening!”
Zion immediately chimed in, “Exactly! Xena is so kind and timid, how could she possibly do something like this?”
He boldly spoke up, “I remember old man Smith was acting strange a while back! Maybe there’s some lingering evil spirit or something!”
The Smiths were speechless.
The drama had circled back to bite them.
Chapter 84
The blame had landed squarely at their feet.
Ethan and Ryan remained silent; Zion was doing enough talking for all of them.
They couldn’t afford to alienate the Smiths completely.
An eerie silence fell over the room. The guests shifted uncomfortably, wanting to bolt but feeling obligated to me
appearances.
Besides, leaving now wouldn’t change anything.
James’s face turned thunderous, “Watch your tongue.”
William also shot Zion a withering glare.
Then he said to everyone, “It’s true that we were targeted by a malicious entity some time ago, but thanks to the helpde gifted master, we are completely free of any such influence. That kind of thing is simply not possible now?
The guests nodded, their faces betraying a mix of skepticism and unease. Only they knew what they truly believed
David gritted his teeth, “Xena, you tried to frame Janie and failed, so now you’re pretending to be cursed and dragging family into this?”
“It’s disgusting! You make me sick!”
Xena paled.
Ryan and Ethan spoke in unison, “Mr. Smith, be careful with your words!”
David scoffed.
Kathy interjected, “My daughter has always been well–behaved. Perhaps she really did encounter something malevolent, or maybe she was manipulated. She certainly wouldn’t intentionally target the Smith family.”
“I’ll take her home now. I apologize to everyone.”
Xena dropped to her knees in front of Janie, sobbing uncontrollably, “I’m so sorry, Janie. I truly don’t know what came over me. We’re colleagues, and even though you don’t like me, I would never intentionally sabotage you. Regardless, I did it, and I apologize. I’ll do anything to make it right…”
She made as if to kowtow, but Zion yanked her up, pulling her into a comforting embrace, “Xena, what are you doing? This isn’t your fault. You didn’t want any of this to happen.”
Xena burrowed into his chest, weeping.
The crowd began to waver.
“Miss Jenkins does seem genuinely remorseful.”
“It’s so sad, I think she’s truly sorry…”
“Miss Janie, maybe you should just forgive her this once.”
Jackson’s voice cut through the murmurs, cold and sharp, “It’s easy to be generous with other people’s forgiveness, isn’t it?”
“Why don’t you take the fall for her then?”
The guests fell silent.
16:42 Sat, 12 Apr NNN.
Chapter 84
Janie looked at Xena, “I don’t think you’re cursed. Why don’t you just own up to what you did?
Zion glared at her, “You! Xena already apologized! What more do you want? You think you’re so smart, can you even gre
she’s not cursed?”
“Actually,” Janie smiled sweetly, “Unlike you, I’m good at pretty much everything
The crowd was stunned.
Janie was radiating confidence. They thought.
Only then did William speak, “That’s right. The master we,consulted is none other than Miss Janie
