Chapter 437

"Tonight, Anday was beaten by Lawrence, and it seemed Skylar had her sights set on Winnie. If Sean gets his hands on her, Lawrence might kill him."

Mars thought about the secret glance between Lawrence and Winnie at the dinner table and Skylar's gaze. His face trembled with a smile, not in the least bit anxious as he said, "There might be quite a show tonight. We just wait for Lawrence to deal with Anday, or for Anday to deal with him!"

Upon hearing this, Hellen laughed viciously, knowing either outcome would benefit them.

Her expression shifted suddenly as a thought occurred to her, her gaze turning cold. "I find Ms. Winnie's eyes unsettling, constantly scanning the dinner table."

She had seen something that the Rodriguez family had missed for over twenty years, and it couldn't be noticed by an outsider.

After the banquet, most people played cards or entertained themselves.

The men continued to discuss their affairs.

Winnie hadn't seen Ishara, and Angela continued to fawn over the young master of the Jenkins family.

Feeling bored and alone, Winnie messaged Sidney on her phone and started playing some children's games together.

Half an hour later, a servant approached her and said politely, "Ms. Winnie, Leah would like to have a word with you."

Leah had just eaten at the dinner table but left early. Winnie recognized her, but couldn't help wondering what she could want now.

In front of the servant, it wasn't appropriate to ask or refuse.

Winnie thought for a moment, then stood up and followed the servant to the backyard.

The estate was vast, with various villas and small courtyards scattered behind the main building, bamboo forests, and mountains reflected in the night lights, obscuring the path ahead.

The servant led her through several archways to a villa, where a large swimming pool greeted them, the deep blue water rippling.

Winnie frowned, wondering if the old lady lived in a poolside villa.

She was recording on her phone and quickly turned to ask, "Excuse me, where is the old lady?"

Suddenly, with a "splash," she was forcefully pushed into the water.

Winnie let out a startled cry as she tumbled into the deep end of the pool, which was at least two meters deep. She flailed about, her phone slipping from her grasp and sinking to the bottom, along with the recording she had intended as a precaution.

She hadn't expected this to happen.

As she struggled to swim to the surface, before she could even wipe the water from her face, someone grabbed her by the throat.

Winnie jolted with panic. "Let go of me! Who are you?"

The person enveloped her from behind, a young body with great strength rudely dragging her toward the edge of the pool by the villa.

"Puh-" Winnie struggled desperately, choking on several mouthfuls of water. Pale-faced, when she finally reached the edge, she saw the face of the man choking her.

It was Sean.

In this moment, Sean's demeanor was far from the politeness he had shown at the dinner table. His gaze was lecherous, eagerly fixated on Winnie's drenched chest. After pulling her to the shore by her hair, he aggressively lunged toward her. "Ms. Winnie, how about we play some adult games?"

Winnie, choked by him, found her strength useless. She remained calm, and said in a cold tone, "Sean, I'm not a plaything for your amusement. Think about the consequences!"

"But I like MILFs, and you've had a child, right? I want to taste you. You dressed like this tonight just to seduce me, didn't you?"

Winnie shut her eyes tightly, Lawrence's words proving true.

"And the consequences?" Sean laughed as if hearing a joke. "My mom sent me to deal with you. The worst-case scenario is that I'll have to marry you!"

Winnie listened in shock to his words.

Just then, footsteps approached from the archway by the pool, many of them, sounding like a crowd.

"Mrs. Blanchet, don't worry! Since the servant saw Ms. Winnie heading this way, maybe she came to Sean's villa."

"If she slipped to Sean's poolside villa, she's definitely here to seduce him!

"Mrs. Blanchet, your illegitimate daughter clung to my son at the Rodriguez family dinner table. She's quite ambitious..." Skylar feigned outrage.

The voices resembled Eleanor's and Skylar's. In an instant, Winnie's mind raced, grasping the situation. They were in cahoots; Skylar had sent Sean to sleep with her. And now, they were loudly slandering her, falsely claiming that she had approached Sean at dinner.

When the Rodriguez and Blanchet family members saw her wet and disheveled with Sean, Skylar would swear she was the seducer. Winnie wouldn't be able to clear her name.

Lawrence said Sean was a playboy; surely, they were unsavory. Her reputation would be ruined in Sean's hands tonight.

Winnie's face turned ashen as the footsteps at the archway grew closer. She pounded on Sean desperately, but her breath grew thinner, nearly passed out.

She dared not even cry for help...

Just then, a noise erupted. A tree branch fell at the archway, temporarily blocking the large group trying to break in.

Winnie, in her ferocity, felt the grip on her neck loosen as someone kicked Sean away.

She was shocked, struggling to turn her head, her eyes widening at the sight of the newcomer. It was Jeremy.

"You..."

"Shush." Jeremy crouched down, covering her pale mouth, hastily pulling her torn dress together.

"Fuck-" Sean cursed as he got up from the side. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Sean!" Outside the archway, just beyond a tree, Skylar's shrill voice rang out. "She must be inside! Butler, come quickly, a tree suddenly fell. Move it, move it, don't delay Mrs. Blanchet from finding her daughter!"

"Yes, if Winnie is really inside messing around with Sean, how can I explain to the master? This Winnie, she's so foolish..." Eleanor expressed her "heartfelt" concern with a pained look.

"Eleanor, she insisted on wearing that dress at the banquet and refused to change. I knew she wanted to seduce men!" Angela added fuel to the fire with her complaints.

"Everyone who loves a spectacle must be gathered outside," Jeremy said, his gaze dark and fierce as he helped Winnie up, kicking away the approaching Sean and scanning the villa sharply.

Winnie was trembling, gasping for breath, her gaze filled with urgent coldness.

"We have to climb over the wall and escape, quickly, Winnie..." Jeremy lifted her, pushing her toward the two-meter-high wall.

They didn't notice the shards of glass on top of the wall; as Winnie's hand touched them, she let out a pained cry.

"Winnie!"

She held back her pain, turning back to take a deep breath. "I'm okay, I'm okay..."

"Quick, run! If they can't find you here, they'll keep searching. With your current appearance, being seen would spell trouble. Head to the fourth villa in the backyard, that's his room. I'll notify him right away! He'll come for you!"

Winnie knew who Jeremy meant, her gaze darkened.

As the tree at the archway was cleared, Eleanor and Skylar burst in with a group.

"Winnie!" Eleanor purposely shouted, searching everywhere.

Winnie's eyes were dark and gloomy. Seeing no escape for Jeremy, she asked, "What about you?!"

Jeremy, with a wickedly amused glint in his eye beneath his glasses, glanced at Sean on the ground. "I'll just sacrifice myself and pretend to be you for a bit, letting this idiot gain his fame tonight."

After saying that, he tore off his shirt and lunged at Sean, his lean, muscular body exposed.

Winnie understood, her lips twitching. Jeremy was a good man willing to take a hit for a friend. He was also trying to buy time.

She quickly climbed down the wall, drenched and cold, rushing into the night, but she soon realized she couldn't find her way in the darkness.

Turning her head, she suddenly saw someone standing behind her.

It wasn't Lawrence.